Maximum PC

Hello....noob builder here. Need some advise on my old rig. If I can fix, I shouldn't need to rebuild or buy a new one.

The ABIT board has given me trouble since I first purchased. Was stable for a while, then I would see some odd things like keyboard not being recognized during POST.

The mobo would sometime flash 2 different LEDs and then never post....(I'm color blind so I don't know what colors they were)

The last time I booted the LEDS didn't flash....it loaded 1/2 of the XP OS and froze before getting to login screen....

Anyway, I want to salvage what I can out of this older build....I'm guessing my problem is either

1) my CPU/Fan needs removed and re-greased
2) my mobo is bad
3) something up with the RAM

Anyway...if I MUST repurchase/upgrade the mobo and proc what alternatives do I have?
Is there a more current mobo/chip/socket I can buy that will hold this RAM (and Fan, although I could go stock fan with new CPU)


GeForce 8800 GTS 512 MB
ABIT AB9 QuadGT LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX
1 x Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 2.66Ghz - G0 Stepping (BX80557E6750) Conroe
ZALMAN CNPS 9700 NT 110mm 2 Ball Ultra Quiet CPU
Crucial Ballistix 4GB (4 x 1GB) PC2-6400 800MHz 240-pin DDR2 Memory

personally i think you are better off doing a new build. is this for games? you can prob recylce the case, psu.

775 is old, try a 1155 (also near the end), or a 2011. most people go with 1155 and a i5 3570k. whats your budget?

you will need new RAM also.

Well....was putting together some stuff for a new build....guess around 1200-1300 bucks....

But thinking it would be cheaper just to salvage this one...
Antec 900 Case
Corsair 750 PSU
150GB Velociraptor OS
1.5 Baracuda data

Is the Zalman fan compatible with the newer sockets?
Do I need a new Video Card as well??? Can I upgrade that later after I get the board/chip/ram?? That is, will a new z77 board work with that card??

Guess my budget to fix this thing would be 2-3 benjamins...


What will happen to my XP OS when if/when I change all this hardware?

Thanks for your replies!

you might as well get win 7. yes if u want to game get a new vcard, 512 is very small now. case is fine, i had that for my fist build, although it is a dust magnet

Irony at it's best. I've been battling bringing any and all PC parts I have on hand back on line just to see if they still function. Each and every uAbit board just stares at me. With one I might get to the BIOS, but on the next reboot I'm back to ground zero. It's just a shame because I've been just a fan of Abit since I got into computers. The old 90's/early 2000 stuff still fires up, but anything after 2004 is now pure junk.

What's even more weird is that I had 2 of these Abit builds up and running, gave them to friends, then they just came back with "Just no worth the hassle". Same box I built and found stable came back and I can't even fire the thing up. And have you checked uAbit's site? Yup...time for a build.
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You no longer want XP. You just don't. If you don't have a touchscreen display you also just don't want Win8. Win7-64 OEM is $140 almost everywhere all the time and should be added into the cost of the build.

With what you're coming from you really might be amazed at what a $900 build will offer you (SSD and all), and can be in a build smaller than a shoe box. Sure, the best card I can find that fits in the build I'm thinking of is an AMD 7750, but should open your mind about what's possible now for the money. You really don't need best of the best hardware and can honestly look toward Micro-ATX builds for about $1,500 and stuff it in a TJ08-E.

You can't salvage the board, and NO raptors! Not when SSD's like OCZ's Vector or Samsung 840 120G drives are $120 shipped. 2TB WD Reds are about $140. GTX660 Ti's can be seen for about $280. SeaSonic X Gold is on sale (today only, see "Deals" section) at $130+$20 MIR. Once you figure in a decent i5/i3 and a mATX board...you're into 2013 finally without breaking the bank and in a much smaller (and very capable) mATX case.

Just getting up to date will be the best reward and may not find a single fault with it. If you do, you can still SLI/Crossfire, OC anything in there with the correct motherboard, or move up to a 27" display. The options aren't limited and much to play with in the newegg wish list.