Tom Wants To Live in Arizona This is a great site, it’s not like I’ll update it or anything.

Another computer update

So I got the new motherboard in and installed it.  I put the old processor in and tried to put the old heat sink in it but there isn't a way to connect it to the motherboard.  The heat sink I have has a metal clip that goes through the fins and clips onto the motherboard.  The new motherboard doesn't have the clips. CompUSA didn't have any Socket 478 heat sinks in stock.  So I drove to MicroCenter to get a heat sink. The only one they had was this big round copper thing, it was $40 bucks and weighed more than the entire computer.  So I bought it because I want this computer to be done.

On the way home, I had the bright idea to see if the heatsink from my other computers will fit in my niece's computer.  So I took one out of one of my computers and it fit! So I reutrned the $40 heat sink and found one on eBay for like 12 bucks shipped. 

Anyway, I hooked up my heatsink on the processor in my niece's computer and powered it on.  The fans came on and everything had power, but I didn't have any video at all.  I went to the Biostar website and did some searching and did all their troubleshooting steps.  It said the processor might not be compatible with the motherboard. I took the processor out of my computer and put it in my niece's computer and powered it on.  It booted up! I did some more seaching and reading and found out that the new motherboard doesn't support Willamette chipsets (whatever that is), and, of course, the processor I have is a Willamette.  Of course. 

So now I am searching on eBay for a processor.  I'm looking for a 2.4 ghz or higher, the fastest I can get for under 50 bucks. 

Oh, and the memory I had in the old computer doesn't work on the new motherboard.  It requires PC3200.  I had a 512MB chip in a drawer that works, and I found another 512MB on eBay that's on its way here.   

I think I'm up to around 300 bucks?  I am basically building her a new computer instead of doing a minor upgrade on an old computer.  It's ridiculous and is totally out of control.