Hardware Changing of motherboard

[Noctosphere]

Hello,
I was planning on changing of computer totally
But now, I'm considering of changing of motherboard/cpu instead (my cpu is real crap and my current motherboard can't support anything better than the current)
My motherboard currently has an expansion card linked to it with 4 usb 2.0 ports on top of my case (i'll show pictures later)
I'd like to know, what exactly am I supposed to look for in a motherboard specs to keep those 4 usb port?
Next to these port are the headphone/speaker and microphone port, so I'd like to keep them as well
Also, when I look on PCPartPicker, I don't see a lot of usb port on motherboards, do I need to look at something else? expansion card or something like that?
I have a MicroTower, I'd like to know if ALL micro tower support ALL MicroATX motherboard

I need to know everything I need to know about motherboard
I know only the very basics, like that I need to check the number of RAM slots and the CPU chipset compatiblity
But about PCIe, I don't know anything, what is the difference between PCIe x16, x8, x4, x1?
What do I need to run a single GPU?
What do I need to run a HDD and a SDD?
What do I need to run a BD reader/writer?
etc etc

Every information is welcome before I buy one
Thanks

 

[Noctosphere]

Yea i know it's dirty
Plus, i have those ports, the mSD port is completly destroyed and the SD port is broken
I'd like to replace them, how do i do that?
I'd like explanation on that too please
Thanks

EDIT : Nevermind about replacing the expansion card in front of my computer (mSD/SD)
I'll just buy separate USB reader since the usbs ports work perfectly

EDIT 2 : BTW, my current motherboard is a Aspire M3970

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

First things first, you need to open that thing up and take a pic of the current motherboard and its connectors. As it's an OEM prebuilt from Acer, it's very possible your case does not follow standard form factors and connectors, which would mean upgrading to a new motherboard may not work at all and you'd also need to get a new case. It could also use non-standard connectors on its PSU, which would mean you'd need a completely new power supply (which I'd probably recommend anyways), but if that also uses a non-standard form factor you'd need to get a new case.

As to your questions:

1) If you mean those USB ports are your front USB, all motherboards still have USB 2.0 connectors on them so assuming your Acer used standard connectors, any motherboard should work fine. Same for audio. You don't need any special connectors or expansion boards for this.

2) Yes, if your case follows the ATX standard then it must support all MicroATX boards. HP and Dell are notorious for using non-standard parts, Acer occasionally does but isn't as bad so it'll be kind of hit or miss, this is why you need to check the internals.

3) PCI-e has different numbers of "lanes" which push different amounts of bandwidth. x16 is the highest you can go, x8 is half, x4 is a quarter, and x1 is the slowest. You shouldn't need to worry about this, because all modern motherboards will come with at least 1 16x slot, which is what you'd use for something like a GPU (although 8x is perfectly fine for anything older than RTX 3000/RX 6000 GPUs, there's no real bottleneck there).

4) For running a GPU, this will depend on a lot of things, so you'll need to be a lot more specific, but generally you'll need a PCIe slot and power connectors from your power supply. What GPU do you want to put in there? If it needs external power, does your PSU have enough wattage (and the right connectors) to power it? If it's also an Acer part, it's very possible it doesn't have any PCIe connectors (or only has one when your GPU might need two), which will limit you with what you can use. If you need to upgrade it, you'll need to make sure Acer didn't use some stupid non-standard form factor with custom connectors, if they did then you may be out of luck for the most part with your case.

5) HDD/SSD just need SATA ports (or an M.2 slot, if you're using M.2 SSDs, either NVMe or SATA) which are standard on motherboards these days, and SATA power connectors, which are also standard on all PSUs, so it's not something you need to worry about finding support for.

6) Same for optical drives, they also use SATA.

 

[Noctosphere]

First things first, you need to open that thing up and take a pic of the current motherboard and its connectors. As it's an OEM prebuilt from Acer, it's very possible your case does not follow standard form factors and connectors, which would mean upgrading to a new motherboard may not work at all and you'd also need to get a new case. It could also use non-standard connectors on its PSU, which would mean you'd need a completely new power supply (which I'd probably recommend anyways), but if that also uses a non-standard form factor you'd need to get a new case.

As to your questions:

1) If you mean those USB ports are your front USB, all motherboards still have USB 2.0 connectors on them so assuming your Acer used standard connectors, any motherboard should work fine. Same for audio. You don't need any special connectors or expansion boards for this.

2) Yes, if your case follows the ATX standard then it must support all MicroATX boards. HP and Dell are notorious for using non-standard parts, Acer occasionally does but isn't as bad so it'll be kind of hit or miss, this is why you need to check the internals.

3) PCI-e has different numbers of "lanes" which push different amounts of bandwidth. x16 is the highest you can go, x8 is half, x4 is a quarter, and x1 is the slowest. You shouldn't need to worry about this, because all modern motherboards will come with at least 1 16x slot, which is what you'd use for something like a GPU (although 8x is perfectly fine for anything older than RTX 3000/RX 6000 GPUs, there's no real bottleneck there).

4) For running a GPU, this will depend on a lot of things, so you'll need to be a lot more specific, but generally you'll need a PCIe slot and power connectors from your power supply. What GPU do you want to put in there? If it needs external power, does your PSU have enough wattage (and the right connectors) to power it? If it's also an Acer part, it's very possible it doesn't have any PCIe connectors (or only has one when your GPU might need two), which will limit you with what you can use. If you need to upgrade it, you'll need to make sure Acer didn't use some stupid non-standard form factor with custom connectors, if they did then you may be out of luck for the most part with your case.

5) HDD/SSD just need SATA ports (or an M.2 slot, if you're using M.2 SSDs, either NVMe or SATA) which are standard on motherboards these days, and SATA power connectors, which are also standard on all PSUs, so it's not something you need to worry about finding support for.

6) Same for optical drives, they also use SATA.

First thing first, my psu has already been replaced, so has been my GPU
So, I guess the motherboard uses standard connectors, am I right?

Next, I have a GTX 1060, but I highly consider moving soon to a RTX 3070 or 3060ti
My GTX 1060 doesn't use two GPU slot (is it those that are called PCIe x16?) but it does use two slot of ports behind the computer case

As for the usb 2.0ports, they aren't in front of my computer, they are on top of it (near the front of it, but on top of it)

thanks for the reply

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

That's a good sign, the only thing you need to worry about then is whether Acer stuck with the ATX standard and actually used a Micro ATX board. I'm going to assume at this point that yes, they did, so any Micro ATX board should be just fine.

For GPU, when something says "Dual slot" that means the expansion slots on the back of the case (the "slot of ports" as you call them), not the number of PCIe lanes it uses. EDIT: So dual slot would = two expansion slots on the back of your case, triple slot would = 3 of those slots taken up, single slot = 1 (but you'll never find any single slot GPUs that aren't using a custom water block, so meh ). All GPUs use PCIe 16x as their max bandwidth, since GPUs want to use as much bandwidth as possible, and as all modern motherboards will have 16x you don't need to worry about that.

If you know the wattage of your PSU, what is it? A 3070 will need at least a 600w PSU, a 3060Ti will need just 500W or so.


For USB, if it's located anywhere other than the back of the PC, it's referred to as the "Front". These ports are always connected to a header on the motherboard via a long cable, it looks like this. Audio uses a similar looking connector, so the same applies.

 

[Noctosphere]

That's a good sign, the only thing you need to worry about then is whether Acer stuck with the ATX standard and actually used a Micro ATX board. I'm going to assume at this point that yes, they did, so any Micro ATX board should be just fine.

For GPU, when something says "Dual slot" that means the expansion slots on the back of the case (the "slot of ports" as you call them), not the number of PCIe lanes it uses. All GPUs use PCIe 16x as their max bandwidth, since GPUs want to use as much bandwidth as possible, and as all modern motherboards will have 16x you don't need to worry about that.

If you know the wattage of your PSU, what is it? A 3070 will need at least a 600w PSU, a 3060Ti will need just 500W or so.


For USB, if it's located anywhere other than the back of the PC, it's referred to as the "Front". These ports are always connected to a header on the motherboard via a long cable, it looks like this. Audio uses a similar looking connector, so the same applies.

so what you say is that I'm all fine?
Any microATX motherboard should be fine?

As for the RTX 3070, I'm not ready to change yet, but when I will be, don't worry, I'll take a look at my psu wattage
And finally, as for the front usb port, what specs do I need to look at in a motherboard specs list?

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

Assuming Acer follows the standard, which I'm assuming they did since they followed the ATX standard with your PSU, it should be fine. I would suggest taking a quick measurement of the board before purchasing a new one and checking it against the Micro ATX standard, but it should be fine I expect.


And again, for the USB thing, it's 100% standard on all motherboards so there's no "spec" you need to look for. If it's a motherboard, it'll have a USB 2 header on it.

 

[Noctosphere]

Assuming Acer follows the standard, which I'm assuming they did since they followed the ATX standard with your PSU, it should be fine. I would suggest taking a quick measurement of the board before purchasing a new one and checking it against the Micro ATX standard, but it should be fine I expect.


And again, for the USB thing, it's 100% standard on all motherboards so there's no "spec" you need to look for. If it's a motherboard, it'll have a USB 2 header on it.

by header, you mean "port for expansion board"
right?
and by two, you mean "one in front and one behind"
right?

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

Correct, header = port.

Not sure what your second question means, if it's the "2" in USB 2, that's just the generation of the USB port. Ie USB 2.0, USB 3.0, USB 3.1 etc.

 

[Noctosphere]

Correct, header = port.

Not sure what your second question means, if it's the "2" in USB 2, that's just the generation of the USB port. Ie USB 2.0, USB 3.0, USB 3.1 etc.

Oh ok, i read wrong
I though you mean two usb header and not usb 2 header
ok then, but you are sure any micro atx motherboard have a usb header in front of it?
If so, then I think I'm ready to buy a motherboard

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

Oh ok, i read wrong
I though you mean two usb header and not usb 2 header
ok then, but you are sure any micro atx motherboard have a usb header in front of it?
If so, then I think I'm ready to buy a motherboard

100% sure, you will not find a modern consumer motherboard without USB 2.0 headers on it. I just bought a brand new Asus B550 motherboard that has two of them .

Despite being almost two generations behind now, many people still use USB 2.0, so motherboard manufacturers still support it just in case.

 

[subcon959]

The other thing you need to consider is memory. The choice of motherboard will depend on whether you have DDR3 or DDR4 RAM sticks.