Red19 Foxconn motherboard dying

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Nearly 2 years after purchasing the relevant parts to make Red19, the Foxconn C51XEM2AA-8EKRS2H motherboard is slowly dying. A while back, both of the onboard Gigabit network adapters stopped working, which forced me to purchase a PCI adapter to continue using the machine.

Recently the keyboard has stopped responding after a period of time. Firstly it would spew out a string of random characters, after merely pressing A. But now it has evolved to no output at all. Initially thinking it was Vista (with a format on the horizon), I then noticed that it wouldn't work during POST (let alone the BIOS). So that ruled out the software setup. Then thinking it was the Saitek keyboard itself, I opted for an old PS2 affair - but today this has proved to be useless too. So, putting it altogether I'm concluding that the motherboard is at fault.

The AM2 CPU HSF bracket on the Foxconn had snapped a few weeks ago, which I didn't notice until I pulled the side off for a spring clean. This meant that the CPU had been overheating for weeks (perhaps months). But after fitting a new bracket and a new blob of thermal paste, the problems have continued.

So, now for options. Budget is tight here, as Lily is on the way. And it's not an emergency, as I'm typing this on my VAIO without any problems. But my new HDD video camera is filling up with video that needs editing soon (and putting on the web!), so I'll need Red19 up and running again in the near future.

  1. New AM2+ motherboard (with support for Quad core)
  2. New Intel 775 motherboard + Core 2 Quad Q6600
Both options are viable at this stage. 1 would set me back £50+ depending on choice. 2 would set me back £200+ again, depending on choice. Of course, I'd also want to chuck in another 4GB RAM (totalling 6GB) as the prices have plummeted recently and to make good use of the 64bit technology.

However, after reading many news articles about Intel's (and AMD's) new motherboards just around the corner, I think 1 is more practical. Afterall, I made the choice to go AMD 2 years ago, a few months prior to Core 2's release, thinking that it would be nothing special...

Let me know if you have any AM2+ motherboard recommendations. No special requirements, apart from the option of continuing with the overclock for the 4000 X2 processor (2.0GHz > 2.6GHz) with no fuss. The Foxconn was good, but has shortlived all expectations I had for it - especially as it was around the £150 mark. RMA may be an option, so I'll let you know if I go down that road.

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PC Pro recently reviewed AMD's Phenom X4, which has now made it on their A-List. It's an option for the future. (Bit-tech review)

Their AM2 motherboard of choice is the Asus M3A32-MVP Deluxe WiFi-AP.

Matt

Id get that asus one with the fast boot up stuff, its exactly what im looking for. a 10 seconds boot so i can go on the web quick.

Adamskii

Id like to stick a quad chip on mine sometime but I need a reason tbh and id need to offload this one somewhere

Adamskii

Depends on what you are going to do with your comp. If you want to play games and shiz buy the intel but agian you will have to buy a Gcard; but if your on a budget and just use it for not games so much get the amd innum.

The trouble at the moment is that Intel found problems with their new quad chips and so they are very short in supply so prices are high ath the mo.

I have a question too. Which bike should i go for the Marin indian fire trail (2008 model) or the Whyte 19 (2007 Model). Both around £1500. Or should i spend <1000 and buy loads of stuff with the change (the best option i thinks). Hmm troubles!

LordByron

I don't see myself using a PC for gaming in the next few years. The 360 has provided my gaming fix for the past year. I'm leaning towards an AM2+ motherboard, especially as the revamped Phenom chips don't look that bad and that my current CPU is plenty fast enough.

The Whyte appears to have the better spec? Unless I'm mistaken. Though I always wanted a Marin when I first got into mountain biking. If you were to go the sub £1000 option, what would you spend the excess on?

Matt

Games console, GPS phone and commando watch i think.

LordByron

I hope you mean XBOX 360? GPS phone???

Matt

Not sure which console, but aye a gps phone as i want sat nav on it for europe and those annoying trips to places where the woman is the navigator.

LordByron

At that price you can get almost same bike as me for tuff offroad stuff. I'll come up with better bike for ya. Make sure to get commando watch tho, make sure it beeps on each second when it counts down. I got my satnav for europe but if you get one bonus we use yours as will be easier.

adamskii

You could always get the iPhone 2 [snigger] as it now features GPS! As for a bike, would you end up riding to work?

Matt

aye bargain iphone 2, £45 for 18 months + £99 only £909, bargain. ;)

Adamskii

Bargain of the century! Unfortunately, many diluded Apple fans are rushing out to get one - most likely to sit alongside their iPhone 1.

I'm still undecided what component(s) to buy so that my PC is back up and running. Bit-tech recently posted an article on building a gaming PC for £400, for which they chose a budget Pentium Dual Core processor and a Gigabyte P31 motherboard to overclock the nuts off the Intel CPU. For a few pounds more, I could grab a P35 chipset version. Then once the Dual Core becomes a bottleneck, upgrade to a Q6600 (or similar). Selling the AMD 4000+ CPU, along with Foxconn could allow for a further 4GB RAM too...

Matt

[...] mentioned previously, my Foxconn nForce 590 SLi motherboard appeared to be dying. The 2 gigabit network sockets stopped functioning towards the end of last year and more recently [...]

Red19 working once more! | slickhouse.com

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