Replacing a motherboard is the biggest thing you can do with a computer. Because everything else is dependent upon it.

The first thing to keep in mind is you cannot put just any processor into any motherboard. Make sure you are buying a processor that will work in the board you buy.

Also, make sure the board is the right form factor for your computer case. Unless you also want to buy a new case while you are at it. If you do, it will be the cheapest of all three.

Likewise, make sure your new motherboard will have the right type and number of connectors for your devices. Especially the right kind of slots for your RAM. But also video card, hard drives, optical drive, etc...

Yes, Sub Rosa offers very good advice Renee. To reinforce what she already stated, be sure you get a mobo (motherboard) that matches the cpu you get (mobos come made for either Intel or AMD processors, so make sure your CPU matches your mobo). Also pay attention to what kind of RAM a potential new mobo accepts (newer ones are probably going to be made to take DDR5, but you might consider getting a board that takes DDR4. Might be cheaper).

(LINK)An informative recent video on Google Chrome(LINK) and derivative browsers and add blocking. Thankfully, my browsers (Brave and Firefox) are largely immune to Google's latest/upcoming changes. Well, except that pretty much all search engines nowadays reply on Google algorithms, a topic the video doesn't address.

Thanks for that link, Decrepit. I shall save it for future reference


I don't use FF anymore on my computer ever since it started to act up and freeze everything with no idea why and no fix available. Might have to try Brave at some point, how would you say it works for someone coming from Chrome?

This post has been edited by mirocu: Oct 14 2024, 11:15 AM

Not having used Chrome in years, and then only on those rare occasions when Firefox proved inadequate, I'm in no position to accurately compare Chrome and Brave. There are likely lots of YT videos that do so. I will venture to say that since Brave uses a modified version of Chrome's Chromium engine, geared toward user privacy, Chrome users should easily adapt to it. I'm to a point now that I don't miss Firefox at all, except that Firefox's "New Tab Page" allows more quick-launch website icons. But even that is not as big a deal as it seemed at first.

Finally finished upgrading my PC after a week of troubleshooting and waiting for new parts. The new CPU I bought shipped bad out of the box and I had to swap pieces in and out until I narrowed that down. Replacement came in and worked immediately.


New CPU, more RAM, and a new GPU means I'm ready for modern games at high settings!


Final build:

• MSI X470 GAMING PRO CARBON ATX AM4 Motherboard
• AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor
• G.Skill 16GB (8GBx2) DDR4/3000MHz Dual Channel Memory (GEIL Super Luce RGB
• Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory
• Toshiba DT01ACA100 1 TB 3.5" 7200 RPM Internal Hard Drive
• Crucial MX300 525 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
• XFX Speedster SWFT 319 Core Radeon RX 6800 16 GB Video Card
• EVGA 1000 GQ 1000 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply
• Corsair Carbide Series SPEC-04 ATX Mid Tower Case

I confess I don't even really know how to spell cumpewtre but that sure sounds like a lot of gigamojo! Hope you're pleased when you try out a game!

New ‘puter, woot! Sounds like a good’n! You wouldn’t telling us what it ran you would you?
If you don’t wanna that’s ok, I would understand.

"Modern" games?


Don't know what that is, but happy youre happy!

I understand most of what Kane mentioned. Come a long way since the days of electrical tape covering Oblivion's compass.

Kane can you post a pic of your tower/case?

I've got about $700 in the upgrade. With the legacy components I have, I bet the entire thing is just shy of $1,200. It's good, but nowhere near top of the line. Doesn't even have liquid cooling.


Here's the link for the case. Mine doesn't look much different on the inside.

Thanks. Whenever I go to Micro Center I can't help but get all google-eyed in the cases section.

I'm with Renee. As long as it has pretty lights and I can play my game with the graphics set to 'Oh wow!' I'm happy.

You have a Micro Center nearby?! *swoon* I wish I could be so lucky.

Congrats Kane! Happy pixel smashing days ahead.

I have a Micro Center nearby too. In fact, I am still using the computer I built from parts I bought there about 13 years ago.

There are two MCs in my parts! One's down near Rockville (near Bethesda) and the other is north of Baltimore. I prefer going north. Less traffic.

Alas, no Micro Center near me, not even a Best Buy since a tornado totaled ours at the start of the pandemic.

I’ve never even seen a Micro Center, lol

I'll say! Considering you were a computer gaming n00b only some odd years ago, you know a heck of a alot more than me who's been PC gaming since the mid-90s!


Neither have I, probably for obvious reasons


@Kane - Cool case!

[censored], that's awful. And so if Best Buy got erased in your parts, I wonder what else was in that tornado path. Where do you shop for gaming stuff?



This post has been edited by Renee: Oct 19 2024, 05:32 PM