After 4 years, the motherboard on my PC has packed up, died, rolled down the curtain and gone to meet the choir invisible.  The rest of my machine has gone to meet its maker in a more literal sense, as he is looking for a replacement board for me.  This would be the easiest solution - an identical direct substitute.

But, being realistic, because of its age I don't fancy my chances.  So I'm faced with the prospect of a new board, which would render (forgive the pun) my current processor, RAM and graphics card useless.  I'm not made of cash, so a full on upgrade isn't really an option.  I'm taking the view that as long as the machine I end up has the same capability as my old one, I'll be happy.

However.  I remember a while back someone mentioning problems with Open GL and Wings 3D when using a 'modern' graphics card.  If anyone remembers what this was and what caused it, please let me know, as I always run Bryce using Open GL and I don't want to have to learn another modelling app so am keen to avoid this problem. 

Cheers,
Alex

I dunno ... the computer I'm using now cost about 200 dollars U.S. from TigerDirect. I had to build it myself but it'll play "Mass Effect", "Assassins Creed" and "Fallout 3" with little or no problem which is saying something ... well A.C. is a bit slow but I think that's just a lack of memory problem. I haven't had a chance to get back to Wings so I could no tell ya there but you gotta admit the price was right even if I did have to build it myself and supply my own cd drive and DVD player . . . you might check out Tiger or some other company like that online rather than trying to repair an old machine.  

Hi Alex. I recently upgraded my rendering computer using the same box(case) that I've been using for 4 years. I lucked into a small windfall and added a new Mobo, ram, dual-core CPU, HD, and Vid card. I got a great deal on an Nvidea 8600 vid card and while it isn't top-of-the-line, it runs all of my graphics and 3D apps with no problem, and this includes Wings, up to the latest version. I am using XP home still.  I got most of the parts from my local Fry's store.

Oh, yes and an operating system (XP Pro)... still - not too bad. 

As far as I know, playing the newer games is an excellent test of how well the graphics work and if you're gonna be using 3d apps extensively you'll want something that will also do games well. That's why I mentioned it.

What mb do you have?
Cpu type etc...