Need some help.

[Ringel05]

My wife's HP media center computer just died, looks like the chipset and/or motherboard went bye, bye. I don't have a lot of money to spend so I'm gonna reuse most of whats in the computer. Specifically I'm looking for a good motherboard that supports DDR2 PG2-4200 memory sticks. Any info along this line will be very helpful. Thanks!

 

[Dis]

My wife's HP media center computer just died, looks like the chipset and/or motherboard went bye, bye. I don't have a lot of money to spend so I'm gonna reuse most of whats in the computer. Specifically I'm looking for a good motherboard that supports DDR2 PG2-4200 memory sticks. Any info along this line will be very helpful. Thanks!

Try Provantage.com - they're pretty reasonable on pricing, and ship fast. That's where I get most of my geek bits.

 

[Ringel05]

My wife's HP media center computer just died, looks like the chipset and/or motherboard went bye, bye. I don't have a lot of money to spend so I'm gonna reuse most of whats in the computer. Specifically I'm looking for a good motherboard that supports DDR2 PG2-4200 memory sticks. Any info along this line will be very helpful. Thanks!

Try Provantage.com - they're pretty reasonable on pricing, and ship fast. That's where I get most of my geek bits.

The issue is, I'm not sure which motherboard to get. When I do a search I get DDr2 listings like: DDR2 400, 600, 800, 1200, etc but nothing that specifically says PC2-4200.

 

[Sallow]

My wife's HP media center computer just died, looks like the chipset and/or motherboard went bye, bye. I don't have a lot of money to spend so I'm gonna reuse most of whats in the computer. Specifically I'm looking for a good motherboard that supports DDR2 PG2-4200 memory sticks. Any info along this line will be very helpful. Thanks!

Try Provantage.com - they're pretty reasonable on pricing, and ship fast. That's where I get most of my geek bits.

The issue is, I'm not sure which motherboard to get. When I do a search I get DDr2 listings like: DDR2 400, 600, 800, 1200, etc but nothing that specifically says PC2-4200.

I think if you are populating a board that supports DDR2..it should be fine.

 

[Sallow]

This might help..

DDR SDRAM - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[uscitizen]

Are you sure it is not the power supply? I am working on an HP slimline desktop for my sister and it is the power supply.

 

[Sallow]

Are you sure it is not the power supply? I am working on an HP slimline desktop for my sister and it is the power supply.

Good point.

 

[uscitizen]

It would not happen to be a 3120 model would it? They are notorious for bad power supplies.

A link for testing pc ATX style power supplies:

http://pcsupport.about.com/od/toolsofthetrade/ht/power-supply-test-multimeter.htm

 

[Ringel05]

It would not happen to be a 3120 model would it? They are notorious for bad power supplies.

A link for testing pc ATX style power supplies:

PSU Test - How to Manually Test a Power Supply With a Multimeter - Test PSU

No it's the m7760n. The power supply is good, did all the recommended testing on it and the computer still won't power up. Checked it without the power strip in different outlets and still have the same results. Over the last few months been having a problem with the case fan running on high almost constantly, replaced it but no change there either which leads me to believe the problem is in the chipset. I could replace the HP motherboard and chipset but for the same money I can upgrade with new case, AMD motherboard and Phenom II chipset with hyperthreading. The HP came with a 350W power supply but I have an extra 400W laying around not being used.

 

[Ringel05]

Here's what I found at NewEgg:

Rosewill R218-P-BK Black SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Item #: N82E16811147073
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

$29.99

ASRock K10N78D AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA nForce 720D ATX AMD Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813157210
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

$49.99

AMD Athlon II X3 440 Rana 3.0GHz Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Desktop Processor ADX440WFGIBOX
Item #: N82E16819103843
Return Policy: CPU Replacement Only Return Policy

$75.99

 

[Ropey]

My wife's HP media center computer just died, looks like the chipset and/or motherboard went bye, bye. I don't have a lot of money to spend so I'm gonna reuse most of whats in the computer. Specifically I'm looking for a good motherboard that supports DDR2 PG2-4200 memory sticks. Any info along this line will be very helpful. Thanks!

Try Provantage.com - they're pretty reasonable on pricing, and ship fast. That's where I get most of my geek bits.

The issue is, I'm not sure which motherboard to get. When I do a search I get DDr2 listings like: DDR2 400, 600, 800, 1200, etc but nothing that specifically says PC2-4200.

• PC2-3200 = DDR2 400Mhz
• PC2-4200 = DDR2 533Mhz
• PC2-5400 = DDR2 667Mhz
• PC2-6400 = DDR2 800Mhz
• PC2-9600 = DDR2 1200Mhz

If you are going with AMD, then the memory ratios will work for your 533Mhz memory regardless.

You will only be held back with overclocking.

 

[Ringel05]

Thanks Ropey, that's what I was looking for.
Now my current issue is stripping the HP without having to use a crow bar and sledge hammer. They build these thing to be difficult to work on and I think they do it on purpose.
I only hope when I put the build together and add her existing HDs the RAID configuration will be recognized.
I backed up her HD about a month ago onto DVDs so the info's saved but her OS is Pista (Vista) and we don't have an installation disc so if the RAID is not recognized and I have to reformat............
The other option is to reformat, load Win 7 and see if I can pull the stored info off the backup discs but I would prefer to go with a 64 bit Win 7 and her Pista was 32 bit.

 

[Sallow]

Try Provantage.com - they're pretty reasonable on pricing, and ship fast. That's where I get most of my geek bits.

The issue is, I'm not sure which motherboard to get. When I do a search I get DDr2 listings like: DDR2 400, 600, 800, 1200, etc but nothing that specifically says PC2-4200.

• PC2-3200 = DDR2 400Mhz
• PC2-4200 = DDR2 533Mhz
• PC2-5400 = DDR2 667Mhz
• PC2-6400 = DDR2 800Mhz
• PC2-9600 = DDR2 1200Mhz

If you are going with AMD, then the memory ratios will work for your 533Mhz memory regardless.

You will only be held back with overclocking.

This deals with using them to the maximum efficiency, no? DDR2 cards should be able to work with all those motherboards...regardless..you just don't get the best bang for the buck.

 

[Ropey]

Thanks Ropey, that's what I was looking for.
Now my current issue is stripping the HP without having to use a crow bar and sledge hammer. They build these thing to be difficult to work on and I think they do it on purpose.
I only hope when I put the build together and add her existing HDs the RAID configuration will be recognized.
I backed up her HD about a month ago onto DVDs so the info's saved but her OS is Pista (Vista) and we don't have an installation disc so if the RAID is not recognized and I have to reformat............
The other option is to reformat, load Win 7 and see if I can pull the stored info off the backup discs but I would prefer to go with a 64 bit Win 7 and her Pista was 32 bit.

I would go with 7. Vista is dog slow and never should have been created. It was a placeholder for a good OS as Me was for XP, Vista is for Win 7.

An OEM key is good for either x86 or x64.

I'm a bit confused. You are moving from Intel Core 2 to AMD? m7760n = Intel Core 2.

 

[Ringel05]

Thanks Ropey, that's what I was looking for.
Now my current issue is stripping the HP without having to use a crow bar and sledge hammer. They build these thing to be difficult to work on and I think they do it on purpose.
I only hope when I put the build together and add her existing HDs the RAID configuration will be recognized.
I backed up her HD about a month ago onto DVDs so the info's saved but her OS is Pista (Vista) and we don't have an installation disc so if the RAID is not recognized and I have to reformat............
The other option is to reformat, load Win 7 and see if I can pull the stored info off the backup discs but I would prefer to go with a 64 bit Win 7 and her Pista was 32 bit.

I would go with 7. Vista is dog slow and never should have been created. It was a placeholder for a good OS as Me was for XP, Vista is for Win 7.

An OEM key is good for either x86 or x64.

I'm a bit confused. You are moving from Intel Core 2 to AMD? m7760n = Intel Core 2.

Yep. Here's the specs for the one that just died.

HP Media Center m7760n
Processor, Operating System and Memory
Processor
Intel® CoreTM 2 Duo Processor E6400 Intel® ViivTM Technology
• 2.13GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 1066MHz Front Side Bus
Operating system installed
Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Premium
Standard memory
2048MB PC2-4200 memory(2x1024MB for ultimate performance) (expandable up to 4GB)
Memory type
DDR2-SDRAM
Memory slots
4 DIMM (240-pin, DDR2) (two available)
Internal drives
Internal hard disk drive
500GB SATA hard drive (2 x 250GB)
Hard disk drive speed
(7200 rpm)
Optical drive type
SuperMulti DVD Burner
Optical drive speed
16x DVDR, 8x DVD+RW, 6x DVD-RW, 8x DVD+R DL, 4x DVD-R DL, 5x DVD-RAM, 16x DVD-ROM, 40x CDR, 32x CDRW, 40x CD-ROM
System features
Memory card device
15in1 memory card reader
Modem
56k modem
Network interface
Ethernet 10/100BT integrated network interface
Video adapter
Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 950
Video RAM
32MB dedicated graphics memory. memory. Up to 224MB Total Available Graphics Memory as allocated by Windows Vista™
Compatible interactive TV services
NTSC TV tuner and over-the-air ATSC high-definition television tuner
Keyboard
HP wireless keyboard with extended range (up to 16 feet)
External drive bays
2 external optical drive bays, 1 internal HDD bay, 1 external HDD bay
External I/O ports
6 USB 2.0 ports (2 in front); 2 FireWire®-IEEE-1394 ports (1 in front)
Expansion slots
3 PCI slots (occupied) 1 PCI Express x16 Slot(z) (available)

 

[Jeremy]

Is it plugged in?

Sorry, if it doesn't have anything to do with Excel, Microsoft SharePoints, or EXTRA! X-treme 9.0 SP1 Mainframes I'm clueless.

 

[Ropey]

Keep the CPU. Buy a motherboard that is core 2 (LGA 775) compatible and that will be all you need. You have a good chance of migrating a RAID array with the Intel = Intel / Amd = Amd migration.

Your CPU and cooler will transition to the other board and saves you the CPU purchase.

I doubt you will gain your array back with a different system architecture and I wouldn't go that route.

Your CPU is 533 X 2 = 1066Mhz FSB
Your memory is 533 = 1066 (DDR2)

This is a good board for your CPU:

P5KPL-CM

ASUSTeK Computer Inc. - Motherboards - ASUS P5KPL-CM

Newegg.com - Open Box: ASUS P5G41T-M/CSM LGA 775 Intel G41 HDMI Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

It contains the same G41 chipset as your previous motherboard

No RAID though. With onboard video mATX boards RAID usually comes with OEM special order.

 

[Sallow]

Is it plugged in?

Sorry, if it doesn't have anything to do with Excel, Microsoft SharePoints, or EXTRA! X-treme 9.0 SP1 Mainframes I'm clueless.

What about Tandem and Blades?

 

[Jeremy]

Is it plugged in?

Sorry, if it doesn't have anything to do with Excel, Microsoft SharePoints, or EXTRA! X-treme 9.0 SP1 Mainframes I'm clueless.

What about Tandem and Blades?

The KBH-3 is good for penetration but if your looking for mobility the KBH02 is very versatile.

Sorry for the derailment Ringel, please continue.

 

[Ropey]

The issue is, I'm not sure which motherboard to get. When I do a search I get DDr2 listings like: DDR2 400, 600, 800, 1200, etc but nothing that specifically says PC2-4200.

• PC2-3200 = DDR2 400Mhz
• PC2-4200 = DDR2 533Mhz
• PC2-5400 = DDR2 667Mhz
• PC2-6400 = DDR2 800Mhz
• PC2-9600 = DDR2 1200Mhz

If you are going with AMD, then the memory ratios will work for your 533Mhz memory regardless.

You will only be held back with overclocking.

This deals with using them to the maximum efficiency, no? DDR2 cards should be able to work with all those motherboards...regardless..you just don't get the best bang for the buck.

DDR2 is pretty much backwards compatible to speeds. But there are many companies who exceed the standards in order to create high end overclocking memory, and as such have different abilities, often not working compatibly with the standard OEM boards.

And that's not taking into consideration the higher DRAM voltages that OEM boards BIOS's can not modify and which higher end DDR2 memory very often demanded.

As well, with higher FSB processors of the Intel variety the memory must rise to meet the CPU <--> Memory Controller <--> Memory

1066Mhz FSB Intel Processors need a minimum of 533 * 2 (DDR) = 1066Mhz speed
1333Mhz FSB Intel Processors need a minimum of 667 * 2 (DDR) = 1333Mhz speed
1600Mhz FSB Intel Processors need a mimimum of 800 * 2 (DDR) = 1600Mhz speed

With DDR2 of course.

So there is a minimum speed. For example. The 533Mhz memory will not work with a 333Mhz Intel CPU unless the memory can be overclocked to 667Mhz, etc.