mobo upgrade??

I don't know much about motherboards but your system seems good. Normally you only replace the mobo in order to upgrade processor, RAM or video card. Just changing the mobo by itself should have little or no effect on your current setup. Just my thoughts. 🙂

oh, okay, I tough the quality of the mobo could help with all other components

Actually, changing the motherboard, can have some great effects on performance. It has to do with how well the board and current processor are being utilized... It wasnt until the last few years when i really began to build systems and did benchmark tests with all the same hardware, but only changing motherboards. Some performed mcuh better than others... the reason being is the chipsets and northbridge/southbridge performance...

Your ASUS A8M2N-LA is an OEM board that appears to be manufactured only for HP and Compaq. CRJ Capitan is right though, if your system is running properly, there is really no reason to change... I would definitly recommend changing if you are planning to overclock. If not, leave it... here is why... since your system is OEM, the copy of XP that you are using will be linked to the hardware in your PC... some OEM copies of XP will allow you to change your motherboard, etc... some will not. Its sort of hit and miss... what will happen is that you will try and load your recovery CD and it will tell you that you are not using the original HP computer and you will then be forced to install your copy of Vista. You will also have to reformat after you install your mobo unless you are lucky like me and have XP automatically update your system for the new chipsets... Ive been lucky 3 times in a row in my own systems, but been unlucky just as much.

swiffer88 wrote:

oh, okay, I tough the quality of the mobo could help with all other components

A better mobo may allow slightly more efficient communication of the components installed but I think the difference is very small compared to changing the processor, RAM or video card. Just my opinion, I'm no expert, others that know more will check in. See, thanks JLangevin.

You are very right as well. The motherboard itself is not as performance intensive as the procession components in the system... ie; CPU, GPU, Memory, etc...

They way you can look at it would be an A380 trying to navigate around a small airport... intersections and small taxiways create slow downs.

The thing that leads me to believe that he will see improvements with a new board over his OEM is that manufacturers have been known to "dumb down" their versions of mainstream mobos for 3rd parties in order to keep the cost down... they will use less than par chips/modules/capacitors, etc... Its also how companies like E-Machines, Dell, and HP are able to sell their $399 specials.

If he does not plan on overclocking, then he should not worry about changing his motherboard in terms of performance, only longevity and durability.

Ive personally become a new fan of Gigabyte due to their sturdy construction, solid capacitors, and toughness for overclocking.

well I thank you guys for your comments on the subject, and since i'm not planning on overcloking i'll stick to the mobo I have, anyway I think I have max my update possibility with the am2 socket newest cpu, the ram capacity to max, and I don't plan on changing my 8800gts sc since its new...
i'll let you know how the cpu upgrade made a diffenrece in fsx..

thanks