New PC

[Simon]

I would go for it now Simon, as gutting as that is, in the long term if you need to change things you will just have to do it anyway maybe best while its in mind, cant you RMA the board saying the sata connectors were all brittle maybe?

I have emailed Scan, and am awaiting their response.  I should have gone for the Intel board, although, I've never had a problem with Abit boards before.

[Gary]

I have used abit an they have been ok as well Simon

[Steve]

I think not "fit for purpose" is the expression. If you do intend to change the MB perhaps look again at the SATA layout and type of connection and go for a different type of connector i.e the Abit IP35 pro which I installed uses a enclosed SATA block at the edge of the board, gigabyte and intel also have a different SATA mount. My only other advice is next time if you can fit the board from the back of the case,attach as many cables as you can whilst they are easy to get at and indeed connect the spare cables if you are going to upgrade in the near future you can always tie them out of the way.As you've discovered it is near impossible to get at the damn things safely once the case is cluttered with power cables,drives and video cards.

[Ray]

I've always found Asus boards are very good, I've recently installed my third one.  

[Rik]

Asus and Intel would be on my shortlist, Ray.

[Ray]

Asus and Intel would be on my shortlist, Ray.

Yes, Rik, I'd include Intel on my list as well.

[Malc]

And nvidia.

[Gary]

And nvidia.

I have a EVGA 680 sli board and that's great, saying that nvidia chipsets drivers can be a bit dodgy all ok for now though

[Malc]

Just updated my 8800GTX yesterday after a few problems with some games, all works fine now.

[Gary]

Just updated my 8800GTX yesterday after a few problems with some games, all works fine now.

I have one of them Malc, what drivers are you running?

[Malc]

ForceWare Release 169.21

[Simon]

I've seen some reviews of Intel boards, and although good quality, they do seem quite basic.  I wouldn't be overclocking, so that wouldn't worry me, but the lack of basics such as PS/2 connections does a little, although I don't know when I would ever need them.  I'm talking myself out of my own argument here, aren't I? 

[Gary]

ForceWare Release 169.21

I'm using the ForceWare 169.25, seems to be ok

[Gary]

I've seen some reviews of Intel boards, and although good quality, they do seem quite basic.  I wouldn't be overclocking, so that wouldn't worry me, but the lack of basics such as PS/2 connections does a little, although I don't know when I would ever need them.  I'm talking myself out of my own argument here, aren't I? 

I think you may be, the asus boards are ok I had a A8N SLI Premium, but support is lousy on their site, what fsb does your dual core run at?

[Simon]

1333, Gary.

[Gary]

You could use one of the newer Nvidia boards boards Simon that support both DDR3 and DDR2 and 1333 and 1666 bus speeds then, kind of future proofs you that way, very expensive though but the EVGA 790i looks sweet and would give you a good few years of upgradability so in many ways its worth it, I would make a stink about the yours and see if they offer you some money off a more expensive board.

[Simon]

I'm still waiting for a reply to my first email from Scan.  I decided on the softly softly approach at first, by explaining the situation and asking for advice.  If they fail to respond, though, I might have to make more of a fuss.

[Sebby]

I've got to tell that you my experience of Scan is extremely poor. I too ordered the parts for my PC from Scan back in November. Everything showed as in stock when I placed my order. I ordered on a Sunday and chose Friday as the delivery day as I knew someone would be at home. On the Thursday night at about 8pm, I got an automated email to say that a part was out of stock. I emailed them immediately, and to be fair, they did email me back the next day. After a lot of arguing, they wouldn't give me something else at no extra cost (even though the only ones they had in stock were more expensive) so I just went with it. I was very angry that they didn't contact me earlier in the week and it could have been sorted then.

I have since emailed them and find they can take up to 2 months to reply! I'd order something small from them again, but never a whole PC.

You might be better calling them, Simon.

[Rik]

My experience has been the opposite, Sebby. I guess it comes down to good and bad luck at times.

[Simon]

But it shouldn't do, Rik, and if good customer service is a lottery, that makes it poor in my book.  I will give them 24 hrs to respond, then I suppose I'll have to ring.  I don't like these web form email systems, as you have no proof of the email being received, and also, no record of what was said.   

[Cookiemonster]

Should of went with OCers Simon lol!!

[Rik]

It shouldn't do, Simon, but with suppliers it seems to these days.

[Sebby]

I've always found eBuyer to be excellent, but then there are a lot of people who have had terrible experiences with them. It really can be a bit hit and miss.

[Rik]

Same here, Sebby, good for me, but I've seen the horror stories.

[Ray]

My experience has been the opposite, Sebby. I guess it comes down to good and bad luck at times.

Same here, Rik, I bought all the parts for my recent upgrade from Scan, except for the memory modules ( Ilike to get my memory direct from Crucial.com) and a larger output new Antec power supply (which Scan don't appear to stock) all the items from Scan arrived on the day they said they would.