[mrzippo]

I have an Intel P 4 2.8Ghz with Hyper Threading.

It says on the box I have to use a motherboard that supports 533Mhz Front Side Bus. Well if my M/B is 533, am I not utilizing its full potential buy using only 400Mhz RAM?

And I was also considering transplanting my computer into a bigger better case with more fans to keep CPU temp down and maybe overclock it. How do I find out what kinda/brand of M/B I have cause it seems certain cases can only hold certain motherboards? I tried looking inside the computer and can't really see any brand name on it, besides a few letters and numbers here and there.

I was looking into motherboards and cases. And do motherboards need a specific power supply? Or can I use a 480 watt on something that only needs 450? or even 400? Would that overheat the M/B and processor? I know you can't use a too low power supply.

I was also contemplating a new Hi-End M/B. How do I know if its compatible with everything I have for my system currently? As you can see I'm just trying to switch everything to a new case with a hi end motherboard that has more slots for cards and will have a much better performance, because I believe my custom computer that I ordered has a low end M/B. I have more specifications. But this is just a general overview because I don't want to buy all this expensive stuff when I have never built my own computer before.

(Sorry for the multiple questions in one post)

Thanks,
MrZippo

Edited by mrzippo, 04 October 2005 - 04:33 PM.

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It says on the box I have to use a motherboard that supports 533Mhz Front Side Bus. Well if my M/B is 533, am I not utilizing its full potential buy using only 400Mhz RAM?

Your motherboard is using newer style memory called DDR2.

In a nutshell, this is twice as fast as normal DDR. So your board is technically using a 266Mhz FSB but the memory runs twice as fast so making it capable of a 533 side bus.

And I was also considering transplanting my computer into a bigger better case with more fans to keep CPU temp down and maybe overclock it. How do I find out what kinda/brand of M/B I have cause it seems certain cases can only hold certain motherboards? I tried looking inside the computer and can't really see any brand name on it, besides a few letters and numbers here and there.

If your system is a branded computer (Compaq, HP, Packard Bell, IBM, etc) then it may not be possible to transfer it to another case as these people like to do little custom things which make it slightly harder (and sometimes impossible) to recase it.

If it is a custom build on the other hand, just buy any standard case and it will fit. The brand of the motherboard matters not.

If you buy an ATX case, it will house any ATX board ever made. If you buy a MicroATX case, it won't be able to hold a full ATX board. Cases now are quite often multi-standard, being able to house MicroATX, ATX and the next form factor, BTX when it takes off. Just change the stand-offs as needed.

I was looking into motherboards and cases. And do motherboards need a specific power supply? Or can I use a 480 watt on something that only needs 450? or even 400? Would that overheat the M/B and processor? I know you can't use a too low power supply.

The bigger power supply wattage you can get, the better, especially for Intel P4 systems and/or high end graphics cards.

I was also contemplating a new Hi-End M/B. How do I know if its compatible with everything I have for my system currently?

Most things can be transferred; I should think you may need a new graphics card though and the bigger power supply. Optical drives and hard drives and the floppy will go over no problem. Processor and heatsink will need changing as well if you have an entire new board with a different socket.

As you can see I'm just trying to switch everything to a new case with a hi end motherboard that has more slots for cards and will have a much better performance, because I believe my custom computer that I ordered has a low end M/B. I have more specifications. But this is just a general overview because I don't want to buy all this expensive stuff when I have never built my own computer before.

You may be able to change some things inside the existing computer to bring it up to spec - for example, bigger hard drive, better graphics, more memory, etc. At the end of the day it all boils down to what you want to do with it.

[Neil Jones]

It says on the box I have to use a motherboard that supports 533Mhz Front Side Bus. Well if my M/B is 533, am I not utilizing its full potential buy using only 400Mhz RAM?

Your motherboard is using newer style memory called DDR2.

In a nutshell, this is twice as fast as normal DDR. So your board is technically using a 266Mhz FSB but the memory runs twice as fast so making it capable of a 533 side bus.

And I was also considering transplanting my computer into a bigger better case with more fans to keep CPU temp down and maybe overclock it. How do I find out what kinda/brand of M/B I have cause it seems certain cases can only hold certain motherboards? I tried looking inside the computer and can't really see any brand name on it, besides a few letters and numbers here and there.

If your system is a branded computer (Compaq, HP, Packard Bell, IBM, etc) then it may not be possible to transfer it to another case as these people like to do little custom things which make it slightly harder (and sometimes impossible) to recase it.

If it is a custom build on the other hand, just buy any standard case and it will fit. The brand of the motherboard matters not.

If you buy an ATX case, it will house any ATX board ever made. If you buy a MicroATX case, it won't be able to hold a full ATX board. Cases now are quite often multi-standard, being able to house MicroATX, ATX and the next form factor, BTX when it takes off. Just change the stand-offs as needed.

I was looking into motherboards and cases. And do motherboards need a specific power supply? Or can I use a 480 watt on something that only needs 450? or even 400? Would that overheat the M/B and processor? I know you can't use a too low power supply.

The bigger power supply wattage you can get, the better, especially for Intel P4 systems and/or high end graphics cards.

I was also contemplating a new Hi-End M/B. How do I know if its compatible with everything I have for my system currently?

Most things can be transferred; I should think you may need a new graphics card though and the bigger power supply. Optical drives and hard drives and the floppy will go over no problem. Processor and heatsink will need changing as well if you have an entire new board with a different socket.

As you can see I'm just trying to switch everything to a new case with a hi end motherboard that has more slots for cards and will have a much better performance, because I believe my custom computer that I ordered has a low end M/B. I have more specifications. But this is just a general overview because I don't want to buy all this expensive stuff when I have never built my own computer before.

You may be able to change some things inside the existing computer to bring it up to spec - for example, bigger hard drive, better graphics, more memory, etc. At the end of the day it all boils down to what you want to do with it.

[Tyger]

Google those numbers. Also Google

part# filetype:pdf

to find manuals which are almost always in .pdf format.

[mrzippo]

Do you know of a Very nice M/B that can house a P4 2.8 ghz with heatsink/fan? Or would it be better to just buy a motherboard with a better processor in it? Because I have 1 gig of ram and a 9200 Radeon (I wil eventually upgrade that) and an Audigy 4 sound car that I want to transfer.

And I don't believe I got an answer to this. How does Front side bus on the motherboard relate to RAM Mhz? Or does it? Can you just throw any Ram speed into a motherboard?


http://www.xoxide.co...ase-silver.html

That is the case I'm looking at, seems extroadinarily cheap. And the bubble lights on front seem cool, along with many fan slots for cooling. What do you think?

I have a custom computer so I'm going to assume the motherboard will transplant in it.

The only thing is I don't know what power supply to buy with it. I found this though for only 70 bucks

OKIA 600W Max Power Supply
OKIA Power Supply
600W Max
Complies With ATX
Low Noise & Ripple
High Efficiency
Over-Current/Over-Voltage Protection
Short Ciruit Protection on All Outputs
Energy Star/Green Power

what do you think?

It also has an Add Serial ATA Power Adapter. What is that? willl I need that?

(Sorry for all the questions, I'm a newb to computer building)

Thanks a lot.

Edited by mrzippo, 04 October 2005 - 04:32 PM.