Question concerning which motherboard to purchase

I have a Gateway machine which is a P4, 1.8 GB processor and the
motherboard seems to be failing. I want to purchase a new one from
tigerdirect, etc. but not sure how to make sure the form factor will
work with the processor, memory, etc.

Is there an easy way to look up what motherboard is in my computer and
find out which one I would need to purchase which would be a good fit
for my form factor.

Excuse the ignorance, I am relatively new to hardware. Any good lookup
sites or information would be very helpful. Thanks!

JJ

On 5 Nov 2004 06:03:29 -0800,
(Jimmy Jim) wrote:

I have a Gateway machine which is a P4, 1.8 GB processor and the
motherboard seems to be failing. I want to purchase a new one from
tigerdirect, etc. but not sure how to make sure the form factor will
work with the processor, memory, etc.

I would avoid Tiger Direct, too often they overhype
low-quality parts and have questionable business practices,
complaints to BBB and other customer review 'sites are
numerous. Someplace like http://www.newegg.com might be a
better place to start and also provides better pictures than
most.


Is there an easy way to look up what motherboard is in my computer and
find out which one I would need to purchase which would be a good fit
for my form factor.

You could try Gateway's website or the documentation that
came with the system.

Generally speaking Gateway used standard form-factors, the
size of the case itself should give a good clue as to what's
inside. By looking at the back of the case the number of
parallel slot covers should indicate if it's full ATX (6 or
more slots) or mATX (fewer slots). Of course opening
system and taking board height (height relative to board
mounted in tower case standing up) and width, regular ATX
being taller (12") than mATX. If your case is a unique,
proprietary low-profile (very small) then there may be no
replacement available from anywhere but Gateway.

Otherwise there was another potential issue, whether the GW
case has rear port holes (PS2, Parallel, sound, etc) stamped
out of the metal case wall, OR if it uses a removable I/O
shield. If it doesn't have a removable I/O plate then your
choices for a replacement motherboard are more limited.

Companies like Gateway usually use PROPRIETARY custom designed parts,
including motherboards, in their computers. That means that the standard
motherboards that are available out there will NOT fit the Gateway case.
You are unfortunately stuck with Gateway parts.

--
DaveW



"Jimmy Jim" wrote in message
om...
I have a Gateway machine which is a P4, 1.8 GB processor and the
motherboard seems to be failing. I want to purchase a new one from
tigerdirect, etc. but not sure how to make sure the form factor will
work with the processor, memory, etc.

Is there an easy way to look up what motherboard is in my computer and
find out which one I would need to purchase which would be a good fit
for my form factor.

Excuse the ignorance, I am relatively new to hardware. Any good lookup
sites or information would be very helpful. Thanks!

JJ

On Sat, 06 Nov 2004 00:11:09 GMT, "DaveW"
wrote:

Companies like Gateway usually use PROPRIETARY custom designed parts,
including motherboards, in their computers. That means that the standard
motherboards that are available out there will NOT fit the Gateway case.
You are unfortunately stuck with Gateway parts.

No they don't. The majority of Gateway boards over the last
DECADE have been OEM Intel boards.

I would avoid Tiger Direct, too often they overhype
low-quality parts and have questionable business practices,
complaints to BBB and other customer review 'sites are
numerous. Someplace like http://www.newegg.com might be a
better place to start and also provides better pictures than
most.

I echo this poster's response to Tiger Direct. Sleeze is more the
description I would give to them.
Start by checking the dimensions on your current board.

--
Jan Alter

or

"kony" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 06 Nov 2004 00:11:09 GMT, "DaveW"
wrote:

Companies like Gateway usually use PROPRIETARY custom designed parts,
including motherboards, in their computers. That means that the standard
motherboards that are available out there will NOT fit the Gateway case.
You are unfortunately stuck with Gateway parts.

No they don't. The majority of Gateway boards over the last
DECADE have been OEM Intel boards.

Don't buy anything from TigerDirect!!

I have a Gateway machine which is a P4, 1.8 GB processor and the
motherboard seems to be failing. I want to purchase a new one from
tigerdirect, etc. but not sure how to make sure the form factor will
work with the processor, memory, etc.

Guys,
Thanks for the heads up about tigerdirect! I will try the new egg
site, how is their customer service? More often than not, I am on the
phone when I order parts, so I want to use a company that can work
well with me over the phone.

Great info on the motherboard, I am a programmer and have limited
knowledge of hardware. Put together a few computers, but nothing
intense. So your responses were very helpful, I will try and determine
what kind of board by the dimensions.

If I call new egg, will they be able to direct me to the right
motherboard for it? It is a small case but I love the setup, where
everything is located, and it is really light. Perfect for a media
center PC which is what I am trying to build it as.

Anyway, thanks again!!!

JJ

(YanquiDawg) wrote in message ...
Don't buy anything from TigerDirect!!

I have a Gateway machine which is a P4, 1.8 GB processor and the
motherboard seems to be failing. I want to purchase a new one from
tigerdirect, etc. but not sure how to make sure the form factor will
work with the processor, memory, etc.

On 8 Nov 2004 05:02:44 -0800,
(Jimmy Jim) wrote:

Guys,
Thanks for the heads up about tigerdirect! I will try the new egg
site, how is their customer service? More often than not, I am on the
phone when I order parts, so I want to use a company that can work
well with me over the phone.

Most companies discourage phone orders. it's not that you
CAN'T do so, but CSR & sales for most places do not have the
technical knowledge to be of assistance, they just take
orders, RMAs, etc... irregardless of what the particular
product is.


Great info on the motherboard, I am a programmer and have limited
knowledge of hardware. Put together a few computers, but nothing
intense. So your responses were very helpful, I will try and determine
what kind of board by the dimensions.

Looking at the rear of the case, or if you took a good
picture of it and linked to it, would provide almost all
that's needed to determine compatible motherboard(s). There
might be other issues if you were significantly upgrading,
for example what capacity the power supply and cooling is,
but for a simple motherboard replacement for reusing same
(other) parts it shouldn' tbe too difficult.



If I call new egg, will they be able to direct me to the right
motherboard for it? It is a small case but I love the setup, where
everything is located, and it is really light. Perfect for a media
center PC which is what I am trying to build it as.

I doubt they'll be very helpful with determining a suitable
replacement unless you already know the criteria needed for
that replacement. If you asked them "Is an MS-6380 a
micro-ATX?", they could probably tell you, but if you asked
them "does an MS-6380 have a rear port arrangement
compatible with a Gatway G450?", they'd probably have no
idea and guess, maybe correctly or maybe not. Qualified &
experienced technicians generally don't do the entry level
sales positions, rather it's the other way around, some
entry-level salespeople may eventually become experienced
enough to be useful technicians and no longer do sales.
Thats' not to knock salespeople, just that these are
different skills, selling parts does not equate to knowledge
of aging OEM boxes.

Newegg has been great with service. There are always people who complain no
matter what,but generally I won't buy from anyone else(unless it' a fantastic
deal). I don't know how good or bad their telephone sales stck up.Never use it.

Guys,
Thanks for the heads up about tigerdirect! I will try the new egg
site, how is their customer service? More often than not, I am on the
phone when I order parts, so I want to use a company that can work
well with me over the phone.

kony wrote in message . ..
On 8 Nov 2004 05:02:44 -0800,
(Jimmy Jim) wrote:

Guys,
Thanks for the heads up about tigerdirect! I will try the new egg
site, how is their customer service? More often than not, I am on the
phone when I order parts, so I want to use a company that can work
well with me over the phone.

Most companies discourage phone orders. it's not that you
CAN'T do so, but CSR & sales for most places do not have the
technical knowledge to be of assistance, they just take
orders, RMAs, etc... irregardless of what the particular
product is.


Great info on the motherboard, I am a programmer and have limited
knowledge of hardware. Put together a few computers, but nothing
intense. So your responses were very helpful, I will try and determine
what kind of board by the dimensions.

Looking at the rear of the case, or if you took a good
picture of it and linked to it, would provide almost all
that's needed to determine compatible motherboard(s). There
might be other issues if you were significantly upgrading,
for example what capacity the power supply and cooling is,
but for a simple motherboard replacement for reusing same
(other) parts it shouldn' tbe too difficult.



If I call new egg, will they be able to direct me to the right
motherboard for it? It is a small case but I love the setup, where
everything is located, and it is really light. Perfect for a media
center PC which is what I am trying to build it as.

I doubt they'll be very helpful with determining a suitable
replacement unless you already know the criteria needed for
that replacement. If you asked them "Is an MS-6380 a
micro-ATX?", they could probably tell you, but if you asked
them "does an MS-6380 have a rear port arrangement
compatible with a Gatway G450?", they'd probably have no
idea and guess, maybe correctly or maybe not. Qualified &
experienced technicians generally don't do the entry level
sales positions, rather it's the other way around, some
entry-level salespeople may eventually become experienced
enough to be useful technicians and no longer do sales.
Thats' not to knock salespeople, just that these are
different skills, selling parts does not equate to knowledge
of aging OEM boxes.

kony,
Excellent stuff. So if I posted a pic of the back of the machine (it
does have two USB 1 ports on the front) a person could basically tell
what kind of motherboard to use? If so, I can post it tonite.

Sounds like other than that, my best bet is to call Gateway for a
replacement. I don't think the phone support would be as knowledgeable
as what I need in this situation.

But I will try out newegg vs. tigerdirect. Good info to know. Thanks
everyone,

JJ