Gaming rig died - need some advice

[Flatlander]

So, my gaming rig died

Specs:
Abit Fatal1ty AN8 SLI motherboard
AMD Athlon 64 3200+
3GB DDR400 RAM
PNY NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GS 512MB
SoundBlaster Audigy 2 sound card
2 Seagate Barracuda 160GB SATA HDD in RAID 1
Sony DVDRW
Windows XP Pro

Problem started earlier this week, the trackball stopped working about 15-20 minutes after booting into Windows. I could still get around Windows using the keyboard. At first, I could reboot and the mouse would be fine again, but eventually when I tried rebooting, it hung at the POST screen. If I let the computer sit overnight, it would boot up fine the next day, but then repeat the same sequence of problems. Eventually, it got the point where it would just lock up at the POST screen and not boot at all - sometimes I could get into the BIOS setup and it would lock up there. Tried clearing CMOS, same thing. Stripped it down today to motherboard, CPU, 1 stick of RAM, video card and PSU - same thing. Cleaned and reseated everything, including CPU with new thermal grease, also tried different video card - same thing. Also checked PSU voltages, seem OK.

So, I'm fairly certain that the problem is with the motherboard (especially since the problem started with a USB device plugged into an onboard USB port).

So, my dilemma is:

1) See if I can get an identical replacement motherboard. This would be the easiest way of fixing the computer. I found two places online that still sell it (albeit one is listed as refurbished). I like this motherboard, it's worked great until now. A simple swap and I should be back up and running.

2) Use this as an opportunity to upgrade my gaming rig. However, I don't really play that many new games - I mostly play FH1 for BF1942 and FH2 for BF2, with a handful of newer stuff like HL2, Portal, etc. So, I don't think I really need to upgrade that much, and if I did, I would probably need to get at least a new CPU and RAM also, maybe also upgrade to Win 7 since I will need to reload if I replace the motherboard.

3) Trash the whole thing and get a gaming laptop instead. This would be nice for when I travel. I already have a basic laptop, but it can't really run any games. However, I would like to have something with a full-size keyboard - I'm left-handed and have a funky keyboard control layout (or I would need to drag along an external keyboard). Also doubt I could find a modern gaming laptop with a game port, so bye-bye MS Sidewinder 3D Pro (don't use it that much, but still...)

So, which option? (options 2 & 3, post some examples of what I could upgrade to if ya want).

[Krom]

Supposing you were going to build a new desktop PC, how much $$$ would you be willing to spend on it?

[Flatlander]

Supposing you were going to build a new desktop PC, how much $$$ would you be willing to spend on it?

Good question - I'm not sure. Given that I could limit it to just motherboard/CPU/RAM, probably not that much - $500?The other components that I have should work fine, and could always be upgraded later, if need be. Just looked briefly at some gaming notebooks, looks like good ones start at around $2000.

[Krom]

Yeah, don't bother with gaming notebooks (too big, too hot, too heavy, too expensive and always have to be plugged in).

$500 is pretty tight, even if you aren't asking for much (Portal is the most demanding game you listed).

To build a computer that will last, aim for the upper midrange CPUs, a decent motherboard that can handle way more RAM than you currently need and a PSU that can handle future 300+ watt video cards. Don't bother getting a slower CPU with plans to upgrade it later, hardly anyone ever does that because most of the time it requires a new motherboard by the time they get around to it or the better processors are only available used with no warranty. Looking forward it will probably be the $250-300 price range i7 800 series Intel CPUs today that are still going to be in regular service 2-3 years from now (faster & more expensive parts will be too, but the difference cannot justify the price). A quad core is a bit of a splurge today, but in 2-3 years it'll be a life saver that means you only need to drop $50 on some more memory to keep your PC running smoothly instead of $500 on a new CPU+Mobo+RAM.

Don't bother keeping those two HDDs, especially in RAID1 they are going to get thrashed by a more recent drive in everything that counts. Getting a faster single HDD in AHCI controller mode makes a world of difference in the apparent responsiveness of a system. Yes you should upgrade to Windows 7 (64 bit) but you don't have to give up on your 3dpro if you build yourself a converter following the threads here in tech.

It looks like your 7600 GS video card is PCIe, if it is then keep it for now; you will probably want a faster video card later but you can cross that bridge when you come to it. However you should throw out your existing PSU; voltage readings on a motherboard/voltage meter are worthless in judging the health of a PSU. It could easily be making nasty out of spec ripples that really require an oscilloscope to test for, but can still be fatal for attached equipment.

[captain_twinkie]

I agree with Krom on the not getting a gaming laptop, they are nice only if you are on the road a ton or if you are HUGE into Lan parties, I used to host a bunch at my house but I then realized I barely gamed at other people's house and the power intensive machine just made it a burdon more then anything even if I needed it just as a internet/MS office machine. And now that since my wife dropped my ASUS laptop I am planning on getting 2 Netbooks to replace it, mainly because of the battery life. My brother has a MSI gaming laptop that he just loves, and he is not at home a whole ton, he also has a job that he brings it to and uses it a ton, so for him having a gaming laptop was a great choice for him.

Also if it is your mobo in the machine, you may want to consider upgrading your current machine, but still getting a replacement mobo so you can either have a spare machine or a server if you really wanted.

[Flatlander]

Thanks for the input, I'm ordering a replacement motherboard since it's still available - I think this will be the quickest and least expensive way to fix my gaming withdrawals

[Blaze]

Next time just do what I do and kick it.

[Flatlander]

It lives! Moo-hoo-ha!






Finally got my replacement motherboard today. The first place I ordered it from didn't actually have it in stock, despite listing it as such. Cancelled my order and found another one on ebay. Got everything back together except the sound card and hard drives, running memtest right now.

[AceCombat]

nice tekdeck board under the monitor