Motherboard Replacement Options

[davidsurv]

The motherboard on one of my old pc's recently went belly up. With that in mind, I was wondering what my best & least expensive options were.
PC is a Compaq Presario 4400US (Prior to merge with HP), with a 1.3 Ghz Intel Celeron processor, 512RAM, CDRW. I've found an OEM (refurbished) motherboard & am astonished at the price of $695.00.
What do I need to know in regards to finding a compatible motherboard?

 

[Nodsu]

It depends on the form factor. If that case can hold an ATX or a micro ATX motherboard then you can pick anything that supports your CPU and RAM.
If the motherboard is proprietary form factor then you are better off getting an ATX case and putting your components there with a standard mobo.

 

[davidsurv]

What is the best way to ascertain whether or not my case will hold another type of motherboard? Is there a cut & dry type site on the web that facilitates matching motherboards to existing cases?

 

[vnf4ultra]

If you know the model of your motherboard you may be able to google it and find if it's atx or matx. Also you may be able to find out what type of board it has by searching for your system specs on the web. If all else fails, you can look at an atx or matx board's(at an online vendors picture gallery, like at newegg.com) mounting holes and see if they look similar to your current board. Matx boards have typically 3-4pci slots, while atx have ~7 IIRC.