ASUS A7N8x a few general upgrade questions

[Freddie]

I am going to get an ASUS A7N8x to replace my old asus a7a266. Here are my current systerm specs:
1.4ghz t-bird
512mb (2x256mb) of pc2100 ddr ram
60gb 7200 rpm (2mb buffer) hdd
Nvidia geforce 3 (agp 4x)
16speed dvd
16x10x32 cd-rw
When i upgrade my mobo i am alsos going to upgrade a few other items:
CPU: Barton 2800+
RAM: 512mb (1x512mb) pc2700 going to upgrade to 1gb in the new year (2x512)
3d Card: Going to upgrade to a 9600xt or a 9800pro in the new year.
My OS is win me, i was going to upgrade to win xp before i do the uprade but i hear that it doean't take kindly to mobo upgeades.
My new mobo has usb 2.0 while my current one has usb 1.1. I know that win me doesn't support usb 2.0 but as long as the usb ports work (for printers ect) i don't mind. As soon as i have done the upgrade and all is working i am going to upgrade to win xp. On my tower i have usb 1.1 frontal usb ports, will i be able to hock these up to my new mobo and will they work at all, if they do work at what speed. Will i need to insert the win me cd-rom ones i have done the upgrade? Will all my mobo drivers that come with the new mobo work with me? Also, at the moment i have an ali agp driver. I assume that this is something to do with my chipset at i know that ali have something to do with my mobos chipset. But my new mobo will be nforce 2 so what should i do about the driver. Thanks for all your help. Sorry about the spelling i a quite tired

 

[mfjonny]

USB 2.0 is completely backwards compatible with 1.1 so I wouldn't worry about that.

Ditch the ME and try to find an oem version of XP.... your new rig deserves a non-crappy non-buggy OS, really its night and day. As far as hardware changes and windows xp, it only applies to making hardware changes AFTER you already setup XP. Running XP on a brand new system will have no annoying registration problems. Also, an OEM version (which is a full version, minus box) can be had for upgrade price at $140 from most retailers. Do get yourself a Win XP Pro OEM rather than an upgrade CD. Trust me, it'll make your life A LOT easier.

As far as mobo drivers are concerned, the latest Unified Driver Package from nVidia is highly recommended over the Asus ones (ignore the whole bit about Asus having/requiring differnent driver setups).

Here's a link:

http://www.nvidia.com/object/nforce_udp_winxp_3.13

That said, I do hope you are not planning on just sticking in your old hardrive with me in into the new system, right? Because that would be very bad, very very bad. A clean reformat and install would be highly highly recommended with your new rig.

Ok, enough jabber...

 

[Freddie]

I am unable to format my hdd as there are a few programmes that i no longer have (when i purchasted the pc i can with some pre-installed software that they didn't give me the disk for). So i can't format my hdd. I will only be using win me for a bit a month at the most.

I will not install xp until after i have done the upgrade so my new systerm will have to run a crap os.

 

[Sharkman]

You can go to the HDD manufacturer’s website and dl their utility program to format the drive. An example would be Maxtor's PowerMax.

Just to throw an idea out but (and not to knock Asus) have you thought about the NF7-S from Abit? It's not much more than the mobo you’re getting plus it has dual SATA connectors. It’s basically the A7N8X Deluxe but for less. Also to get the most out of your mobo you would want to try and get PC-3200 ram. The higher ram would also allow you to get a better overclock. With a better overclock you wouldn't need to buy the 2800+ and could go with a lower cpu. This should save you enough money to get the better components

 

[Freddie]

Thanks. Money isn't an option my current mobo costs £81 and i can go up to £100. I had a look in my pc mag and they said that the asus a7n8x was the best. I don't have a sata hdd and i am not currently considering getting one.

 

[ThePCGuy]

Freddie,

How old are these programs that you must save? Are they freeware? What do you use them for? Basically you might be set in your ways with Windows ME however I can assure you that you will have one of the "buggiest" microsoft operating systems to date. What I would consider is (if it is legal to do so) copying the older programs to a newer drive (unless they must be installed from a installer program), and doing as MFJonny & Sharkman said and pick yourself up a oem copy of Windows XP Professional. The features you are receiving on the A7N8X Deluxe won't be utilized by ME, you basically aren't getting your money's worth. Your comment about XP and its problems with computer upgrades is mis-interpreted, what XP doesn't take kindly to is using a hard drive with a previous OS on it and trying to install new device drivers and such. Another thing to consider, SATA is something that is a pretty standard feature nowdays, regardless if you think you may not use it at the moment, would you not consider buying a motherboard with all the same features in addition to something like a SATA controller simply for expandability for less than the cost of your current choice. Another thing to consider is a computer case, you made no mention of a new case. If you are deciding to use your old computer case (assuming here), what is the current output of your power supply. You may run into issues if you try to run your system on an older 250-300W generic PS. Just an idea. Well best of luck to you Freddie.

- ThePCGuy

 

[Freddie]

I will not be suing win me for long. I will upgrade to xp as soon as i have the cash. Will there be any problems with my new mobo and win me. I don't want super performance as i will only be using it for a bit. When i upgrade to xp all should get well. Also i have a creative soundblaster live! sound card with a midi/game port but someone said thst i will not work. Any ideas

 

[malcolmnorwood]

I tried to do waht you are proposing some time back, i.e. change the motherboard on a Win Me system. It failed to boot afterwards and I was forced into reloading. I went straight out and got Win XP pro. It works, it hardly ever crashes and it copes with gfx card swaps as though you'd just swapped the floppy drive. Wait until you can do it all together, it will be a lot less painfull!

 

[Freddie]

Thanks, but i don't want to do it all at once.