motha fuckin boards.

[The Hand That Fisted Everyone]

Oh ok so.

I have an eMachines w3118 with an AMD Sempron processor3100+. I am trying to upgrade this. I was told the first thing I really need to do when I'm upgrading is get a new motherboard.

So, boyah, you think you can do me a solid and help me find a motherboard? Google is killing me, can't find nothing.

Please and thanks.

[bluaki]

You can't get anywhere by upgrading the motherboard alone, because upgrading it significantly will drop compatibility with old RAM and CPU. There's a chance it could even drop compatibility with your power supply or video card (if integrated or using AGP slot). You'd have to buy new ones and these are some of the most expensive parts to a computer.

After all the changes required alongside a motherboard upgrade, you're pretty much better off just building a new computer entirely.

[The Hand That Fisted Everyone]

You can't get anywhere by upgrading the motherboard alone, because upgrading it significantly will drop compatibility with old RAM and CPU. There's a chance it could even drop compatibility with your power supply or video card (if integrated or using AGP slot). You'd have to buy new ones and these are some of the most expensive parts to a computer.

After all the changes required alongside a motherboard upgrade, you're pretty much better off just building a new computer entirely.

but i don't want to do that at all. i just want a new motherboard so i can have more ram.

[bluaki]

but i don't want to do that at all. i just want a new motherboard so i can have more ram.

You can probably put up to 2GB of RAM (1GB sticks in two slots) in that motherboard you already have. I strongly doubt you can find a new motherboard with more slots (fitting up to 4GB) that won't break compatibility and require you to buy an entire new set of parts. Motherboards that support larger RAM sticks definitely won't support your current processor.

2GB should be plenty; the other specs are more of a bottleneck. You don't need a new motherboard for RAM. The RAM you should look for is DDR1 400 (PC 3200). Newegg sells some: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007611%20600006085&IsNodeId=1

[The Hand That Fisted Everyone]

GODDAMNIT DOES THIS MEAN THE RAM I BOUGHT ISN'T COMPATIBLE WITH MY COMPUTER?

I BOUGHT PC3 8500.

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

[bluaki]

GODDAMNIT DOES THIS MEAN THE RAM I BOUGHT ISN'T COMPATIBLE WITH MY COMPUTER?

I BOUGHT PC3 8500.

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

It's definitely not compatible. PC3 8500 is part of the most recent DDR3 standard.
Where did you buy it from? Some retailers allow you to return/refund parts even for a reason like this

For the kind of RAM I linked to and your computer supports, capacities won't exceed 1GB for a single stick and you can buy two of these 1GB sticks to maximize your RAM.

[The Hand That Fisted Everyone]

I bought the ram off of newegg. you think I could do an exchange for the ram i want? maybe deduct the price or something

also how do returns work with an online company?

[bluaki]

I bought the ram off of newegg. you think I could do an exchange for the ram i want? maybe deduct the price or something

also how do returns work with an online company?

Log in on Newegg, click the "My Account" button in the top-right corner of the page, then the "Returns (RMA)" item on the left side. Everything else is detailed there and on this page: http://www.newegg.com/HelpInfo/ReturnPolicy.aspx
They mention that, for memory, it must be shipped back (pay for shipping yourself) to Newegg within 30 days of your original invoice date. Select "Refund" on that page.

[?????]

You probably should have researched this before going out and buying RAM.

After all the changes required alongside a motherboard upgrade, you're pretty much better off just building a new computer entirely.

This.

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_To_Assemble_A_Desktop_PC
Good read.