System Board Upgrade

This option replaces your PC's system board ("Motherboard") with new technology.  This will include a new processor of your choice (Intel or AMD) and memory.  You choose the on-board features that you like (USB and Firewire ports, disk controller, graphics, networking) or you can opt for fewer on-board features if you prefer to use adapter cards.  We are happy to help you choose the best features, as well.  Depending on features, system boards cost between $80 and $250, processors between $150 and $300, memory between $100-$300, and power supplies about $100.

We will also help you decide if a system board upgrade is economically suitable for your current system.  Sometimes, we may find that you also need to replace your case and power supply (new processors require rather advanced cooling and consume more power), disk drive, monitor, or operating system.  When the upgrade cost starts approaching the price of a complete new system, we may advise that you consider system replacement instead.  (For most replacements, we recommend Dell or HP; for ultra-performance systems, we recommend AlienWare, or we can build a custom system for you.)  Nevertheless, system board upgrades can be a viable choice to easily improve performance by a factor of two to six, and provide new features as well.

Your upgrade also includes necessary device driver replacements to support your system's new hardware.  You'll receive your upgraded system ready to go.

Due to the duration of installing and testing this upgrade, we require this be installed in our lab.  Plan on 1-3 days for this.