NationStates Jolt Archive

My mum contacted me the other day. She's been told her M/B is pukaru (broken). The shop told her it would cost $600NZ (about $410US/£230) to replace. Thinking this was very over-priced I checked out the local computer markets and found the dearest M/B is $250NZ (and that's for a serious gaming pc).The cheapest was $90NZ.

To put it another way, for $600NZ I can get a box with a Intel P4 3.0Ghz on a ASUS P4S800mx board, 512Mb Ram, 40Gig HDD, 16xDVD (52x32x52x CDRW), 6.1 stereo card, k/board, mouse, speakers, modem, 10/100 Network card. All in a Tower case.

So to say me mum's being ripped off would be an understatement. The joys of living in a small farming community 4 hours drive from a major centre.

Anyway, the upshot being is that 'cause I'm heading back home soon (Saturday to be exact) I promised her I'd buy her a M/B (+CPU, as her's is very old - she's had the pc for 4+ years now). It should save her a bit of money.

Here's the important bit!
Today on the ferry home though I had a thought (I do occasionally - I usually let them be and they eventually die of lonliness or boredom).
What effect will the airport x-ray machine have on the M/B + CPU? Does anyone out there know? Obviously I'm going to be taking this on with my carry-on luggage, but I don't want to get to NZ and find the x-rays have stuffed it up. I know I'm being paranoid but I thought I'd better cheack first.

So if anyone's knows or has taken a M/B through customs x-ray pls post. I'm just going to go watch the collector's edition of "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" (with 18 minutes of extra footage!) that I bought today. Just to let you know that any questions directed towards me won't be answered for the next couple of hours. I'm not ignoring you - I'm just enjoying one of my all-time favourite movies!

My mum contacted me the other day. She's been told her M/B is pukaru (broken). The shop told her it would cost $600NZ (about $410US/£230) to replace. Thinking this was very over-priced I checked out the local computer markets and found the dearest M/B is $250NZ (and that's for a serious gaming pc).The cheapest was $90NZ.

To put it another way, for $600NZ I can get a box with a Intel P4 3.0Ghz on a ASUS P4S800mx board, 512Mb Ram, 40Gig HDD, 16xDVD (52x32x52x CDRW), 6.1 stereo card, k/board, mouse, speakers, modem, 10/100 Network card. All in a Tower case.

So to say me mum's being ripped off would be an understatement. The joys of living in a small farming community 4 hours drive from a major centre.

Anyway, the upshot being is that 'cause I'm heading back home soon (Saturday to be exact) I promised her I'd buy her a M/B (+CPU, as her's is very old - she's had the pc for 4+ years now). It should save her a bit of money.

Here's the important bit!
Today on the ferry home though I had a thought (I do occasionally - I usually let them be and they eventually die of lonliness or boredom).
What effect will the airport x-ray machine have on the M/B + CPU? Does anyone out there know? Obviously I'm going to be taking this on with my carry-on luggage, but I don't want to get to NZ and find the x-rays have stuffed it up. I know I'm being paranoid but I thought I'd better cheack first.

So if anyone's knows or has taken a M/B through customs x-ray pls post. I'm just going to go watch the collector's edition of "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" (with 18 minutes of extra footage!) that I bought today. Just to let you know that any questions directed towards me won't be answered for the next couple of hours. I'm not ignoring you - I'm just enjoying one of my all-time favourite movies!


Absolutly none ... no worries ... how many laptops do you think go through x-ray machines a year? lol you will be good

Those X-rays shouldn't be a problem for the M/B.
If it was, laptops would be rather sick after going thru airports.

And yes, your Mum is being ripped off - unless she's got a dual processor server as PC.

Those X-rays shouldn't be a problem for the M/B.
If it was, laptops would be rather sick after going thru airports.

And yes, your Mum is being ripped off - unless she's got a dual processor server as PC.
HA said it first! :)

And yeah you can get a kicking dual board for about 275 USD

HA said it first! :)

And yeah you can get a kicking dual board for about 275 USD

Yes, it would and you could probably afford some liquid cooling system with it. :D

Yes, it would and you could probably afford some liquid cooling system with it. :D
If I needed ... the aquarius 2 and 3 are awsome :)
But I stick with just high end copper blocks ... 30C and no reason to upgrade with opterons :)

the only thing to check is that your mums power supply is up to the job.
Your new M/B will enable her to run all those USB devises that she's yet to buy. 200w was standard not long ago but now 400w is much more usual. I'd splash out on a new case as well if hers is that old. A new board always fits into a new box better.

the only thing to check is that your mums power supply is up to the job.
Your new M/B will enable her to run all those USB devises that she's yet to buy. 200w was standard not long ago but now 400w is much more usual. I'd splash out on a new case as well if hers is that old. A new board always fits into a new box better.
Unless you are running lots of drives (optical or not) should not be an issue

THOUGH forgot to mention before the biggest pain on a MOBO swap with a boughten computer is that the Baught ones usualy use a propriatary power switch connector
CHECK to make sure the old connectors are compatable

Finally finished watching the movie.
Thanx for the advice. I figured I was being paranoid, but it pays to check. I was just going to buy an all-in-one M/B + a decent CPU (prob AMD 2400). I don't particularly like the all-in-one M/B but as Mum only uses it for emailing, word-processing and playing Bejewelled and Bookworm I figure it's good enough for her needs. It means there'll be no chance of finding her old video card + sound card are incompatible for some weird reason that's a 'one-in-a-million' occurrence that happens oh-so-frequently. So then all I'll need to do is shove in the CDRW (which she's never used) and the HDD. Which will take a few minutes.
And then re-install XP. Which will take hours.

I was actually quite surprised the shop was able to find a new M/B that recognised and could support her old chip. Perhaps that's why it was so dear. :rolleyes: