Upgrade motherboard in G6-200?

I have a Gateway G6-200 tower with Intel VS440FX motherboard and the
Pentium II Overdrive chip (replacing the original Pentium Pro).

I would like to run Windows XP Pro (now running Win98SE) and upgrade to
a Pentium IV. I want to keep the existing G6-200 tower case and disks,
but replace the motherboard with something newer.

1. Is my current board an ATX form factor motherboard?

2. Can I simply buy any P4 ATX board and it will easily fit in the
G6-200 tower case?
2a. Will the existing connectors to the front panel and power supply
work with the new board?
2b. Will the mounting holes all line up with the case?
2c. In other words, is it a straightforward swap out the old, swap in
the new and everything lines up?

3. Can you recommend a good brand of motherboard to buy?
3a. Can you recommend a reputable place to buy it? (online is fine)
3b. Do you know of a particular model that would work in my case?

Thanks very much. I appreciate any help you can provide.
Ted.

More detailed answer, below. You need a lot more than just a board - you
will need a new power supply, all new RAM, and you'll want at least a new
video card. It would be a shame to saddle a new system board with an old,
slow hard drive, CD-ROM, etc. In short, it's time for a new system.
There's nothing except perhaps the floppy drive, keyboard and mouse in the
present system that are useable in a new system.


1. Is my current board an ATX form factor motherboard?

It is an early ATX board.


2. Can I simply buy any P4 ATX board and it will easily fit in the
G6-200 tower case?

With some modification, yes. You'll need a new power supply - 200W is not
sufficient
for a P4, and many boards require an ATX12V connector. Further, you will
want more case cooling than you now have.


2a. Will the existing connectors to the front panel and power supply
work with the new board?

PS, no. Case, likely (this predates Gateway's single-block connector).

2b. Will the mounting holes all line up with the case?
2c. In other words, is it a straightforward swap out the old, swap in
the new and everything lines up?

Likely not, as far as the I/O shield goes.


3. Can you recommend a good brand of motherboard to buy?

ASUS or Microstar.

3a. Can you recommend a reputable place to buy it? (online is fine)

www.newegg.com, www.mwave.com

3b. Do you know of a particular model that would work in my case?

If you're going to build a system of your own, it's not worth saving
anything from the current system, the components of which are all several
years old. Go for either a new system, or the parts to build one - case,
mainboard, power supply, fans, RAM, CPU, hard drive, CD-RW drive (or DVD-RW
drive), etc.

This link should help answer some questions:
http://www.intel.com/support/motherb...sktop/VS440FX/

www.newegg.com and www.zipzoomfly.com (formerly Googlewear) are two good web
sources.

I've got one of these in the other room too! Still a Pentium Pro though.

"Ted" wrote in message
...
I have a Gateway G6-200 tower with Intel VS440FX motherboard and the
Pentium II Overdrive chip (replacing the original Pentium Pro).

I would like to run Windows XP Pro (now running Win98SE) and upgrade to
a Pentium IV. I want to keep the existing G6-200 tower case and disks,
but replace the motherboard with something newer.

1. Is my current board an ATX form factor motherboard?

2. Can I simply buy any P4 ATX board and it will easily fit in the
G6-200 tower case?
2a. Will the existing connectors to the front panel and power supply
work with the new board?
2b. Will the mounting holes all line up with the case?
2c. In other words, is it a straightforward swap out the old, swap in
the new and everything lines up?

3. Can you recommend a good brand of motherboard to buy?
3a. Can you recommend a reputable place to buy it? (online is fine)
3b. Do you know of a particular model that would work in my case?

Thanks very much. I appreciate any help you can provide.
Ted.

Documents indicate the board is an ATX form factor. You'll need to upgrade
the power supply too. There is a 145 watt Astec in mine.

Now you've got me thinking... Geez, do I need another project?

2a. Will the existing connectors to the front panel and power supply
work with the new board?

If your keyboard connector is a double row single row connector, it will
plug into Gateway's Essex P4 motherboard. It's an Intel D845GRG OEM board
made for Gateway. I did the swap on a G6-400.

2b. Will the mounting holes all line up with the case?

I also put the old G6-400 motherboard into a G6-200 case. It was a one for
one swap. The Gateway P4 board I put in was Micro ATX and I was able to use
all but one mount.

Your I/O shell won't fit because of the new lan connectors on the board.
The old shell is pop rivited in place and can be nibbled out to accomodate
the new I/O scheme. I put in a 300 watt P4 power supply. You might get
away using a 200w G6 supply, but they don't have the special P4 connector
you need. There are adapters for the older supplies. Gateway has had
issues with underpowered P4's, so you really need a larger supply. And you
may have to custom fit it as well.

2c. In other words, is it a straightforward swap out the old, swap in
the new and everything lines up?

I have about $400 tied up in a G6-400 case running a 2.8 P4 with 512 mb of
ram. Just found this on pricewatch.com :

$483
Pentium 4 2.8GHz Windows XP CD & COA
ATX, Socket A, CDROM, FDD, 20GB HDD, Sound, AGP
Video 1 Yr warr , Spkr, KB & 2 btn Mouse,
512MB Ram

Pentium 4 and Socket A? Interesting combination. Gotta watch those folks who
sell thru Pricewatch! Watch for their shipping charges and clever but costly
add-on charges, too... Ben Myers

On Sat, 18 Oct 2003 22:53:45 -0400, "Dave" wrote:

2a. Will the existing connectors to the front panel and power supply
work with the new board?

If your keyboard connector is a double row single row connector, it will
plug into Gateway's Essex P4 motherboard. It's an Intel D845GRG OEM board
made for Gateway. I did the swap on a G6-400.

2b. Will the mounting holes all line up with the case?

I also put the old G6-400 motherboard into a G6-200 case. It was a one for
one swap. The Gateway P4 board I put in was Micro ATX and I was able to use
all but one mount.

Your I/O shell won't fit because of the new lan connectors on the board.
The old shell is pop rivited in place and can be nibbled out to accomodate
the new I/O scheme. I put in a 300 watt P4 power supply. You might get
away using a 200w G6 supply, but they don't have the special P4 connector
you need. There are adapters for the older supplies. Gateway has had
issues with underpowered P4's, so you really need a larger supply. And you
may have to custom fit it as well.

2c. In other words, is it a straightforward swap out the old, swap in
the new and everything lines up?

I have about $400 tied up in a G6-400 case running a 2.8 P4 with 512 mb of
ram. Just found this on pricewatch.com :

$483
Pentium 4 2.8GHz Windows XP CD & COA
ATX, Socket A, CDROM, FDD, 20GB HDD, Sound, AGP
Video 1 Yr warr , Spkr, KB & 2 btn Mouse,
512MB Ram

Thanks, Edward, for your advice.

I think I'll just keep the G6-200 as-is, and look into building a new
box. Can you recommend a good case manufacturer?

Thanks,
Ted.

Edward J. Neth wrote:
More detailed answer, below. You need a lot more than just a board - you
will need a new power supply, all new RAM, and you'll want at least a new
video card. It would be a shame to saddle a new system board with an old,
slow hard drive, CD-ROM, etc. In short, it's time for a new system.
There's nothing except perhaps the floppy drive, keyboard and mouse in the
present system that are useable in a new system.



1. Is my current board an ATX form factor motherboard?


It is an early ATX board.


2. Can I simply buy any P4 ATX board and it will easily fit in the
G6-200 tower case?


With some modification, yes. You'll need a new power supply - 200W is not
sufficient
for a P4, and many boards require an ATX12V connector. Further, you will
want more case cooling than you now have.



2a. Will the existing connectors to the front panel and power supply
work with the new board?


PS, no. Case, likely (this predates Gateway's single-block connector).


2b. Will the mounting holes all line up with the case?
2c. In other words, is it a straightforward swap out the old, swap in
the new and everything lines up?


Likely not, as far as the I/O shield goes.


3. Can you recommend a good brand of motherboard to buy?


ASUS or Microstar.


3a. Can you recommend a reputable place to buy it? (online is fine)


www.newegg.com, www.mwave.com


3b. Do you know of a particular model that would work in my case?


If you're going to build a system of your own, it's not worth saving
anything from the current system, the components of which are all several
years old. Go for either a new system, or the parts to build one - case,
mainboard, power supply, fans, RAM, CPU, hard drive, CD-RW drive (or DVD-RW
drive), etc.

Thanks for the info.

Regards,
Ted.

PC Gladiator wrote:
Documents indicate the board is an ATX form factor. You'll need to upgrade
the power supply too. There is a 145 watt Astec in mine.

Now you've got me thinking... Geez, do I need another project?

Dave, thanks for the insight.

Regards,
Ted.

Dave wrote:
2a. Will the existing connectors to the front panel and power supply
work with the new board?


If your keyboard connector is a double row single row connector, it will
plug into Gateway's Essex P4 motherboard. It's an Intel D845GRG OEM board
made for Gateway. I did the swap on a G6-400.


2b. Will the mounting holes all line up with the case?


I also put the old G6-400 motherboard into a G6-200 case. It was a one for
one swap. The Gateway P4 board I put in was Micro ATX and I was able to use
all but one mount.

Your I/O shell won't fit because of the new lan connectors on the board.
The old shell is pop rivited in place and can be nibbled out to accomodate
the new I/O scheme. I put in a 300 watt P4 power supply. You might get
away using a 200w G6 supply, but they don't have the special P4 connector
you need. There are adapters for the older supplies. Gateway has had
issues with underpowered P4's, so you really need a larger supply. And you
may have to custom fit it as well.


2c. In other words, is it a straightforward swap out the old, swap in
the new and everything lines up?


I have about $400 tied up in a G6-400 case running a 2.8 P4 with 512 mb of
ram. Just found this on pricewatch.com :

$483
Pentium 4 2.8GHz Windows XP CD & COA
ATX, Socket A, CDROM, FDD, 20GB HDD, Sound, AGP
Video 1 Yr warr , Spkr, KB & 2 btn Mouse,
512MB Ram

There are many good ones - Chieftec (also known as Antec and Chenming) make
good steel cases, with some aluminum versions.

Lian-Li makes excellent, if expensive, aluminum cases that are very well
engineered.

Your best bet is to browse through an online store like newegg.com,
mwave.com or directron.com to see if you can find something appealing -
there are thousands of choices out there.



"Ted" wrote in message
...
Thanks, Edward, for your advice.

I think I'll just keep the G6-200 as-is, and look into building a new
box. Can you recommend a good case manufacturer?