Replacement / upgrade D945GNT ATX motherboard

[lectrocrew]

 The Intel D945GNT motherboard in one of my my self built desktop PC's shorted out.
Specs are listed in my 'Specs' <<<< and here:
https://www.intel.com/content/dam/support/us/en/documents/boardsandkits/desktop-boards/945/D945GNT/D945GNT_D945GTP_ProductGuide03.pdf

So I want to replace this board with another ATX board which will use at least 1 PCI and 1 PCI-E 2.0 x 16 expansion slots and has 4 DDR2 memory slots so that I can use my current DDR2 memory, my current GeForce PCI-E 2.0 x 16 graphics card and my current PCI wireless adapter. I'd like to upgrade to a Core2 Quad processor similar to the Core2Quad 8200 that I have in my other self-built PC which runs the components listed 1st in my 'Computer specs' <<<.
 For the processor I'm thinking of using this Core2 Quad 9650 / 3.0 GHz
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA4RE81B9633
 For the motherboard I'm thinking of using this ASUS P5Q-E
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA4RE88S5850
 That's a total of $228.98 which is about the max I'm willing to spend on this PC.
Is this a sufficient replacement without needing to order any additional parts other than a tube of heat sink thermal paste?

[patio]

I would check both MBoards QVL list ti ensure your DDR2 RAM is on the list as DDR2 these days ain't exactly cheapo...

[lectrocrew]

I see about DDR2 being costly (as well as limited availability these days). I decided to get another Gigabyte EP45-UD3R board just like I used in another PC I built. It came with a Core2 Duo CPU for less than $100. Then I bought a Core2 Quad Extreme 6850 for $32.50. Both are up and running well together with a large CPU cooler, other than now needing more RAM. For some reason I was thinking the old burnt motherboard had 8 GB RAM but it only had 4 x 1GB.
With the $ I saved buying a used board and CPU, I can spend a little more for memory. Now if I can just find a matched set of 4x4gb (what little the QVL list I haven't been able to find available).

[lectrocrew]

I've tried installing 2 different SSD's (WD Blue 250 GB and WD Blue 500GB). I bought a new copy of Windows 10 home directly from Microsoft which installed fine as well as all other software I wanted. All was fine for about 4 days on the 250GB / 7 days on the 500GB. Then the machine failed to boot with an error message -
"no operating system found. Try removing any drives without an operating system." (or similar).
I reinstalled my original HDD on the same SATA channel as the SSD's were on and it booted with no problem both times.
Is there something incompatible with my older ~2009 Gigabyte EP45-UD3R mboard running a SSD or what.
Both SSD 's were purchased from (and returned to) my local Walmart. Should I order a SSD from a more reputable source- I've run plenty of WD HDD's in the past including a VelociRaptor WD1500HLFS 10,000 RPM / 150GB, which has been in use for the past 9 years with no problems. Has WD gone off the deep end with SSD's?

[lectrocrew]

Today I changed the BIOS setting for the SATA/drive controller (using the Intel ICH10R controller only)(this board also has Gigabyte SATAII chip) from RAID/IDE to AHCI. I bought a PNY SSD 480GB and a WD Black HDD 1TB and hooked them to SATA2-0 Master and SATA2-1 Master channels respectively, set to boot from the SSD, and installed the new Windows 10 x64 OS with these settings. It's running fine so far (now updating and loading additional software etc.). I'll keep my fingers crossed for the next 15 days (time limit to return this SSD to Best Buy). 

[BC_Programmer]

For what it is worth I have a Gigabyte EP43-UD3L Motherboard which based on image comparisons and timeline appears to be a similar but earlier model of the same overall design. It hasn't had any issues with it's 480GB Seagate SSD. It only has the Intel ICH10 SATA Host Adapter (it lacks the purple sockets I see in images of the UD45-UD3R). It has been set to IDE mode as I've not bothered to change it (beyond confirming that simply toggling the option results it it simply failing to boot).

Not super helpful, but I think it confirms there is unlikely to be an inherent incompatibility between the board and SSDs if my earlier model has had no issues with it.

As for memory- I too found that 4GB sticks of DDR2 are not easy to come by. I gave up on that idea myself long ago as it ended up too expensive to justify for what is a secondary setup and getting a matched set also seemed particularly difficult.

[Lisa_maree]

Hi

Reading thru your posts I wonder what caused the motherboard to fail. Maybe  the power supply has problems, causing the ssd's to stop booting.

You don't say if the SSD's are toast or just not booting.

What power supply are you using make, model and age.

When fixing anything it is important to know the "why it failed as well as what has failed." 

[lectrocrew]

 BC,
 I read threads like the link below which influenced my decision to set the controller to AHCI for a SSD BUT to be sure and set the BIOS and save BEFORE installing the OS.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/295783-32-ahci-good

Likewise, opposite as you, after I installed the OS in AHCI mode, if I now change BIOS to IDE mode, it fails to boot.

Yes, lack of DDR2 availability is my main issue now. I was even considering getting this GA EP45T-UD3LR:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Gigabyte-GA-EP45T-UD3LR-Intel-P45-LGA-775-ATX-DDR3-Motherboard/273481566421?epid=3013419371&hash=item3facc588d5:g:vWcAAOSwRNlbq5O-:rk:3:pf:0

Then I'd get 16GB of DDR3 cheaper - possibly this:

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233143

It's really not worth it for this vintage system though.
________________________________

Lisa maree,
 My previous mboard failed due to debris falling onto the board while I had the tower laying flat working on something (don't remember what now). I watched the component (diode, transistor, resistor, or whatever it was) fry before I could kill power. lol
 I didn't have my other desktop PC here to test the SSD's with. The BIOS did acknowledged them but the system failed to boot saying 'no OS found'. I wish I would have investigated further but Walmart is only 1/2 mile from my house for an easy exchange/return.
My PSU is Antec TRUE550 550W ATX, which is ~ 2yrs old if I remember right.
My CPU is 130w TDP, but the rest of the system is pretty light (see my specs - 2nd PC listed)
________________________________
Thank you both for your replies. Look for an upcoming post about this machine not shutting down fully (Display goes dark but fans keep running - retains open windows etc. - will not restart via keyboard/mouse/power button/ will only shut down when power button is depressed for a few seconds - like sleep mode but will not wake?) if I can't get it figured out soon.

[lectrocrew]

This is day 17 on this new PNY SSD and everything (drive wise) is golden. Other than changing drives from WD Blue 3D 500GB to PNY CS900 480GB, the only real change I made was installing this SSD with the BIOS set to AHCI mode. Interesting!

BC, I bought 8GB (2 sets) of this memory which is running good at 2.1v so I'll settle for that.
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231166

Lisa_maree, I also bought a new PS just to be sure. This Corsair RM750x should be plenty.
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139233