Eben King wrote:
> Well, I did it. Took apart the DVR (which is really a bog-standard
> computer with a COTS OS and a fancy video card) to replace some
> parts, and when I reassembled it, no blinkenlights. No POST. Not
> even a BIOS beep when I removed all the RAM. Just to make sure I wasn't
> asserting mobo failure unnecessarily, I disconnected all drives,
> unplugged all cards, removed all headers except for fans, and swapped
> the video card with a known good one, and got the same behavior. So I'm
> pretty sure it's a dead motherboard, brought on be inadequate antistatic
> procedures.
>
> This is really a crisis+opportunity. The DVR was needing to be upgraded
> anyhow. My main machine (this one) is largely the same (2 GHz Athlon,
> ASUS A7V333 [here] / A7V266 [there], Nvidia GeForce 4). So what I plan
> to do is move this one to there and replace this one, not necessarily in
> that order. It won't be much of an upgrade for the DVR (133 MHz memory
> bus vs 100 MHz), but hey.
>
> So what should I look for for this one? I'm thinking:
>
> 1. dual-core AMD something
> 2. HSF to go with #1
> 3. maybe PS if mine won't handle it
> 4. PATA card (if the motherboard doesn't do PATA) (until my old drives
> get upgraded)
> 5. sound card (onboard sound is usually crappy) (ALSA needs to like
> it.)
>
> Maybes:
> 6. RAM (if it's changed)
> 7. video card (DVI out)
>
> Help me shop please. I haven't looked it hardware in a couple years, so
> I'm a bit out of touch.
>
I would go for...(within budget of course)
Socket AM2 Athlon X2 (w\ 1mb L2)or Opteron DC.
NForce 5xx or 6xx north bridge
Most descent boards come with a pATA controller.
DDR2 (get 2 x 1GB vs 4x 512, etc.)
Creative X-Fi
If you have the cheese go for GForce8800 as they are DX10 compatible
(unless you don't game or plan to use vista.
Otherwise get the best 7xxx series Gforce you can afford.
The above will build you a screamer.
newegg.com is your friend :)
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