Socket 478 motherboards

Andy82

Andy82

Andy82

Associate
Joined
17 Oct 2006
Posts
4
Hi all, newbie here!

My MSI MS-6728 Neo2 motherboard blew up the other day, luckily not taking anything else with it, so I was thinking about doing a full upgrade of MB, CPU and GFX card. However, bank balance has dictated I just replace the S478 board for now, maybe wait 6months for DX10 and Vista to be the norm, maybe even first DX10 cards to out, pushing prices down of non DX-10.

ANYWAY, I've got the exact same motherboard on order from a competitor whose online stock checker says they have one, though my order is not processing as normal and I have them checking it now - scared they're going to come back and say they don't actually have one in reality. Therefore I'm looking at a few on ebay, but have a few questions:

1) If a MB comes without an I/O shield, but I still have my broken board in the computer, exact same model, can I not just use that shield?

2) What is the lifespan of an average motherboard? My one that broke was just over 3 years with no history of overclocking, is this just unlucky or will all boards that age start to go? Is it worth my time buying one from ebay or do people think it's a false economy avoiding a full upgrade?

3) Does anyone know of any companies still stocking MSI S478 motherboards?! :D

Thanks!
 
1) If a MB comes without an I/O shield, but I still have my broken board in the computer, exact same model, can I not just use that shield?
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Yup, providing it isn't a new revision and they changed the layout.

2) What is the lifespan of an average motherboard? My one that broke was just over 3 years with no history of overclocking, is this just unlucky or will all boards that age start to go? Is it worth my time buying one from **** or do people think it's a false economy avoiding a full upgrade?
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It depends on build quality, how it has been used (i.e. heat, cooling/airflow), brand/quality of capicators, how sufficient the original cooling method was (i.e. nb/sb were kept cool and fan hasn't failed/heatsinks are sufficient), quality/stability of power supply. Generally a decent board that is looked after you could get 8 years or so out of it but some will last longer, some shorter, the hotter the board is run the less time it will last. If it is re-capped and kept cool they could go on and on and on and on.

3) Does anyone know of any companies still stocking MSI S478 motherboards?!
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That would be linking competitors.
 
Welcome to the forums :)

Andy82 said:
1) If a MB comes without an I/O shield, but I still have my broken board in the computer, exact same model, can I not just use that shield?
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Yes, no reason why not as long as it is the same board.

Andy82 said:
2) What is the lifespan of an average motherboard? My one that broke was just over 3 years with no history of overclocking, is this just unlucky or will all boards that age start to go? Is it worth my time buying one from [an auction site] or do people think it's a false economy avoiding a full upgrade?
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I think you were just unlucky. I've got motherboards from the Pentium II days (1998) that are still working fine. In fact, I've still got some 486 boards from the early 90s that I'm sure will still work fine. It can depend on many factors though - heat, overclocking, etc.

Andy82 said:
3) Does anyone know of any companies still stocking MSI S478 motherboards?!
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There probably are a few but unfortunately forum rules prevent us from telling you where to look. All I can really suggest is to check out auction sites.
 
Thanks guys for the replies,

Apologies about asking for other companies, though as OcUK don't sell socket 478 motherboards anymore (hardly anyone does apart from rubbish Asrock ones :mad: ) I thought it'd be OK :)

The auction site it seems unless this other company can come up trumps.

EDIT: Just had a phonecall from the other company, the one they had in stock was damaged and not saleable :mad: :mad:

So, can anyone recommend a Socket 478 motherboard still available that has 4xDIMM slots? There are plenty with 2, but I really don't want to go back to 1GB of RAM having got used to 2Gb on Oblivion!!
 
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Apologies about asking for other companies, though as OcUK don't sell socket 478 motherboards anymore (hardly anyone does apart from ****** Asrock ones)
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Trouble is that places likely to sell 478 motherboards are also likely to sell other gear that OCUK sells, making them a competitor, in that spirit the auction site you mentioned is also a competitor (there are a lot of different sellers there) and I'd refrain from mentioning them.

So, can anyone recommend a Socket 478 motherboard still available that has 4xDIMM slots? There are plenty with 2, but I really don't want to go back to 1GB of RAM having got used to 2Gb on Oblivion!!
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Your best bet is probably second hand but those Asrock boards are usually ok providing you either don't want to overclock or are happy with a mild one/modding the board but you might poss still be able to get hold of new Asus boards if you look really hard.
 
Andy82:

I would suggest looking at the Asus P4P800 E Deluxe (Intel 865PE), you will be able to pick this up on the already named auction site I would imagine. :)
 
Thanks for all the advice guys, found an MSI 865g neo2 pls ms-6728 for a reasonable price, this should be OK shouldn't it? I realised after purchase that my blown MB was a MSI 865PE - sorry for the noob question but was does the G/PE stand for and will a PE -> G change make a difference?

Also, how difficult is a motherboard changeover? I'd say I know a reasonable amount about computing as someone who has used them for most of his life, but I've never done anything more than fit more RAM and a CD-RW (with help), so I think the best course is get a pro to change the MBs over?

Apologies about the various rule infractions as well! I'm learning! And thanks for all the quick replies!
 
Afaik 865G is same as the PE just with integrated graphics.

Replacing a motherboard is like building a whole new system, you'll have to take yours apart and refit CPU / replace heatsink and thermal paste, pull out all the connectors, take out hard drives (if they are in the way), graphics card, sound card, RAM etc
 
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