Good Lesson Well Learned

[skou]

You need to find a mobo with AM2 compatibility, and DDR2 memory.

Something with those specs will run your video card.

Finding something that runs an AM2 socket, may be difficult, it may be wise to update the mobo as well as the CPU. Sorry, but I'm not fond of AMD, even though my father did work for them in the '80s.

It looks like, (after further research) you may have to look for something used. Newegg, my favorite place to look, has few boards that run DDR2, and less that will run that CPU.

Let me see what I can do.

steve

[dusty]

You need to find a mobo with AM2 compatibility, and DDR2 memory.

Something with those specs will run your video card.

Finding something that runs an AM2 socket, may be difficult, it may be wise to update the mobo as well as the CPU. Sorry, but I'm not fond of AMD, even though my father did work for them in the '80s.

It looks like, (after further research) you may have to look for something used. Newegg, my favorite place to look, has few boards that run DDR2, and less that will run that CPU.

Let me see what I can do.

steve

Don't spend too much time on this Steve. I may be parting out the chassis and going for a new machine. If I do, it will be a simpler machine and not a gamer. Something with good graphics and a lot of memory and hard drive.

[skou]

Don't spend too much time on this Steve. I may be parting out the chassis and going for a new machine. If I do, it will be a simpler machine and not a gamer. Something with good graphics and a lot of memory and hard drive.

I figured that.

I think you can use the memory, video cards and hard drives, in a new rig.

You game to put one together?

steve

[roy_okc]

Dusty,

Steve has been giving you excellent advice, however, I wouldn't discount the power supply being bad just yet until you can pull a load against it.

I went through similar problems about a year ago, thought it was my motherboard (also an old AMD x2 rig), similarly troubleshot and the PS came up fine. I bought a nice new Intel setup with a then-current high-end Core i5 line CPU, got it all plugged up, turned on and ... nothing. It turned out that the PS was on its last legs. I haven't tried the old board, but suspect that the board itself is still fine.

If your PS has any age to it whatsoever, I'd highly recommend buying a new PS (you shouldn't need to spend anywhere near $350 for one now). If it does turn out to be your board/CPU, you'll probably have to or at least want to have a new PS anyhow.

Roy

[dusty]

Dusty,

Steve has been giving you excellent advice, however, I wouldn't discount the power supply being bad just yet until you can pull a load against it.

I went through similar problems about a year ago, thought it was my motherboard (also an old AMD x2 rig), similarly troubleshot and the PS came up fine. I bought a nice new Intel setup with a then-current high-end Core i5 line CPU, got it all plugged up, turned on and ... nothing. It turned out that the PS was on its last legs. I haven't tried the old board, but suspect that the board itself is still fine.

If your PS has any age to it whatsoever, I'd highly recommend buying a new PS (you shouldn't need to spend anywhere near $350 for one now). If it does turn out to be your board/CPU, you'll probably have to or at least want to have a new PS anyhow.

Roy

Thanks for that feedback. The "Big Black Beast" was given to me by its original owner. It was a custom built machine and apparently it never really worked well for him. He had it long enough that there was no warranty left and he was addicted to his hobby so he bought a new computer (another custom - same builder) and I became the beneficiary.

I have nothing invested other than what I have spent to keep it running to date.

With that siad - I don't know know what I am going to do. I am running now on an old Compaq desktop that seems to be serving me quit well. The only thing I miss is the dual monitor. This video card and the motherboard do not support that luxury.

I have been given the green light to buy a new machine but I don't know what it would be. Decisions, Decisions.

[skou]

Roy, as you may have heard, about a year and a half ago, my trailer burned down,and I lost just about everything that wasn't cast iron.

One of the things I lost, was a home built (by me) Socket 775 quad-core rig.
Abit IP-35 Pro, with a Q-6600, and about 6 TB of storage.

When I got settled in the new place, I was looking at what I wanted, and I ended up getting almost the exact same rig. It works just fine for me, so I'm happy.

One of the things I got, with my tax return, last year, was a new hard drive, from Western Digital. Cost me almost $150. Didn't show up, until the day AFTER the fire, which means it survived. Took me 3 months to get that rig pieced together, and I couldn't use the drive until then. It didn't work, so I returned it to WD, and got a new one back.

I wrote some nice things on their forum, and about 2 months later, I had a UPS sticker on my door. I hadn't ordered anything, so I didn't know what the delivery was. Went to the leasing office, and there was a little package from WD there. Had a nice looking T-shirt in it.

And, a BRAND NEW 4 TB drive.

And, a card that said, thanks for the nice feedback. (What I said on their Forum, was "I got a bad drive, WD made it right, and I'm quite happy." Or, words to that effect.) You might say that I'm now a WD guy.

Sorry to ramble on, I'm in a "ramble on" mood.

Dusty, if you do get a new rig, look into a Solid-State drive, (SSD) as your primary drive.

steve

[JPG]

Get a laptop that simultaneously supports the internal screen and an external monitor.

Brain storming here.

Ohhh you will be getting w8 no doubt!:D

[skou]

Dusty, get on Youtube, and look for an instructional video on how to assemble a computer. Like I said, it's easier than dropping the motor out of a Mark series Shopsmith. (May take longer, but not as complicated.) Besides, after pulling out and re-installing your PSU, you've already done half the hard stuff.

steve

[skou]

Ohhh you will be getting w8 no doubt!:D

Not if he knows what's good for him. W7 works just fine.

W8 is too, uh, "metrosexual" IMHO.

steve

[JPG]

Not if he knows what's good for him. W7 works just fine.

W8 is too, uh, "metrosexual" IMHO.

steve

I was being sympathetic to his likely new burden.