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lflorenceFlag for United States of America

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How to replace a motherboard

I have a gaming PC that the motherboard was zapped.  I wanted to replace with the same motherboard, but everywhere I look is out of stock.  What do I need to know to replace a motherboard with a different motherboard (socket type, memory, etc.)?
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goldeneagle3333

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goldeneagle3333

Another thing to consider is if you will be using SATA or IDE.  Newer motherboards mostly come with SATA now.  A few will have one IDE.  Something to look for.  
What would be useful is if you listed your full specs now. That way I can help actually find a MOBO for a good price that would suit your needs or even better be ready for upgrading being a Gaming PC and all.
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I had an SLI capable motherboard, not that I used the second slot.  Does this need to match up?

Would this one....

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813121307

....work in place of this one....

http://www.xpcgear.com/p5nd.html

...?
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An issue you didn't raise is if you are expecting to reinstall the OS or would like to reuse the present installation.  If you are reusing it, what OS are you using?
Windows 7.  Would like to use the present installation if possible.
Windows XP required "tricks" to move it to new hardware and many here don't recommend it.

I have seen many comments that Windows 7 does this well, though I have not tried it.
I would save everything you need from the harddrive and reinstall.

Whats the exact issue with the old mobo is it confirmed fried?
@lflorence Even though the socket type is the same I am not sure if it would work with your current CPU. What CPU do you have?
Intel Core 2 Quad 2.4 GHZ

The old motherboard was fried through the cat 5 cable by lightning.  Took out my modem, router, and at first only my internal NIC.  After a couple of days, would just freeze up trying to boot up.  I have tested the power supply on another PC, and it works fine.  I moved the hard drive to the older machine and it works.  I have taken the kit completly apart and back together, tried booting with just about every piece of hardware uninstalled, still no luck.  I guess technically it could still be something other than the motherboard, just seems like the most likely culprit due to process of elimination.
yea fair enough.

I dont think that will work the CPU is this one only goes upto Pentium EE max.

no mention of dual core or quad
@lforence If you are saying you have that old ASUS MOBO with an Intel Core 2 Quad then I don't see why the newer Intel MOBO wouldn't work as long as the socket (LGA775) is the same everything else looks pretty identical. The Memory is same size and number except the newer mobo allows for a little bit faster DDR2, just a step up. That MOBO is definitely cheap but seems it would suit your needs for a budget gaming PC.
@Scissors85 Would it handle my CPU?  And the other thing is, I just want to make sure my video card fits.  It's an EVGA Geforce 9800 GTX+.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130376
@lforence Yes that new Mobo has 2 PCIX x16 Slots so it should fit. The 9800GTX is a large card so make sure with the other hardware you have that it will work out with placement. Perhaps you have a soundcard and may not have room on the new MOBO because of placement. Regardless, it is only PCIX x16 and your card supports PCIX 2.0 x16. So you won't be able to get the max performance of your card from that MOBO.
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