Well, if you remember my old GA-P35-DS3L failed. ( http://technologyinsanity.com/insanity/the-ga-p35-ds3l-has-failed/ ) I had to get a new motherboard. So, how hard is it to replace one? Probably about as hard as building from scratch 
*Note* Always ground yourself by touching the metal case of the computer or using a grounding wrist band.
First of all you have to remove everything connected to the motherboard. That includes the PCI/PCI-Express/AGP cards, the IDE/Sata cables, case cables, and the power cables. Once that’s done, you must unscrew all the mounting screws used to keep the motherboard in place. They are located in many different areas on the board. Once you’re done, you should be able to gently lift the motherboard out of the case.
(This is how my case looked after I removed the motherboard. )
The next step is to remove the heat sink and fan from the old motherboard. The removal process should be documented if you have a stock heat sink/fan, or if you have an aftermarket cooler you should be able to look it up. The removal process will vary.
Once that’s done, you’ll have to remove the CPU, or processor from the old motherboard. There’s generally a latch by the cpu socket that you have to push down and then up to release the CPU. Place the CPU into the new motherboard and pull the latch down. Some older processors have pins on them so you should be careful. The next thing you’re going to want to do is remove the ram sticks from the old motherboard by pressing down on the release latches. Move them to the new motherboard as well, press them firmly into the memory socket.
(Processor and Ram moved to new location)
The next thing you want to do is wipe off the old thermal paste and create a mirror finish on the top of the processor. Then reapply artic silver, or some other kind of thermal paste.
Next, you will also want to create a mirror finish on the heat sink and attach the heat sink to the new motherboard.
With that done, it seems it’s time to move the motherboard over to the case and mount it with the screws taken off the old motherboard. Then, all that needs to be done is to attach all the PCI/PCI-Express/AGP Cards, connect the power, and IDE/Sata cables. Not quite finished yet. There are some little wires hanging off your case you’re probably going to want to connect again to your case, otherwise your power button isn’t going to work Look up the pins for the connector in your motherboard manual. Then, hit the power switch
Next you’ll probably have to reinstall Windows or whatever OS you choose. You can backup your data by using a Linux LiveCD and copying them to a flash drive or another hard drive. You could also try following this guide: Replace Your Motherboard Without Killing Windows
Hopefully this will prove useful to someone out there 
[...] The rest is here: Replacing a Motherboard [...]
Very helpful. I suggest though the images can be a bit tricky.. Will you please make them look bigger please?
Webbielady’s last blog post..Economic Crisis Impact? It’s Only How We Deal With It.
You can click on the images to enlarge them.. They’re just thumbnails