Motherboard upgrade recomendation request

[Incindia]

Hello,

I posted on these forums a few months ago and the recomendation I received about my reported performance issues was that my motherboard may need replacing.

I was wondering if anyone could recomend a decent, inexpensive upgrade? I want to replace my PC soon within the next year so I don't to spend a whole lot (maybe $100 or less) but I would like to get some upgrade just to tide me over.

My PC is primarly for World of Warcraft and random internet surfing.

Any help would be appreciated. thank you.



Computer Specs:

CPU Name: AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+

CPU: Core Speed: 1002.2 MHz

MB Manufacture: Dell Inc,

MB Model: OCT103, A03

Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GT

Memory: DDR2, 3G

Power Supply: Dell Inc, N305N-03
+5V +12VA +12VB
22A 18.0A 18.0A

Max Output – 305 Watts

OS: Vista - 32 bit.

 

[CMH]

Try getting a secondhand motherboard in that case?

Also, any reason why you are holding out till next year?

 

[hellokitty[hk]]

Does anyone else find it odd that he has a dell default PSU and a 9600gt?

 

[CMH]

He might have upgraded?

I knew Dell sold AMD, but didn't know people buy them lol.

I also know Dell sold Linux PCs, but nobody bought them and they took them off

 

[Archean]

Hmmm 305 Watts PSU, well if he is using one of that low powered variants of 9600GT (i.e. 59W one, then I see no issue with his given specs. Because that variant of 9600GT requires 300W PSU.

 

[CMH]

Well, he's looking to swap his motherboard, but I can see why we're talking about his power supply.

Just in case Incindia is lost, having too little juice can be detrimental to a computer's performance.

If you're building your own computer, its not a bad idea to get a good power supply now, and use it in your new build. I doubt any new specs will be added/changed to the current ATX spec.

 

[Incindia]

Reason for waiting: Just moved so money is tight. I want to save enough to get a decent PC.

9600 Gt & Dell: When I bought my computer I was very new to computers and didn't realize that building one for gaming was better than buying a Dell standard. Once I started having problems, I upgraded my video card (the 1st thing people told me may be having issues).


Ok, I don't mind purchasing a power supply and trying that out before a motherboard, any recommendations?

 

[Incindia]

For a little more details the exact problem I am having is I play with all graphic's turned to the lowest setting for wow, i adjusted my video card for performace, and yet I get whole 3-7 FPS during game play.

I am not expecting 200 FPS or anything, but 20-30 would be nice.

 

[Archean]

That card should be able to give you reasonable enough performance anyway, so I am not sure it would simply be motherboard issue, especially if your PC works in a stable and deliver expected performance.

 

[CMH]

Well, I know the CPU isn't top of the line, but for WoW, should be fine.

The 9600 GT is a pretty solid performer as well.

I would say we are looking at a different issue. Unless you have a Dell 30" high res monitor to go with your Dell computer.... Even then we should be looking at a higher fps.

I'm stumped.



Btw, I doubt changing your motherboard will change anything.

 

[Incindia]

I just had a friend tell me they are replacing their power supply and they will give me their old one (which is still newer than mine) its around 700 watts. I'll try putting that in and seeing if it improves it any.

Any other helpful recomendations would be welcome

 

[dikbozo]

It seems this thread has wandered a bit off topic. The asker has been asking about a replacement board, not a PSU.

I would ask the questioner to post the CPUID info from CPU-Z so as to ascertain the socket, as the X2 3800 came in both 939 and AM2 variants. A 939 board would be hard to find but acceptable AM2 boards are widely available.

ASUS, Giga-Byte, MSI and a large number of other makers offer AM2+ boards that will work, just be sure to check the specs support the proper RAM.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

@Archaean, hk; the 305W PSU that Dell sells is usually a PCP&C\Fortron-built model that has about 22A on the +12V rails combined, so it's beefy enough for a 9600GT.

OP, have you made absolutely sure that your problems are not software-related, such as a bad driver install?

 

[Archean]

@Rage
Thanks, I addressed this same point in post # 9. Regards