i have a pentium 4 2.60, 512 cache, 800 fsb, 478 pin processor and two sticks of 256 ddr, 333 ram that i pulled out of a dell optiplex. what kind of motherboards will support this set up? thanks in advance.
It's a little older CPU socket, so it'll be a little harder to find one new, but something like the Abit IS7 series or Asus P4P800 are a couple that should be pretty easy to find. Also, since you have a Dell, know that---at least in the past---they have used power supplies that differ in pin-outs from regular power supplies. This makes them electrically incompatible with other motherboards, so you'll want to factor in for a new power supply. You can get a good one in the 350W range from Antec Enermax or Fortron that'll run between $30-50. Combine that with the cost of a replacement motherboard running $50-60 (or even less), you're looking at around $100. Any motherboard with the Intel i845D/PE, i865 or i875 series chipsets will support that. They're not the only chipsets available, but they are going to be ones that you're most likely to run across.
would this work? i found one for $37. i came across the cpu and ram for free and already have a case, ps, video and sound cards and a nic. just trying to build a cheap box. fry's has some maxtor 300 gb ide drives for 90 bucks so i thought i'd build a cheap file server. http://usa.asus.com/products3.aspx?l1=3&l2=12&l3=221&slname=VIA P4M800
i agree, but you would be better off with a M/B that didn't have onboard graphics because it degrades gfx performance & steals system memory, and a few people on HWF hate VIA (megamaced) plus it only has 2 usable DIMMS
ok, so i have the motherboard and everything but a psu. any recommendations in regards to watts and brand? this box will just primarily be a file server running linux with the below hardware so i'm not sure if i really need to go all out on a psu and would like to get a decent one under 50 bucks: cdrw 64mb agp video card 5.1 pci sound card 2.6 p4 cpu 2, 256mb pc2700 ram nic 300 gig sata or pata, with maybe a duplicate drive in the future. oh and i guess i'll need a cpu fan/heatsink too. do i need to find one specific to the socket type? thanks...
