# GA-5AX motherboard



## wallshaker1 (Nov 12, 2004)

someone gave me a computer with this motherboard in it and no hd or memory. is this worth spending money on for the missing parts? also, how can i tell if the motherboard even works? i found this http://www.active-hardware.com/english/reviews/mainboard/ga5ax.htm link for the motherboard.


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## Stoner (Oct 26, 2002)

I used to have a comp with a GA 5AA, which is similar.
That board was often described as one of the better socket7 MBs.
Lots of options in the bios.
If this is a scrounge project, where you are picking up parts for litteraly no cost, you can put together a comp that functions well, but is limited compared to what can be had for just a few dollars at business auctions.

The fastest CPU will be a AMD K6 in the 500mhz range. They don't overclock much.

It would make an ok internet surfing box, an ok office machine, but a poor game box, IMO.

To qualify my remarks about costs......I bought my socket7 comp at auction for $35 about 5 years ago(it failed after several years of usage, probably from the hard drive shorting out and damaging the motherboard) and bought a Dell P3 800 at auction this summer for about $30.
P2 400/450 and P3 500 Dells were going for $10 and $15.
It was a Lexis Nexis auction for clearing out excess/obsolete business machines.
While still old, the P3 is a lot more value for the dollar and a lot quicker.

I'd pass on investing much money on such an outdated machine.


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## wallshaker1 (Nov 12, 2004)

ok, thanks for your input. how would one tell if the motherboard works? how do you test one?


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## Stoner (Oct 26, 2002)

I only know to test with ram, CPU, hard drive and vid card in place.
There are beep codes as the computer is turned on.
One beep is an ok, several beeps or an error code on the monitor display a problem.

I will have to defer to others with more experience in trouble shooting, in your situation


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