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DarkLink68 I am planning on getting a new motherboard, cpu, and computer case.? - DarkLink68 I am salvaging my Power Supply, RAM, Hard Drive, Video Card, CD/DVD Drives, fan and heatsink. What else would i need for my new computer, other than an operating system? Should i get Vista for it or XP?
Best Answer: Depending on how old the machine is, your video card, RAM and Power Supply may have to go as well when you get the new motherboard. The type of RAM used in most of the newer, more powerful motherboards, is not physically or electronically the same as what was used on the older boards. Also, most of the new motherboards want 400 to 500 watt power supplies, and yours may not be that large. IT may also be large enough, but not have the correct power plugs for the new motherboard. Fan and heatsink will only work for you if you purchase the same type of processor. The newer duo and quad core processors will require a heatsink built to fit them, as well as a fan to match. CD and DVD drives will work with any motherboard, as long as you have the correct data connection for them. If the old drives are IDE, then you will need to have IDE connectors on the motherboard. Most of the new boards have switched to using SATA connectors, but many will have the IDE as well. The hard drive will work fine if you again have the correct connection type, IDE or SATA to mount the drive; but you may also want to add a second larger drive to load your programs and data on, and leave the older one as the system drive. This helps to protect your data and programs if the main drive fails. With a large enough secondary drive, you can keep a cloned copy of the main drive on a partition on the secondary. Then if the main drive ever fails, it is only a matter of replacing the drive and cloning the image on your backup partition onto the new drive, and you are back up and running. If the main drive is a slower model, 5400rpm, then I would buy a new large drive for the main, and use the old as a backup to clone the OS partition. Set up a partition on the new drive that is just slightly smaller than the old one, and load the OS onto this. Set the rest of the drive up as a secondary drive, to load your data and programs onto. Then when you have all up and running, clone the OS partition onto the old drive as a backup. As for OS, if this is a long term project, Vista is just now issuing the first service pack, which will go a long way in making it much more compatible with older programs and games. IF you are going to do this right away, I would favor staying with a tried and true system like Xp Pro. - Mcgoo
If u are a computer enthusiast, then I might recommend this : Mainboard = Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3P CPU = Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 RAM = OCZ Reaper HPC 2 x 1GB 1150MHz VGA = Radeon HD 4850 Sound Card = Creative SB X-Fi XtremeGamer Hardisk = Western Digital Caviar SE16 640GB Optical Drive = Samsung SHS203N PSU = Corsair TX650W 650W Case = Solid case with adequate cooling Monitor = Samsung 2253BW 22" Widescreen LCD Speaker = Logitech Z-2300 2.1 200W and finally Logitech LX710 Keyboard & Mouse For OS, doesn't matter.. both already has too many virus to handle. LOL. - redtyphoon86

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