Verified answer

Look for the ability to interface with the other components you already have.

There are several things to be sure of before you replace your motherboard. Are you going to use the same CPU? If so then you have to make sure both boards, old and new have the same pin configuration and that the old CPU is supported on the new board.

Next: Do you intend on using the same power supply? If so you will need to make sure is is compatable with the new board. Is the new board one that needs an ATX power supply and does it require the 2X2 12v plug for the processor? Is your old power supply compatible with this new board.

Next: Do you intend on trying to use the same memory modules that were with the old motherboard? If so do they have the same pin count and is this memory speed supported by this new motherboard.

Last of all: Does this new board have the ability to interface with all your old components such as if you were running SATA or IDE hard drives the new board will need to have these type of interfaces. Same if you have an AGP graphics card or a PCI graphics card. You will need a slot for any add in cards you may have had on the old board. These slots will need to match the type of card you had on your old board.

The biggest issue you will run into is if your old motherboard is over 2-3 years old you will probably be forced to buy the older model of motherboard, which are still sold in some places, just to make it compatible with all of your old components.

I looked into upgrading my system that I bought in 2004 and found I would have to replace most of the other things I mentioned above. I wanted to upgrade to a Core 2 Duo CPU and found it would use a different type of memory and wouldn't be supported on my old motherboard. I had the option of getting one that would support my old 8x graphics card or I could buy a board that used the newer 16x cards. If I stayed with the 8x I would never be able to upgrade to the newer 16x card without again replacing the motherboard. Just some things to think about.

Most of the connectors are self explanatory... Before taking apart your old computer, why not take a couple pictures of the cable layout and how they are connected.... This will help.

Also read the manual that came with the new motherboard...

The tricky cables are the LED connections, USB, firewire, power butto, speaker, and reset...

Hope this helps...

If your computer is not working properly while you are working on it, it could be a problem with device drivers, hardware or software.

Detailed instructions at http://tinyurl.com/yk5zpr

try checking out your old mobo's model number written within the board and try searching for compatible boards through the net for your processor, ram and power supply.