Hi everyone. This is my first post so forgive my ignorance. Please help!
I have been experiencing irritating shut downs (dreaded blue screen) USB issues, harddrive detection issues amongst many others. I would like to replace my motherboard (ECS P4VXASD2+ Release 03/10/2003) with an ASUS 4P800E Deluxe Intel Socket 478 Motherboard.
I hope to use my existing P4 2.53 GHz 533MHz FSB cpu.
I would like to keep all my existing hardrives, floppy etc.
Would my components below be compatible (especially my P4 and radeon 9500 pro video card)with the new ASUS mobo and would the new mobo fit my tower (ATX form factor below if this helps (existing mobo).

Thanks for your help in advance

My specs are as follows:
P4 2.53 GHz
533MHz FSB
512 MB DDR PC 2100 184 pin Unbuffered
RADEON 9500 Pro 128 MB DDR (128 bit)
VGA 4XAGP
Power :300w LCA-A300 ATX
DVD/R :Plextor PX-712 A
DVD ROM :Toshiba SD-M1402
HDD :Seagate ST3200822A 200GB ATA 133(Master) , Maxtor 6Y060L0 60GB(Slave)
Mobo:
Manufacturer : ECS
Chipset 1
Model : VIA Technologies Inc VT8753 Apollo P4X266
BIOS Type: American Megatrends
OEM Sign-On: P4VXASD2+ Release 03/10/2003
Chipset: VIA 82C3128 rev 1
Superio: ITE 8705/SiS 950 rev 2 found at port 2Eh
OS: WinXP SP2
CPU: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 Processor 2533 Mhz
BIOS ROM In Socket: Yes
BIOS ROM Size: 256K
Memory Installed: 512 MB
Memory Maximum: 4096 MB
Memory Slot 01: 512 MB
Memory Slot 02: 0 MB
Memory Slot 03: 0 MB
Memory Slot 04: 0 MB
ATX form factor 305x244mm

Yes :) Atx, socket 478, agp, All good. And you can even upgrade many of your components on this same P4P800. It supports FSB800 P4 processors with HT, Dual channel PC3200 memory, Sata discs, you name it...

BUT, your bluescreen problem could be caused by something very different, you know. Like a messed up windows, bad memorymodule, heatproblem....

I would suspect a cheap power supply that's not putting out enough on the +12v rail, but it could be a number of things. Have you tested your RAM using memtest86?

Also, I don't recommend pairing up 2 HDDs on the same channel unless absolutely necessary:

HDD-1 w/ DVD-ROM on primary,
DVD burner w/ HDD-2 on 2ndary.

Use 80-wire cables on both channels & master/slave jumpers - don't use cable select.

Asus A7N8X-X
2500+ Sempron @ 2.05Ghz
10.5 x 195mhz @ 1.75v
512mb PC3200
Ti4200/8X 128mb
WDC 60GB

Get the Intel code name for your current cpu chip. Then ref the new boards specs to see if it will run your current chip. I parked a willimett cpu chip in a northwood/prescott type mother board and it cooked the chip.
BE SURE or be sorry...

I may be crazy, but I'm not stupid...

Thanks for the advice and hints guys very much appreciated. Would a new ENERMAX 400w power supply be advisable?
THats very helpful jam , I never new that. The two hard drives are on the same channel. But this is more a cabling issue. The designs of IDE (one 40 and the other 80 wire) prevent this due to the proximity of the the connectors on the same cable. Coudl you suggest how to overcome this? Are there Ultra cables I can buy from say tiger direct http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/category/category_slc.asp?CatId=68
that you can recommend?

How do i get the Intel code name for my P4 chip? All I know is that its P4 2.53Ghz 533 FSB chip.

Cheers

You can connect IDE devices any way you like, but there is a catch - only one device can use a channel/cable at a time. For optimal data transfers, you wanna configure your drives so that the data transfers across channels without interruption.

Cabling problems can be overcome by getting a 5 1/4 to 3 1/2 adapater & mounting the 2nd HDD in one of the 5 1/4 bays, provided you have a free one. Optical drives only need a 40-wire ATA33 cable, but HDDs need the 80-wire ATA66/100/133 cable...if a 40-wire cable is used, they're limited to transfer rates of only 33mb/sec (ATA33).

Enermax makes decent PSUs, but so does Thermaltake & you can usually find them a little cheaper. The 420 watt Thermaltake at newegg.com is a popular one & goes for about $40 shipped. Whatever you get, make sure you have a minimum of 16A on the +12v rail.

Use CPUZ to get the info about your CPU:

http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php

Asus A7N8X-X
2500+ Sempron @ 2100mhz
10.5 x 200mhz @ 1.80v
512mb PC3200
Ti4200/8X 128mb
WDC 60GB

Thanks for that advice Jam , very helpful. :)
Ive ordered teh ASUS, Enermax(was similar price to thermaltake on tiger direct canada), coooling fans etc.

Hope it all works!

Thanks again. Will post back when I get it up adn running. Awaiting patiently for back orders....