Recommendation for New Motherboard

[Chaplain Doug]

I want to put a new motherboard in my box. I would like
one with 512M memory and a built-in EIDE controller,
sound, USB, parallel printer port, RJ45 (ehternet) port,
etc. Anyone have a recommendation as to where to buy so
that I may get the "bundle" with all the bells and
whistles. Thanks.

 

[Dan Seur]

You are aware I hope that if you're running Win2000 replacing the
motherboard almost always requires a fresh install of the OS? W2k is
very tightly bound to the motherboard-in-residence when it was first
installed. In this regard W2k is unlike predecessor systems.

Motherboard Express, at
<http://www.mbx.com>
sells a great variety of boards and at that site you can find lists of
features of most. If you find a board that suits you (perhaps also
nosing around in the two sites below), check around for best prices.

Personally, I'm happy with Asus boards. That's an observation, not a
recommendation. Asus and a number of other reputable makers offer
solidly designed, fully-equipped boards sold widely and well-supported.
Your question is a bit like asking "What's the best cheese?" Only you
know what you really need or want, and the devil's in the details.
"Bundle"? hmmm...

To educate yourself a bit, you might visit
<http://www.tomshardware.com>
which has an extensive archive of rather good reviews of motherboards.
Another such site is
<http://www.anandtech.com>

 

[DL]

Personally I've not had to reinstall, when I've done this, on at least three
occasions. Or repair, using win2k pro.

 

[Dan Seur]

That's really interesting, because there's a lot of traffic in these NGs
about replacing boards & being unable to get W2k up again. It seems that
if the new board chipset drivers are pretty much the same, there's
little or no problem, otherwise kerblooie's the word. I know the MS KB
has several articles on moving W2k to new hardware, and they advise a
number of steps - and don't guarantee success.

 

[DL]

It may depend on how 'late' the version of win2k pro is; eg the version that
requires on line activation.
Mine is pre that version. My mb's went from an early pentium EDO mem, to AMD
barton + raid. I have done a couple of clean reinstalls, not because of any
mb upgrades

 

[Bob I]

I guess you must have a very interesting Windows 2000 install as none of
them require "online activation" and they all get pretty cranky when you
start swapping hardware without resetting everything to basic drivers.

 

[DL]

Nope never had to reset, other than booting up and installing any new
drivers.
I have done a couple of clean installs, when spring cleaning. Sys have
allways been stable, though have suffered two hd failures, over a period of
about 6yrs. Sys run 24/7 - this a single install on single sys -

 

[Mike Brown - Process Manager]

Nope never had to reset, other than booting up and installing any new
drivers.
I have done a couple of clean installs, when spring cleaning. Sys have
allways been stable, though have suffered two hd failures, over a period of
about 6yrs. Sys run 24/7 - this a single install on single sys -

I would like to see this magical system that runs smoothly after 6 years (on
an OS that was released 4 years, 3 months ago through multiple hardware
swaps...

 

[DL]

The 6yrs was frm memory - i did say I had done a couple of clean installs,
not because of hardware replacement