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What motherboard is the best for my 3.4 ghz. Pentium M dual core,x2900xt hd Radeon 512 mb. video card with a 620 watt power supply corsair.

I really don’t like recommending a specific motherboard or graphics card because a lot depends on what you want to spend and how much memory and power you need. Once you’ve made some decisions, you can use some good Internet sources to narrow your search.

New Motherboards

As PC World put it, a new motherboard in a computer is the equivalent of a heart-lung transplant. The motherboard supplies all of the connections and wiring that are needed to make the computer run. Most of the time, people replace motherboards due to damage to the motherboard itself, not enough space for more RAM, or no slot for the graphics card you want.

You also need to decide if you are going to replace just the motherboard or all of the computer parts. If you are keeping your power supply and graphics card, then you need to get a motherboard that will support these parts. If you are looking to go whole hog and get new everything, then you will have a lot more options.

Motherboard Components

Whatever motherboard you decide to get, you need to make sure that it has enough RAM slots for both now and in the future. No sense upgrading your motherboard only to have it obsolete in a few months or a year. Also make sure that it is compatible with the graphics card you have or want - now might be a good time to reassess your graphics cards needs. Lastly, make sure that it comes with all of the USB ports you think you are going to need.

Motherboard Reviews

Rather than tell you what to buy without knowing your specific needs or wants, you should check out some good reviews online. Make sure the sites you are using have updated reviews - check the dates to make sure you aren’t reading something from 2005. Two good places to start are NewEgg and Motherboards.org. NewEgg will allow you to put in your specifications and pull up the motherboards that fit your criteria. Motherboards.org has up to the minute reviews of just about everything out there.

A lot of your decision is probably going to be based on price. While you want to take your future needs into account when choosing your motherboard, make sure you don’t get wooed into a motherboard that is overkill for your situation and is more expensive than you want.

If the motherboard is replaced, do I lose all the information of my laptop?

Whether or not you lose your data when replacing a motherboard depends on several factors. As with any type of hardware/software change on a computer, replacing the motherboard has the potential to create loss of your data. However, if you are careful when installing the new motherboard, you shouldn’t have any problems. If you have someone else doing the replacement for you, make sure that you tell them not to wipe the hard drive clean.

Where the files, applications, etc are stored

The data stored on a computer can be found on the hard drive. As long as you don’t wipe the hard drive clean, you should retain your files, etc. If you back up your hard drive onto an alternative storage media such as an external drive, secondary drive, flash drive, or CD, then you will have access to the information should the worst happen and you lose your data. You could probably use an application that recovers lost data to get it back for you as well.

Replacing the Motherboard

If you replace the motherboard with one that uses the same chipset, this strategy should allow the motherboard to automatically detect your operating system to install it. If not, it might take a bit for the operating system to detect your new hardware and boot up.

Replacing the Motherboard and Installing the Operating System

In some cases, you might need to reinstall your operating system. Therefore, if this happens you’ll need to either use the following directions or back up your data first.

If you have the option to run a repair installation or upgrade your Windows operating system, you shouldn’t have any problems. You can check your current version of Windows to see if it includes the option to create a repair install or upgrade feature. If it does, you can use one of these to place your operating system back on without losing any of your data.

Tips to consider when installing a new motherboard

Avoid static electricity that can destroy your motherboard by grounding yourself. Touch the metal casing of your computer or wear a static-free band.

Download the drivers for the new motherboard prior to its installation for a quicker install. This usually prevents any problems installing the motherboard and accessing your old data too.