Replacing Dell Mobo & Processor(help!)

[sleepsinclassz]

a few years back the dell dimension xps that i owned decided to go and fry its co-processor. lovely. my family decided not to bother with trying to replace it and ended up buying a lovely sony vaio. (i digress) However, i'm off to college soon, and so have purchased a new mobo, processor, and video card.

I've been reading up on replacing the stock dell stuff, and have thus formulated the following questions

1. is it worth it to use the stock PSU and case, or should i just break down and buy a new one?

2. is something else going to bite me out of nowhere?


I'm 85 percent sure that the RAM will work w the new mobo, since we had added some to the original computer layout (it's late, so my grammer isn't too good. sorry). The CD-RDR drive is also aftermarket (iomega), so it should work, as should the zip drive, though frankely i don't care too much if it does.

The new stuff is:

Mobo : ASUS A7V8X-X KT400 K7 333MHz 3DDR333/6CH/8X/LAN/ATA133/ATX

Processor : AMD ATHLON XP 2000+ (1.67GHz 266MHz) SKT A RETAIL BOX

Video Card : MSI TI4600-VT2D8X GF4 TI4600 128MBDDR,8XAGP,DUAL-DVI,VIVO,TV


Any and all help would be greatly appreciated, as this is the first time i'm attempting this kind of upgrade.

Thanks.

[John Prophet]

The bite may be that the stock Dell power supply is NOT a standard wiring..in other words they switch some of the wires around on the motherboard and power supply....so if you are going to switch moherboards..you have to switch power supplies also.

More info here---> http://www.duxcw.com/dcforum/DCForumID3/436.html

Im not sure which models this applies to...but Id hate to see you plug that new motherboard into the wrong voltages...ouchy.

Check it out first on google etc, JP

[sleepsinclassz]

actually, now that i i think about it, we did replace the power supply once on the computer (lightning storm + no shock protector = hey, what's that odor?) so it might not be all that different. i have, however, suspected teh problem that you mentioned.

Thanks.

Anything else, anyone?

[Front242]

You can pick up a good ATX case for about 25 dollars and a good power supply for about the same. Use the 50 bucks to by a new case and PSU then it will be under warranty.

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...tby=14&order=1

[coldfusion22]

Using Dell PSU I would be kind of cautious to use. Moreover because that the PSU used in dell systems are mostly used the for hardware dell specfically uses with the hardware in the machine. Seems the more I browse the net the more I see companies like gateway or dell with stock machines use underpowered PSU's not leavning any room for an upgrade. If I wre you I'd just get a brand new brand-name PSU. Since you know what your getting and using.

[beppodmime]

I had decided to use my old Dell mobo and CPU in a new case with a new PSU, but sadly it would not work. I had an XPS-T 600. If you're going for a new mobo and CPU, you're more than likely going to need a new Case and PSU as well. The memory will probably work as long as it's of the 184-pin DDR SDRAM type, as that's the only type that the mobo you want supports. If it's the older SDR SDRAM type, it won't physically fit into the RAM slots, and won't work regardless. For optimal performance with that board, I'd recommend PC2700 memory. It's relatively cheap, you should be able to find 512 MB of PC2700 for less than 100 bucks for good quality stuff.

Also, using the Dell case may pose a problem in and of itself. My front panel case connector was an unlabeled all in one ribbon cable, and you'd have to separate all the individual wires and figure out what goes to what. That could be a very difficult and time consuming task, and 25 bucks or so is a small price to pay to save you that kind of headache.