Getting a new MB

[Torlen]

I have a few questions first though. I have limited funds so I need it to be less than 150$ pre-assembled if thats possible. If its not pre assembled, what else do I need to get for it that wont already be in my new computer? Right now Im just running off the dell factory installed MB and I would like to update my graphics card but it only has PCI slots available. My second question is after I get the MB, if it doesnt have PCI slots I wont be able to use my old card until I buy the PCI express or AGP card, will I? Will me old pc 3200 gig ram sticks still work with it? Thanks in advance. If I need to make something more clear let me know and Ill try my best, I just kind of wrote down what I was thinking.

 

 

 

 

 

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System Information

 

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Time of this report: 8/15/2007, 00:40:52

 

Machine name: CHRIS-878D0D4B9

 

Operating System: Windows XP Home Edition (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 2 (2600.xpsp_sp2_qfe.070227-2300)

 

Language: English (Regional Setting: English)

 

System Manufacturer: Dell Computer Corporation

 

System Model: Dell DE051

 

BIOS: Phoenix ROM BIOS PLUS Version 1.10 A00

 

Processor: Intel® Celeron® CPU 2.53GHz

 

Memory: 766MB RAM

 

Page File: 506MB used, 985MB available

 

Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS

 

DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)

 

DX Setup Parameters: Not found

 

DxDiag Version: 5.03.2600.2180 32bit Unicode

 

Card name: NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 (Microsoft Corporation)

 

Manufacturer: NVIDIA

 

Chip type: GeForce FX 5200

 

DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC

[blade995]

Well all motherboards today have pci slots, so that will not be a problem with you using your old cards.

 

 

 

You will need to give us your computer specs so we can see what kind of motherboard you will need. Include what your processor is and your computer model number. If you can, tell us what socket your processor is, if not, you can google the model number to find out.

 

 

 

The ram will work if you get a motherboard that supports it.

[JoeDaStudd]

I have some bad news for you.

 

As your pc is dell, the motherboards normally come riveted to the case. This means its near impossible to remove the original and replace it with a new one.

 

So to simply change the motherboard you would have to more then likely get a new case too.

 

PCI, all modern motherboards will come with atleast one PCI slot (normally 3 or 4).

 

Ram, this will work with any motherboard which uses DDR (thats DDR not DDR2).

 

 

 

As you'll be changing the motherboard you really should look into building a whole new pc. As the motherboard alone will not give you any more performance, only room to add bits on. And in the end you'll end up upgrading more and more, making a lot cheaper to just save up now and do a completely new build.

 

 

 

EDIT: It seems its only the older dell pc's which have the motherboards riveted on.

 

 

 

Ps As your running a celeron I recommend you upgrade that when you upgrade your mb.

[Torlen]

Thats what I was afraid of. Is the 500$ pc that newegg (i think) has still a worthwile investment? if so Ill just start saving some money until I can afford it. im not very hardware savvy, so any help on building would be appreciated too.

[blade995]

Thats what I was afraid of. Is the 500$ pc that newegg (i think) has still a worthwile investment? if so Ill just start saving some money until I can afford it. im not very hardware savvy, so any help on building would be appreciated too.

 

 

 

Well it depends what your going to be using this computer for. I'm guessing that it will be for some gaming if you were going to upgrade the graphics card.

 

 

 

How old is your computer? The specs would be nice to see what you would be upgrading from. I'm guessing it's pretty old (1+ years) because dell now has pci-e slots on their motherboards.

 

 

 

If you can re-use the hard drive, and cd/dvd drives that could save some money off the price of you building a new computer.

 

 

 

I don't know why dell would rivet their motherboards. Joe are you sure about that? I always thought they were just weird design that were mini-atx form factor. That wouldn't be a good business move if they need to replace a motherboard on warranty.

[zonda]

I don't know why dell would rivet their motherboards. Joe are you sure about that? I always thought they were just weird design that were mini-atx form factor. That wouldn't be a good business move if they need to replace a motherboard on warranty.

 

 

 

Dell has always made it very difficult to upgrade your computer (aside from RAM) unless you specifically upgrade it through them. My sister had a dell and my grandmother had a dell. One of the cases I opened was essentially booby trapped - I couldn't swap in a new video card, I couldnt take out the hard drive (had a wierd IDE cable that couldn't be removed) and I couldn't add another hard drive or CD/DVD drives. The other case wasn't a whole lot different. Dell even keeps a monopoly on their ink... dell printer? You HAVE to order your dell ink thru dell on their website.

[Torlen]

Look at first post for comp details.

[nomar04]

I don't know why dell would rivet their motherboards. Joe are you sure about that? I always thought they were just weird design that were mini-atx form factor. That wouldn't be a good business move if they need to replace a motherboard on warranty.

 

 

 

Dell has always made it very difficult to upgrade your computer (aside from RAM) unless you specifically upgrade it through them. My sister had a dell and my grandmother had a dell. One of the cases I opened was essentially booby trapped - I couldn't swap in a new video card, I could take out the hard drive (had a wierd IDE cable that couldn't be removed) and I couldn't add another hard drive or CD/DVD drives. The other case wasn't a whole lot different. Dell even keeps a monopoly on their ink... dell printer? You HAVE to order your dell ink thru dell on their website.

 

 

 

I have a Dell Dimension 5150, and i had to replace the motherboard, and it was very easy. It was just screwed into place. I did have to buy the same kind, because no other one wold have lined up with all of the cut-outs for the ports. I can easily change anything around in the case.

 

 

 

If you are going to be gaming, i would say that you should just buy a new computer, just save the HD, and CD/DVD drives. The Celeron processor wouldn't get you very far, and the ram you have is most likely DDR. I would say that you would want an Intel Dual core processor, with at least 2MB L2 cache, and depending on the games, up to 2 gigs of ram. The Evga 7900 GS KO would be a good, yet cheap graphics card, because it can run games like BF2 on max settings with no lag. For any computer, you will also need a good PSU. You should always read the reviews on Newegg about the PSU. (a 500W one should do fine for most cards, as long as it is not an 8800)

 

 

 

Hopefully i helped some.

[Torlen]

Thanks, I dont usually have 768mb of RAM, I actually had 1.5 gigs which is better but my 1g card failed on me. Kept getting blue screen of death and when I took out the RAM card everythign started to work fine again. I do realize that dual cards are better too, but I didnt play anything where I needed the extra speed quite yet.