Hey guys! I have decided to buy a mobo sometime in the near future. But then with what I saw about the SP2 update, it has compelled me to search for opinions.

As of late, I have decided to save more money so that when I buy the mobo it wouldn't be that much of a drag. The concept of saving money and having money is indeed fun, but with this mobo I am on my own. So the case has been solved.

Then, I see that the SP2 patch is coming out soon, and based from another thread it's going to be big. Who cares how big as long as it is big, I am going to suffer because I am dial-up. Sad.

Now the thing is, I am running on Windows XP. Yes, and with this hardware change, I will be forced to reinstall the whole thing (I didn't make partitions also) which means that I will be downloading all the updates and patches (unless I can salvage them otherwise). This "task" I have accepted to be a "fun". Unfortunately this SP2 seems to be VERY big and doing it all over again... leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

So far this has what I have come with, some perks and cons. I am really in the middle of the crossroads and it sucks.

Perks:
1. Buying a new mobo will use my processor, RAM, and video card to its fullest potential
2. Overclockable the mobo is
3. More PCI slots for me to put on some stuff in the future
4. I will be able to gain 5.1 audio support
5. Related to 1. Faster mobo means faster things

Cons:
1. Drained financially
2. I have to reinstall Win XP once more and download all of its crap once again and this is most painful

It may look like that the perks outweigh the cons, but tell what you think of it. :(

[ 07-31-2004, 12:01 AM: Message edited by: Bahamut ]

umm.. well the mobo is coming out with a different casing required. have you thought about that because you may have to upgrade everything when that happens.

No, it is just ATX form. Am not gunning for the BTX form... [img]smile.gif[/img]

what use would overclocking your mobo ryann? what is your current processor and motherboard? can you more or less know what are the specs of the MHZ of your ram, mobo and processor.. like motherboards today have like 400mhz or 333 mhz included as well as ram. I remmeber talking to a technician that its useless to have a high MHZ in your mobo, and processor if your ram does not keep up. you get what i mean?

If your really worried about the size of SP2 then just download the System Admin Network version of SP2. Burn it on to a CD or save it to another partition. That way if you need to ever reinstall then you don't need to download it again.

You can usually get these files from the Microsoft Download page (not Windows Update)

I think you should go for it. It will give you a performance boost (does your current mobo allow 8*agp?), it will mean that you will have a better system for future upgrades, and newer motherboards do speed up things on your computer because of newer BIOS etc.

The Cons:
How will you have to download all patches again? They will be on your harddrive I think. Also, just leave your dial up connection on one night when you go to bed and set it to download everything you need, by the morning it should be mostly, if not completely, finished. Also about SP2, don't worry, there are still millions of people on Dial Up, and millions of them will be downloading it too. Im sure you'l cope.

The pros definately outway the cons

Harkoliar: I get what you mean. My mobo is THAT CRAPPY. It doesn't even use the RAM (333 mHz) to its fullest potential. Oh and it's not 8x either.

I have a P4 2.4 gHz PC, with 512 RAM and a Ge Force FX 5600 128 MB with Vid in and out which aren't all used to its fullest potential because of the mobo. :( :(

T-D-C: Thanks [img]smile.gif[/img] I shall be doing that if all goes down...

In that case i highly reccomend upgrading,
isn't there some place you can go to download the sp? like a public library or something,
anyway goodluck

hey hey!!! one last thing in case you havent bought any motherboard yet.. The new motherboards coming out have wireless access point networking installed onboard. That would be pretty cool if your considering going wireless for your home bahamut! just my 2c!

Ahh... that's a good one. [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img] Don't know the price on that one though... anyway I am still thinking about it. Good thing I am still thinking about it and not yet buying anything. Budget's tight since I still want that head unit for my car and all that... :( Of course most of all I don't want to be bankrupt. hehehe