My 3 year old motherboard died and I want to upgrade the CPU since the operating system needs to be re-installed anyway. I'd like to install the E8400, a new 45 nm 3.0 cpu, but I'm not sure which motherboard to select. The tech. guy wasn't any help, and only said that if I buy it he will install it.
I've read plenty of reviews, but I'm still not sure which to buy because I don't want to go overboard with unnecessary features considering the labor costs. Plus, I'm not a gamer and don't need the latest gaming features.
My computer case has lots of USB's, firewires, a few drives, one video card and only 1 GB of 533 DDR2 memory installed. I'd like to be able to switch to the DDR3 memory someday, but right now it's not necessary.
Should I invest in better DDR2 memory, and how much of a FSB boost will it give me if the cpu's maximum is over 1300? What memory do I need to acheive the 1066 FSB, if memory matters.
Which motherboard can anyone recommend that is ready for a 45 nm chip out of the box with a minimum of installation issues?
Something that runs cool and efficiently, and hopefully is not much more than $200 or less. There's some under $100 that may work, and some well over $200.
The mid-range ones have lots of positives and negatives, but there are so many to choose from, it's bewildering.
What are the top 3 companies and models that people can recommend from their experience for reliability, performance and ease of installation for this new generation of CPU's?
I'll only be running XP Pro and Office, but the unit has always run slow with the older chip that I want have to faster performance and some future needs. The cpuisn't that much more expensive, but the motherboard and labor greatly add to the costs, so if I can save money on the motherboard, maybe I chould still invest in new memory if I need to, but which specific DDR2 type (if at all)?
The tech. guy is nice, but he refuses to recommend and is actually trying to have meonly put in a new motherboard for 1/2 of cost of a much better upgrade due to labor (which is about the same either way). And he plain refuses to do any research for me, and told me that if I don't want his CPU/motherboard, then to supply my own. I want to, but don't want to make a mistake in selecting the wrong items either when I could just buy a new computer and be done with it.
But the computer case was a nice, big custom job, and I still prefer the XP operating system, at least for right now.
Thanks for any help or recommendations through this maze.
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