Upgrading DELL *SMELL

GutterPunk · Aug 20, 2004, 11:04 PM

Aight this thing sux p4 2.6c w/ a rambus board and rambus ram (256 megs) on windows xp. Talk about a snail, the ram is ran out in 3 minutes after opening an app things are so slow you do 10 minutes work in 4 hours. Okay so yeah is it safe to put a p4c800-e deluxe + pc3200 corsair xms to replace the current mobo + ram (as it would be cheaper lol) This comp does lots of work and needs 1024 ram and thats like 400-500 bucks for an upgrade. Will I run into problems (oh yeah this dell has absolutely no airflow which i am going to fix too (PULLS OUT THE JIG SAW MUHAHAHHA) So yeah think there will be troubles (IDE CABLES) being my main concern, havent had a good look in the case just wondering if anyone else has had troubles. thanks in advance

tastyweat · Aug 21, 2004, 02:05 AM

It might be better for you to get a new case with those upgrades... $30-50 for one that would do a good enough job for your needs... those dell cases are absolute hell to work with! I've had too many of them to work with at work

Sandok · Aug 21, 2004, 02:50 AM

I got a dell and it's very powerful still (well not bad) but I wanna be able to mod... For that, you need a new mobo (I'm also getting the Asus PC400E-Deluxe, ur gonna need a new cooler for the CPU, u MIGHT need a new powersupply (i got a new one anyways) and your gonna need a new box... My total price is for all these peices 450$$$... Have fun

GutterPunk · Aug 21, 2004, 09:08 AM

It looks like I definitely need a new case for this puppy as i felt the northbridge passive heatsink and it literally burnt my fingers. The gfx card sound card and wireless card were also toasty warm. It has 1 yes1 fan and it only goes to the cpu hs lol. This machine is total crap.

Nacht · Aug 21, 2004, 11:07 AM

spend ~80 bucks and get yourself a decent case...downgrade from the xms to make up for it (you wont notice

)

Sandok · Aug 21, 2004, 11:11 AM

dell does suck

But if you get a new case, ur temps will go down cuz the dell cases got NO air flow!!!!

gt123 · Aug 21, 2004, 11:39 AM

what kinda dell you have?

GutterPunk · Aug 21, 2004, 12:28 PM

dimension 8300 (not mine) as I am helping out a business woman who is savy with what she does spent a couple grand on this system that is a pile of SHIT... i felt really bad and was sad she didn't come to me as i could build 3x the system and be 1/2 cheaper. oh well

gt123 · Aug 21, 2004, 01:19 PM

ya i was always a little skeptical of having a system home-built, but after all the BS i've gotten from my Dell i regret not doing it. I guess the only bad thing would be no free tech support or warranty.

OFF TOPIC:
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Gutter, mind if i ask why Dell would put a 250W PSU in a computer that needs 350W? With a 9800 Pro, audigy 2, dual channel ddr some kinda fancy ram with 512mb, 2.6ghz HT, and some other crap...i used an online wattage calculator. I know this is your thread, heh, but you've been the most helpful person on these forums. And i have so many, many problems with computers....Dell 4600
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GutterPunk · Aug 21, 2004, 01:54 PM

Well gt123 i myself will never go prebuilt as i inherited an emachine and the only thing still emachine on it is... drumrolll the dvd drive lol

. it worked for awhile and just upgraded peice by peice... well I am here to be a help and dont worry you arent crappin or hijacking my thread, as it is on topic (DELL) i am glad to help.

The thing is not only is it a 250w psu... its a 250w GENERIC psu. So the functionality isnt like having an enermax 250w psu which would handle a 350w system easily but a generic that struggles to meet its '250w' and is prolly only worth 200-225 at times. Have you replaced this 250w psu?

gt123 · Aug 21, 2004, 01:59 PM

i just ordered a fortron 400W PSU from newegg. i think the full model was "FSP400-60PFN RET" It got editors choice on Anandtech's PSU roundup deal, and its got good reviews all over the place, so i figured it was pretty safe.

GutterPunk · Aug 21, 2004, 02:05 PM

ive never heard of it, but anything is better than 250w especially with a r9800pro. As they recommend 350 watts themselves. If any sluggish activity has been going on with your computer it could be psu related but all this adware and stuff eeeek. With Dell's install disc does it install many other apps along with it? I know the computer that i am working on right now has a bunch of stupid piggy back apps that boot with it, i dunno about adware and spyware as i have been to busy to get that installed and searched for. best of luck cheers

gt123 · Aug 21, 2004, 02:26 PM

well It came with a buncha disks, one was for drivers, one was for antivirus, support, multimedia and internet software, but it lets you choose what you want to install through a program. I only did the stuff i needed, and i have a lot less programs now than i did when i first got the Dell, and i have a bunch that i DL myself and backed up before i reinstalled.

I actually knew i needed a new PSU about a month after i got the comp, since i spent A MONTH trying to figure out why the hell my 9800 pro was gettin such crappy performance, and my search ended here. This forum was the only one that had people that could figure out that it was my power supply causin the problems. So i post here whenever i have a problem now...and it pretty much always gets solved, thanks to guys like you, so THANK YOU!

This place is a godsend for computer-impaired people

tastyweat · Aug 21, 2004, 03:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GutterPunk

Well gt123 i myself will never go prebuilt as i inherited an emachine and the only thing still emachine on it is... drumrolll the dvd drive lol

. it worked for awhile and just upgraded peice by peice... well I am here to be a help and dont worry you arent crappin or hijacking my thread, as it is on topic (DELL) i am glad to help.

The thing is not only is it a 250w psu... its a 250w GENERIC psu. So the functionality isnt like having an enermax 250w psu which would handle a 350w system easily but a generic that struggles to meet its '250w' and is prolly only worth 200-225 at times. Have you replaced this 250w psu?

the first desktop I ever bought and could call my own was a pre-built

- this was about 25 months ago - a medion/cybercom - before I knew all too much about building comps... didn't realise what would go into it/different processor specs etc...

the first bit I added to the comp was my 9700np a year last january. and things just grew from there... now I build comps for loads and loads of people at work and in my own time. Certainly will always build my own and will NEVER buy pre-built again... especially now as I am entering the realms of decent water cooling.

As for the fortron... I've never heard of them... I have a 460W Asetek myself... upgrade from a 450w Antec... good upgrade - the rails are much more stable and it's very quiet (supposedly 19db) and it has a handy blue LED - I'd recommend this PSU to anyone looking for a decent #70/$100 PSU

tastyweat · Aug 21, 2004, 03:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gt123

well It came with a buncha disks, one was for drivers, one was for antivirus, support, multimedia and internet software, but it lets you choose what you want to install through a program. I only did the stuff i needed, and i have a lot less programs now than i did when i first got the Dell, and i have a bunch that i DL myself and backed up before i reinstalled.

I actually knew i needed a new PSU about a month after i got the comp, since i spent A MONTH trying to figure out why the hell my 9800 pro was gettin such crappy performance, and my search ended here. This forum was the only one that had people that could figure out that it was my power supply causin the problems. So i post here whenever i have a problem now...and it pretty much always gets solved, thanks to guys like you, so THANK YOU!

This place is a godsend for computer-impaired people

yeah.... after I added an audigy 2 to my comp in september of last year... I noticed a noticeable performance drop in games and 3dmark01... went down to 9.5k from 10.4k!!! So in Oct I bought new psu/case/mobo/cpu (my abit nf7s/2800b/xaser3/antec)... then got 20k out of that setup!

GutterPunk · Aug 21, 2004, 03:09 PM

its suprising how much importance a psu plays

tastyweat · Aug 21, 2004, 06:24 PM

yeah... if ya don't have the power to run the components you're screwed... seems pretty logical to me

gt123 · Aug 21, 2004, 08:05 PM

so basically Dell is intentionally screwing people over by putting in parts that can't support the system...? or they just dont care - i will give them credit in one aspect though, they've got good tech support...and nothing in my computer has exploded YET. it just doesn't work all that great.

tastyweat · Aug 21, 2004, 08:17 PM

no... they give their consumers the BARE minimum... stuff that will work... but only just.

I would have to contrict you with their tech support... they have returned products to some of my customers which were not fixed and were quite simple problems...

GutterPunk · Aug 21, 2004, 10:58 PM

they try harder than most other prebuilt companies though... i dunno ill never buy prebuilt im having troubles getting a p4c800-e deluxe tho

Nacht · Aug 22, 2004, 01:12 AM

only computer i will buy prebuilt is from a custom builder, that uses standard parts..a la ibuypower.

Sandok · Aug 22, 2004, 01:19 AM

I also only got a 250 watt PSU on my Dell Dimension 8300 (2048 Ram, 3GHZ, 9800 Pro, Audigy 2) and I've never really expericened sluggish stuff... But I have a new PSU waiting in a box and a new CPU cooler... Now I just need to buy that Asus PC400E-Deluxe and the Tsunami Case and I'm all set

GutterPunk · Aug 22, 2004, 11:53 AM

lol i want a p4c800e-deluxe trying to get 1 for this dell thasts getting upgraded

Sandok · Aug 22, 2004, 12:01 PM

Well I found a shop selling both of the things I need... I already got the Gigabyte 3D cooler Ultra GT for my cpu and I also got a Thermaltake 480 Watt PSU... The only problem I got is selling my dell to some noob who doesn't know much

and also to get the money...

It sucks doesn't it? I bought my PC really expensive (was the best in the world when it came out) and I worked this summer to pay off half of it but now I'm short on money... Gotta beg with my parents