CAN I UPDATE COMPUTER..motherboard

Yes, but its not all that easy. The motherboard has to be compatible with every other component in your computer. Look around at Newegg.com, they've got a decent selection and fair prices.
 
a motherboard that will support a dualcore cpu will naturally need a dualcore cpu :) (if you want to actually have a dualcore machine). also, as jdajda pointed out, make sure that it also supports the kind of ram that you have. the rest of the components are a bit easier (although older mb's have AGP for vidoe cards and a lot of newer ones have pci express so watch for that)
lastly, assuming all hardware issues are no big deal, you want to make sure windows will still function .. so either a full reinstall (format everything, start clean) .. this will obviously be a pain in the ass since you have to make sure to backup everything first and re-install all your programs, or just do hardware and let windows figure it out.
if you go the second option, a few tips. before you swap motherboards, go to device manager and change your IDE/SATA controller to use the default windows driver. this will prevent you getting a blue screen of death on first boot.
good luck
 
Thanks folks...
I may be over my head here...but it would be nice to learn how to make my own NLE system and be able to update at lower costs.

thanks for pointing out the pitfalls...will investigate.

Jeff
 
check out sites like tomshardware.com
aside from great reviews, they have various guides. i think they may have some beginner guides - good place to start.
 
laptops are far more limited with upgrades.. if you're lucky there might be a mini-pci network card you can swap .. but otherwise your options are USB or PCMCIA (or expresscard in newer laptops)... so the most u'll be able to upgrade as far as editing goes is give your laptop more ram, upgrade teh audio, get it some more firewire ports (or any if it didnt come with any) and add external storage/burners, etc
also recently i think ATI put out an external video card, but tha'ts of limited usefulness to straight editing
 
Here is a quote on a assembled computer for under $800....what do you think?
As to the system quote for audio/video editing, the
following is the configuration for you:

STEP01_CASE: $60 IMICRO 809BB STEEL MID-TOWER ATX
BLACK 450W Bays:4/2/4/USB 2 12CM FANs CA-ST809BB *
/QTY:1
STEP02_MB: $87 ASUS M2N AM2 SOCKET ATX DDR2 800 x4
PCI-E X16 PCIx3 nVIDIA nForce 430MCP 2000MT/s A&GBL
52759 * /QTY:1
STEP03_CPU: $126 AM2 Athlon64 X2 Dual Core 4200+
(2.2GHz) AMD AM2 SOCKET 512KB X 2 Cache Retail W/
Heatsink Fan 49959 * /QTY:1
STEP04_MEM: $73 NSPIRE/ APACER DDRII 533-1GBNSO 1GB
DDR2 533 Non-ECC 240-pin DIMM PC2 4200 CL3 37345 *
/QTY:2
STEP05_HDD1: $67 WD WD1600JS 160GB ** 3.5-in Internal
SATA2 7200rpm 8MB BULK 37513 * /QTY:1
STEP06_FDD1: $26 MITSUMI FA404A-BLACK Internal 1.44MB
7IN1 Floppy+CardReader BLACK 3.5 BULK 24174 * /QTY:1
STEP07_CDROM1: $41 SONY AWQ170A-B2 Internal IDE
DVD+/-RW BLACK 18X18 8xDL NO RAM BUFFER BULK 52865 *
/QTY:1
STEP08_VGA: $102 EVGA 256-P2-N541-TX NVIDIA GF 7600GS
256MB PCI-Express DDR2 DVI TVout Retail 48740 * /QTY:1
STEP11_KB: $7 IMICRO KB-1002B PS2 BLACK WIRED KB BULK
* /QTY:1
STEP12_MOUSE: $7 IMICRO MO-700B PS2 BLACK WIRED
OPTICAL MOUSE BULK * /QTY:1
STEP13_SPEAKER: $9 Aopen SP-693 Black Stereo 2PCs
Speakers Black 1.5 Watts Retail 39685 * /QTY:1
STEP14_ASSEMBLY: $0 Free Assembly and Testing
Submit_Type: Order
SUB_TOTAL: $678.00
*Shipping not included.
**OS not included
**All the components listed above are
removable/switchable/upgradable.

Hope the information is helpful. If you have any
concerns or technical questions, feel free to e-mail
or call us.

Thank you, and we look forward to serving you.
 
Back
Top