Is an motherboard easy to replace/install?

Question

I hope so, so i can convince my dad to get a new motherboard.

Answer 1

From my experience, its quite easy. I learned everything I know just from shopping for computer parts over a long period of time. Replacing your motherboard is as easy as replacing anything else in your PC, you just have to pull more wires. If your computer was a store bought Dell or HP or Vaio, you should be able to pull everything from the motherbaord without really haveing to remember where everything goes considering you can't plug the wrong wire into the wrong socket. If the wire fits, then you know its in the right place. Even the power supply wires. The power supply have several lines that go out to each device; cdrom, harddrive, motherboard, floppy, sometimes video card. Some lines put out a different voltage than others, but those lines will only connect to the device that calls for that specific voltage. The only way you can screw that up, is if you require a hammer to connect a wire to a chosen socket.
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The difficult part is finding a motherboard that will be compatable with the existing hardware
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Before pulling wires, be sure its necessary to replace your motherbaord. If your computer is over two years old, it will probably be hard to find parts for it. If you have a replacment motherbaord on hand, great. If not, you will have to find one that is compatable with the type of CPU you are using: is it made my Intel? or AMD? Is it a 64bit or 32bit processor? Finding out if its AMD or Intel should be the easiest thing to figure out just by looking at the CPU once its out of the socket. If your computer was capable of booting to windows, all you would have to do is right click on "My computer" and go down to "properties" and it would tell you what type of CPU your computer is running. Make sure your new motherboard will support that CPU. Also be sure the new motherboard will support the memory you are using. Is it SDRAM? DDR? DDR2? and what speed is the ram? If you look at the ram once you pull it out of your computer, there is usually a sticker on it with the brand name and some specs. If there is a number on it like... "PC3200" or "266mhz" or "333mhz", that is the speed. Your number maybe higher, hopefully then those of that example, just make sure your motherboard says it is compatable with the speeds that your existing ram runs at. Everything else, like your CDROMS and harddrives or any other drives will work with any motherboard. All you have to do is make sure you are matching the correct memory and CPU with the correct motherboard.

Motherboards come in two popular sizes now-days: "ATX" and "Micro ATX". ATX is a big rectangular motherboard that usually has more room for additions. Micro ATX is square shaped and smaller than ATX. It has less room for additions, but allows you to buy a smaller case. There are other sizes, but we wont worry about those as they are used for servers or Special computers that we wont be discussing.

If you cannot find a new motherboard for your old hardware, you are better off buying a new PC. Or you can always build a new PC if you think you can do it. If you built a new one, you could use all your old drives and Maybe case and power supply. As long as they are not TOO old.

.... Before working on anything inside your computer, make sure YOU are properly grounded to the metal chassis of the computer at ALL times. I have a metal wrist band that i wear that has a wire that clamps on the chassis of the computer with an allegator clip. If you don' have that, resting your arm on the chassis or constantly touching it will do the job.

Also, when you remove any hardware with exposed circuit board parts like the bottom of your Hard drive or the memory ESPECIALLY CPU, make sure you keep it stored on a static free surface. more than likely you wont have anything static free lying around. If you bought a new motherboard, you can use the plastic bag it came in to put the parts on top of. Its usually a metallic, mirror looking bag that the board will be directly stored inside to protect it from static damage. Otherwise, I cannot recommend storing your computer parts any other way.

Most parts inside your computer are extremly sensative to static electricity, so don't touch any contacts or any metal electronic parts, especially the pins on the bottom of your processor/cpu. Handle all those parts like you would a glossy photograph (by the sides).

1. remove all wires from motherboard and drives and place them aside
2. remove all devices; cdroms, harddrive etc.
3. sometimes part of the chassis, or case will be removable, like the parts that hold the drives, if their in the way of the motherboard. Take those off.
4. remove memory from sockets. usually there is a small handle on both sides of the memory that you have to lift out of the way to pull it out. Some motherboards are different from others, but its usually pretty easy to figure out.
5. remove CPU fan: All cpu fans are quite different, so obviously removal will be different for all types of CPU's. It may just be a few screws, or maybe a lever that you lift or a piece of metal you have to bend that attaches to the motherboard. Stock heatsyncs and CPU fans are usually pretty simple, you should be able to figure it out.
6. remove CPU: most likely there will be a lever on one side that you will have to lift before they CPU will come out. If properly disengaged, the CPU should be able to freely come out of the socket, otherwise, don't pull on it. Place CPU aside.
7. Your motherboard will be fastened by about 7 to 10 screws, remove them all. By that time it should be pretty loose but will probably put up a bit of a fight before it comes out.
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New motherboard should match specs of original parts. If your computer is over 2 years old, you probably wont find one.
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Everything should go back into your computer in the same steps in reverse.
Once everything is put back together, all wires securely in place, hopefully you didn't leave any screws untightened inside your computer or sitting on your motherboard. If so, when you start up and you hear a pop, your screwed and hopefully you can blame it on the motherboard manufacturer to get a new one for free. lol. Just make sure you didn't have to shove any wires in to make them fit, if so, they probably don't belong where you put them. When one of my friends built his computer, he stuck the motherboard power supply into where the cpu goes (it actually fits, but not easily) and blew a hole in the top of his processor like a piece of popcorn. Was pretty cool. As fun as that is, avoid doing that.

Beofore anybody goes and tears their computer apart, there are probably a few things i left out that shouldn't go unnoticed but couldn't cover in such a space. This is only meant to be a guideline in generally what you should know beofore ripping apart your computer and to help you make your decision on weather or not you are going bother replacing your board or buying a new computer. Building or replacing computer parts takes a bit of time and research, and can be a fun/rewarding learning experience which i would recommend if you have the time. I would suggest getting online and checking out some websites that sell parts, and comparing specs from part to part. The ONLY website I ever buy parts from is "newegg" www.newegg.com. My entire computer was built from that website because of their low prices and large stock. Check it out. Any questions, go ahead and contact me by email, otherwise, have fun and good luck!

Answer 2

If you are very interested in learning how to build systems and/or upgrade then go ahead and do it on your own. It will save you a ton of money in the long run and allows you to create units which fit your individual needs and wants, as long as you can afford the parts. I also encourage you to *not* buy your parts online unless you are absolutely certain they are not only what you want, but are fully compatible with your motherboard, CPU, OS and other parts of the system. Compatibility is a much more serious issue than a lot of individuals understand. For example, lets take RAM modules. A lot of people are under the mistaken assumption they can install any brand in any configuration as long as it is the "right type", and that the manufacturer doesn't matter. This is *not* true! Some RAM from certain manufacturers are compatible with some motherboards and in certain configurations installed in the system, and are not compatible in other motherboards with different configurations. You can get the "correct type" and your system may run fine for several months to over a year, and suddenly when it takes a cra*per, the individual has no idea it is because of the RAM and that they should have kept the original RAM just in case. It is *very* important for anyone building or upgrading any system to make darn certain everything will work properly when put together. Compatibility is a huge issue and even one part can *kill* the system. So, again, if you are interested in saving money, creating your own personal system to fit your particular needs, and are willing and able to do the research to ensure full compatibility go for it. You can also go to a electronics store like Fry's and get some expert help from the computer parts technical associates. Make sure you go online and read the manuals of each part you want to use in building or upgrading your system too. You can also log onto most manufacturers forums and read posts on any issue or question you may have and post questions asking those who use that particular motherboard or part what they think of your parts, if they are compatible. If you do not wish to go to all this difficult research then by all means take your system to a reputable repair shop and allow an expert to upgrade it for you. There are benefits to this, such as you have options if anything goes wrong, where as if you do it yourself *you* are your own Help Desk. lol My husband and I have built three systems and learned a few things the hard way. We are now compiling the parts to build our fourth system. Wish us luck! Good luck with whichever route you choose, and please have a nice day.

Answer 3

They are very easy to replace... but you need to examine a few things before you do that.

All of the components that you currently have, they must fit into this new board. (i.e. Hard Drive, CD-ROM, Video card, Sound card, RAM... etc.)

For example, if your current PC is using SDRam and the new motherboard only supports DDRRam, then you are out of luck. If you look on www.newegg.com, you will find systems called "Barebone PC's". Those are just that, barebone PC towers with a motherboard and a processor already installed.

To be honest, the amount of money you may spend on a new board and processor would be better spent on just getting a new system. Surf around www.newegg.com and check out their prices.

Hope this helped.

Answer 4

Generally, yes.

When you buy a motherboard, I suggest you buy a CPU and Memory with it and install all three as a set. Also, since motherboards and case power supplies have evolved over time, make sure the new MB is compatable with the old case.

To do so..
Remove power cord
remove case cover and place system on it's side (in most cases)
Unscrew and remove all cards from the system.
unplug cables such as power leds, and disk drives.
loosen and remove screws holding motherboard to case botoom
Place new MB in same spot and reconnect cables per the motherboard manual.
Reinstall cards.

Answer 5

It's certainly not rocket science, but it's not a simple step like replacing a video card or hard drive. You'll probably have to remove all the other components in your system first, and may have some searching to locate all the hidden/recessed screws, you may run info some cable length problems, and getting new heatsinks/CPU coolers installed properly can be tricky - I don't recommend it for anyone who's not already very familiar with swapping hardware around.

Answer 6

It's not hard - just remember where to plug everything back in when you put the new one in and make sure all the holes on the new one match the old one - the holes where the screws hold it in. Don't touch anything that is likely to be sensitive to static like pins or circuitry and wear an earth strap if possible. make sure you have a screwdriver! Electric ones are good - makes it fast!

Answer 7

If you have to ask that question here, than yes. In your case, a mainboard is extremely difficult if you do not know what you are doing. The physcial removal is not too difficult, but it's the insertion of a new mainboard that can be quite difficult on both teh hardware and software side of things.

Answer 8

well considering that everything is plugged into it and that it is screwed down to the side of the case...no not really...not to mention if you have a factory built computer like a gateway,dell, HP, Vaio..then it is near impossible to replace them anyway with out buying a new case....sorry about that

Answer 9

No. If you don't know how then you will more than likely ruin your computer. Take it to an expert or at least to someone who knows how to do it.

Answer 10

For the effort...No, it's not easy.
Considering you can get a whole new PC for around $500.

Answer 11

Yes, but I recommend getting the same type board you have so you don't have any driver issues.