On 12 August 2013 18:01, Peter Alefounder <p_alefounder@???> wrote:
>
> A few days ago, my monitor power supply failed (I got a new one from
> Maplin, so no problem with that, now). Electrolytic capacitors in
> the old one were bulging a bit on top. As my computer is the same
> age (I assembled it in 2002) I thought I had better examine that as
> well. One capacitor on the main board looks a bit dodgy to me.
>
at least they're not leaking out of the top, and burning with the heat and
air, like mine did on several circa 1999 boards.
> So, I am thinking of upgrading my system. I would certainly want a
> new main board, and I understand that means a new processor as well.
> The existing system is an MSI K7T266 with an AMD Athlon 1800+ CPU.
>
yes, new mainboard and processor are likely requirements, I don't believe
you can get any boards that still support the athlon 1800+.
I see no need to replace existing peripherals - monitor, mouse,
> keyboard, scanner.
>
you'll need to ensure their connectivity requirements are met - usb will be
available on all boards. your mouse might be ps/2 as might your keyboard,
and these connections are getting rare. If your keyboard and mouse are both
usb then you'll not have any issue. the scanner is likely to be usb I would
expect.
> The question is, can I re-use other, internal, bits? I would
> certainly want to retain the existing zip drive, but the floppy
> drive (which I have not used in years) is not important. The
> graphics board is a nVidia MSI G4MV460 and I have two 500KB memory
> cards. Is it worthwhile retaining those?
>
Zip drive will likely be an issue - if it's IDE (as your current
motherboard is IDE-based, then I suspect this is the case, though you might
have an internal USB connection) then you need to ensure you get a board
that has an IDE connector, same goes for the hard disc; the HDD
connectivity on the old motherboard is IDE which means unless you have a
PCI card that provides for a different tech your HDD is IDE-based also, so
you'll need to find a current board that supports IDE or buy an add-on card
which provides IDE connectivity - add-on boards are PCI-express these days
as opposed to the PCI of your current system, so if you do purchase an IDE
addon board you either need to verify that your chosen motherboard has a
PCI slot or that the add-on is designed for PCI-express. Floppies are
obsolete now and have virtually been eliminated off all new mainboards, so
you would really have to hunt to find one that's supported.
The GFX is AGP-based which means it won't work on a modern mainboard which
requires a PCI-express (PCIe) connector.
I'm not sure what you are referring to with your comment about 2x 500KB
memory cards. If you mean RAM and you mistyped MB as KB then you'll need to
replace these as the DDR standard of your old board is not compatible with
the DDR3 requirement of modern processors and mainboards.
> Should I instead be thinking of a completely new computer? If so, is
> buying one with Linux already installed a good option? I do not have
> my own internet connection, so would want the system on CD or DVD.
> Software might recognise older hardware, but I suspect old software
> might not be so good with new hardware (at the moment, I have Debian
> 4.01r). I presume I could install my existing hard drive alongside
> the new one, copy user files to the latter and remove the old system
> from the old drive, retaining that to use as a back-up.
>
with the amount of upgrading you'll need to do to replace your motherboard,
then buying a new system is certainly an option, though I prefer self-build
for desktop PCs as that way I can be sure of what I'm getting and that a
part won't be replaced with an "equivalent" from a different vendor.
> Any recommendations, opinions or warnings as to what to avoid are
> welcome.
>
> Peter Alefounder.
>
I hope this helps, and that others chip in with their views. My opinions
above are just opinions and you are well advised to talk with people
besides just me to get a "feel" for what's what :-).
--
Daniel Llewellyn
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