Need help purchasing a motherboard

[Rogimonde]

hey, recently i bought a computer for about $100, it came with an Asus P4B motherboard with 512mb SDRAM and Intel P4 1.8GHz processor and a bunch of other stuff that i dont think is very important to mention.

So, I tried to upgrade the computer's memory and it's onboard video card, and i bought

2 x Infineon 1GB SDRAM 168pin Sync 133 MHz CL3 ECC Reg PC133R-333-542-B2

1 x 1GB SDRAM 168pin Synch 133MHz CL3 ECC PC133R-333-542-Z (Synch is not a typo)

ATI Radeon X1650 PRO AGP 8x/4x 512MB

later, i found out that the memory doesn't work in my motherboard, it fits but it doesnt work, my computer kept giving me the error "system memory failed", so i asked the seller what was wrong, he said i needed a system motherboard

and i had also discovered that my motherboard doesn't support video cards greater than 256MB

My question is that which motherboard can i get, where all my hardware will work
and also I'm not that intelligent when it comes to purchasing hardware so what are some things i should consider while purchasing a motherboard e.g will it fit in my tower? do i have the right power supply, etc.

Thanks for all you help

[soybean]

Apparently, you did not adequately research the features of your motherboard before bought memory, etc.  http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.aspx?model=P4B indicates 512MB is the maximum size memory module each of your memory slots can utilize.  And, why did you buy two different brands?  That's probably not a problem but, since you apparently bought all this memory around the same time, why two brands?

and i had also discovered that my motherboard doesn't support video cards greater than 256MB

Your source for that?

[Rogimonde]

http://www.unitycorp.co.jp/support/download/manual/478/p4b_m_e.pdf

on page 30(2-10) it says thats i can fit 1GB memory in one slot

http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.aspx?model=P4B

indicates that the maximum memory this motherboard can hold is 3GB, you can't reach that with 3x 512MB

I bought 2 different brands becuz i bought them from ebay, only thing i was lookin for at that moment for "1GB SDRAM"

"and i had also discovered that my motherboard doesn't support video cards greater than 256MB" my source for that was the motherobard's bios, it had a "video memory" option, and the only choices given were 8MB, 16MB, 32MB, 64MB, 128MB, 256MB, so i assumed that was the problem why my ATI Radeon 512mb card wasnt working

thankyou for your help so far but did u find a motherboard that is compatible with the hardware I bought?

[soybean]

http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.aspx?model=P4B

indicates that the maximum memory this motherboard can hold is 3GB, you can't reach that with 3x 512MB

Crucial.com also says each slot can handle a maximum of 512MB, which means the maximum memory for your computer would be 1.5GB. So, their information is flawed, in this case. 

"and i had also discovered that my motherboard doesn't support video cards greater than 256MB" my source for that was the motherobard's bios, it had a "video memory" option, and the only choices given were 8MB, 16MB, 32MB, 64MB, 128MB, 256MB, ...

Those settings are for onboard video.  They have nothing to do with an add-on video card.

Regarding the three sticks of RAM you purchased, try one stick at a time.  If the Infineon works, try both of modules of that brand.  When testing one stick at a time, try installing them in the slot closest to the processor.  If that doesn't work, try another slot.

Here's a reference: http://www.fonerbooks.com/r_ram.htm

[Rogimonde]

later, i found out that the memory doesn't work in my motherboard, it fits but it doesnt work, my computer kept giving me the error "system memory failed", so i asked the seller what was wrong, he said i needed a system motherboard

looks like i made a mistake describing my problem, its suppose to be "he said i needed a server motherboard"

and thats why i ask which server motherboard can i get

"and i had also discovered that my motherboard doesn't support video cards greater than 256MB" my source for that was the motherobard's bios, it had a "video memory" option, and the only choices given were 8MB, 16MB, 32MB, 64MB, 128MB, 256MB, ...

Those settings are for onboard video.  They have nothing to do with an add-on video card.

Regarding the three sticks of RAM you purchased, try one stick at a time.  If the Infineon works, try both of modules of that brand.  When testing one stick at a time, try installing them in the slot closest to the processor.  If that doesn't work, try another slot.

Here's a reference: http://www.fonerbooks.com/r_ram.htm

thanks, i just tried that, still the same error, and i noticed that my rams from before (512mb) doesnt say that they're ECC, so they're probably non-ECC while my new rams (3GB) are ECC

as for my video card, i dont know why it doesn't work, whn i plug it in and boot my computer it just shows me a fuzzy screen