Hello, I'm starting to adventure into building my own computers, and there are a few things I'm concerned about. Firstly, my CPU. I have very little info on it, other than what my computer tells me (P4 2.40GHz), and I definately want to get a new motherboard sometime. If I buy a mobo with a 775 socket, will my existing processor be able to be connected to this new socket? Are the higher pin numbers "backwards-compatible"? Or will I have to buy a new processor? What I want to do is turn my PC into a media-editing station. Adobe Photoshop, Premiere Pro 2.0, DVD burner, that kind of thing. All my RAM slots are filled (two... :( ) with two 256's.

I definately want to get a new motherboard sometime. why? If I buy a mobo with a 775 socket, will my existing processor be able to be connected to this new socket? No Are the higher pin numbers "backwards-compatible"? ?? Did not understand. hope this helps, A new socket 775 board can take an old socket 775 CPU, but an old 775 board will not take a new 775 CPU (like the Conroe, for example). Some not-so-old 775 mobos can handle newer CPUs like the Conroe with a BIOS upgrade. Now, if you want turn the PC to media-editing device, IMHO the P4 2.4GHz is still not a bad solution. Yes, there are much faster processors out there and the P4 is a couple of generations behind, but is not so slow that it becomes a bottle neck. For most tasks at least. Fill that machine up with as much RAM as you can afford. Am talking in terms of 1-2GB. I dont know what hard disk you have, but if possible, get a faster and bigger hard disk. Again, if that board has RAID support, (which I sort of doubt) get two similar hard disks and get them set in a RAID config. THAT will make for a media editing PC. Also, a lot of video editing s/w insist on a good video card (Pinnacle's Studio 10, for instance). May be you can look at a mid range video card too, if budget permits. Kailas Shastry 3000+ Venice, A8N-E, 768MB DDR266, 160GB Barracuda, 380W Cooler Master

Thanks for the reply. What I meant by wanting a new motherboard is due to the fact that my current one isn't very expandible. I have 2 RAM slots, can guarantee there are no RAID connectors, and 3 filled PCI slots (with stuff that you can get integrated into the motherboard back connectors these days, like FireWire, etc.). I guess you are saying that if I buy a 775 mobo, I won't be able to migrate my current 478-pin-or-so chip, and will end up having to buy a whole new processor. Should I go Intel Core 2 if this is the case? On the graphics card, I bought one last year and already it is seeming like junk, from what I've seen shopping around, but otherwise I was pleased with it. It's a PCI NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 128MB.

The reputation of your PCI FX5200 was about the same at this time as was a year ago - mediocre. However, you can pick up the X1300 - the newest & fastest PCI graphics card for folks with computers that lack AGP or PCI-E expansion slots. The card is still very sluggish by today's graphics standards, but it's much better than the FX5200 and you can still manage some playable performance in most games with minimal quality settings enabled at low resolutions. My opinion though is not to even splurge on the X1300, the money you'd spend on it is better saved towards a new computer.

If you are pleased with your graphics card, don't let anyone else tell you that it is no good. One does not always need the latest and greatest and most expensive!!!!!! My 2 cents worth Smitty