# Upgrading motherboard and processor questions **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 11, 2010, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/upgrading-motherboard-and-processor-questions/560252 "2010-11-11T00:21:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/upgrading-motherboard-and-processor-questions/560252/1 "2010-11-11T00:21:31Z")
I have been contemplating upgrading my mobo and processor. Given that I already have a video card, 4 gigs of RAM, and an upgraded PSU, the only thing left for me to do would be to bump the processor and mobo up, and I’m wondering if I can do that without having to buy an all new box… Other than making sure I get the correct type of mobo to match my existing RAM (thus saving myself from buying all new RAM, an expense I’d rather avoid), and making sure my power supply works, what else do I need to look for? ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/upgrading-motherboard-and-processor-questions/560252/2 "2010-11-11T00:25:33Z")
What do you currently have? What are you doing that makes you think you need to upgrade? ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/upgrading-motherboard-and-processor-questions/560252/3 "2010-11-11T00:38:56Z")
Depending on how old your current kit is, I can think of: Graphics card uses a slot type that is available on the new motherboard. If you get a new graphics card, it may require a direct connector from the PSU that the PSU doesn’t have. Power supply uses the right connectors for the motherboard (I had to get a new PSU when doing a similar upgrade to this recently. The main power connector to the motherboard had completely changed). That the PSU has modern flat power connectors to the drives, instead of older bulky pins. There are inexpensive converters for this. That the drives are of a type that can connect to the motherboard. Your drives may be older EIDE drives whilst the motherboard has SATA sockets. If the PSU has a low watt rating it may not even be able to support the new processor and motherboard. ---
**Author:** ![AmunRa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@AmunRa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AmunRa)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/upgrading-motherboard-and-processor-questions/560252/4 "2010-11-11T00:50:04Z")
It is almost impossible to give accurate advice without knowing what you already have. The more detail you can give us about your current system the more detailed advice we can give. ---
**Author:** ![ExcitedIdiot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ea5d25/32.png) [@ExcitedIdiot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExcitedIdiot)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/upgrading-motherboard-and-processor-questions/560252/5 "2010-11-11T01:09:03Z")
Also, make sre the motherboard/cpu will fit inside your case. Ideally the cpu cooler would be close to ventilation. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/upgrading-motherboard-and-processor-questions/560252/6 "2010-11-11T01:09:12Z")
I ran into trouble upgrading a pc in 2007. The new motherboard only had one IDE port. The clients pc had two ide cd/dvd burners and a IDE hard drive. That was an unexpected $100 for a SATA hard drive. The two cd/dvd burners went on the IDE port. Since this was a budget upgrade that did hurt. The old pc was AGP graphics. Had to waste another $85 on PCI Express graphics. But that was planned. Some motherboards still have two IDE ports. I just screwed up and ordered one that didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/upgrading-motherboard-and-processor-questions/560252/7 "2010-11-11T01:31:33Z")
I threw out my notes from my upgrade a few months back, I will update this thread in the morning when I can post specifics about my system. Thanks for the help, folks! ---
**Author:** ![dzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f9b8f/32.png) [@dzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzero)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/upgrading-motherboard-and-processor-questions/560252/8 "2010-11-11T07:49:31Z")
1. connectors. new m/b’s use a 20+4 connector from the PSU. 4pin to SATA power connectors are cheap - as was mentioned. 2. graphics slots. You probably have an AGP slot (and there are at least 3 different flavors) so the new m/b with have to have one. Than can get tricky. [Has only one Intel compatible m/b with an AGP slot.](http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157115) However you can get around that by getting an m/b with onboard graphics. The integrated chipsets tend to be on the low end of the performance range but might be adequate depending upon your needs. 3. Additional connectors. Some newer boards need an additional power connector for the cpu - this is usually a 6 or 8 pin molex connector. Your PSU might have this depending upon how old it is. 4. Judging the adequacy of your power supply. I can’t tell you how to do this exactly, but there are web sites where, if you enter all of you components, it will tell you if a particular PSU is adequate. 5. IDE adapters. You can get adapters that will let you use an ide drive with a SATA cable. They cost about $15-20. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2010, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/upgrading-motherboard-and-processor-questions/560252/9 "2010-11-11T08:31:26Z")
The change in power supply requirements is pretty shocking. For years, a basic 250 Watt AT supply is all that was needed. I was installing 350Watt ATX Supplies in 2003. I built a pc three months ago with a 550Watt Power Supply. The motherboard manual specified a minimum of 500Watts. Realistically, any pc built before 2006 will have too small a power supply for a modern motherboard, CPU and Graphics. The new requirements for Graphics Cards and CPU’s sucks up power. It’s incredible what the current hardware requires. I’ve been building PC’s for 17 years and still amazed at how quickly things change.