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Convert Dell to AMD-compatible PC

S

seiyafan

Member
I have a Dell XPS desktop for some time now. It has a very large chassis with a special designed CPU cooling fan tray. I have this idea of replacing the motherboard with an AMD compatible one, get a dual core from AMD, and maybe replacing RAM (could someone tell me if Intel and AMD MB use different types of RAM?), and possible get a faster video card (depend on my budget), lastly plug back in all the cables for hard-drive, DVDrom and power supply.

So what are the potential problems I might run into by doing this? One I can think of is that the location of the CPU is different now so that the fan try might not be able to be placed on top of the heatsink. Please share your thoughts and comments. Thanks
 
Well the heatsink won't be able to mount on an AMD based motherboard anyway, so you would have to get a new heatsink. If you want to save the data on your hard drives, and not have to do a fresh install of windows, remove the IDE controllers from device manager prior to shutdown, as that will generaly work the best.

Worst case you would have to do a repair install, however if the windows cd is one that came with the dell, it may not even work after swapping out the motherboard, or might not have the repair option.

As for the ram, that depends, as there are intel motherboards that use DDR, and there are some that use DDR2. If it's DDR2, then you will have to get new ram as well, as AMD doesn't use DDR2 yet, and don't have any real reason too since they aren't bandwidth starved like P4's are.
 
Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
Welcome to AT.

I haven't been keeping up with this - does Dell use standard ATX powersupplies now?
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Well, now Dell is on to the BTX scene, so although they did, they're moving away from them. Some of their mobos are still basically proprietary too... angled DIMM slots to fit under drive cages, for example.

seiyafan, another issue would be the case's front wiring for lights and buttons (power button, reset button). I vote for starting over with an Antec P180 (if you want fancy) or Antec SLK3000-B (if you want value), a quality ATX2.0 power supply such as Seasonic, Antec, Fortron/Sparkle, or Enermax, and a new WindowsXP Pro license.

As for your Dell, just run DBAN on your Dell, restore it from its Restore CD, patch it up at Windows Update and Office Update, get it some new antivirus software (AntiVir maybe) and sell it off or give it to a community center or something.
 
Dump the overpriced DELL to another NOOB and start from scratch. The Antec SLK3000B will give you an excellent platform to build upon. Can't go wrong with this $45 case.
 
Originally posted by: seiyafan
I have a Dell XPS desktop for some time now. It has a very large chassis with a special designed CPU cooling fan tray. I have this idea of replacing the motherboard with an AMD compatible one, get a dual core from AMD, and maybe replacing RAM (could someone tell me if Intel and AMD MB use different types of RAM?), and possible get a faster video card (depend on my budget), lastly plug back in all the cables for hard-drive, DVDrom and power supply.

So what are the potential problems I might run into by doing this? One I can think of is that the location of the CPU is different now so that the fan try might not be able to be placed on top of the heatsink. Please share your thoughts and comments. Thanks
Click to expand...

what are the specs on the current machine and what are you wanting to gain from the upgrade? is it for a certain program/game? just to move to amd?
 
Originally posted by: bob4432
what are the specs on the current machine and what are you wanting to gain from the upgrade? is it for a certain program/game? just to move to amd?
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Specs are 3.0 Dual core, 1G RAM, Geforce 6800 256MB.

I use it to play game mostly. Since I have a 19'' LCD, resolution is limited to 1280*1024, so at high quality setting this computer can still handle pretty well (60+fps, but less with newer games). I just want to see how easy it is to move to AMD because from all the benchmark articles I have read it seems that you get can squeeze more fps from AMD processor than Intel processor with a high-end card like ATI 850 or GF7800. You don't want to spend money buying an expensive video card then realize it's potential is limited by your CPU. One thing I can do is to wait till next year when Intel can produce a better processor for gaming if possible, but that might not happen. Another way is to convert my current one to AMD compatible, that's why I want to know if it's gonna be a hassle or not. Third way is to add an existing (faster) Intel processor and/or replace video card by Christmas time, but I doubt the improvement is gonna be significant.
Another thing is self-gratification. Is bringing fps from 30 to 50 significant? Possibly. What about from 60 to 80? Doubtful. I have to clear one thing that I am no where close to a hardcore gamer, and I don't really play any THE latest 3D first person shooting game. Lately I have been playing guild wars and I am getting 60 fps consistantly, occasionally it drops to 35 or so. And I am working fellow so I am pretty lazy when it comes to building a computer from scrath. 😛

 
Originally posted by: seiyafan
Originally posted by: bob4432
what are the specs on the current machine and what are you wanting to gain from the upgrade? is it for a certain program/game? just to move to amd?
Click to expand...

Specs are 3.0 Dual core, 1G RAM, Geforce 6800 256MB.

I use it to play game mostly. Since I have a 19'' LCD, resolution is limited to 1280*1024, so at high quality setting this computer can still handle pretty well (60+fps, but less with newer games). I just want to see how easy it is to move to AMD because from all the benchmark articles I have read it seems that you get can squeeze more fps from AMD processor than Intel processor with a high-end card like ATI 850 or GF7800. You don't want to spend money buying an expensive video card then realize it's potential is limited by your CPU. One thing I can do is to wait till next year when Intel can produce a better processor for gaming if possible, but that might not happen. Another way is to convert my current one to AMD compatible, that's why I want to know if it's gonna be a hassle or not. Third way is to add an existing (faster) Intel processor and/or replace video card by Christmas time, but I doubt the improvement is gonna be significant.
Click to expand...

with what you have, you could either put in a x800/850xtpe or 6800ultra in agp flavor and get a increase fps in games. you are not currently cpu limited with your current setup.

also, when you say 3.0DC, i think you mean 3.0 w/ HT, which are two entirely different cpus. a DC is actually 2 different cpu cores where the 3.0HT is just 1 physical core, but the os sees it as 2 cpus (virtual).

look at my rig in sig and it plays bf2 fine @ 1280x960, 6AA and details on high. the machine except for the gpu is 1.5yrs old, the gpu is ~1mos old.

don't try to convert your dell over to a amd, if you want get a better gpu now and then wait for a year when you would really feel a difference and you are actually limited by the cpu. you are currently gpu limited.

also, benches are benches but in real life after 70fps you can't tell the difference (mostly 30fps, but your peripheral will pick up refreshes to about 70fps)
 
Originally posted by: PeteRoy
You bought a dual core dell and you already want to buy a new cpu and mobo?

Stupid idea imo.
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take it easy on the op - read the first post from the op - if he has had it for "some time now" it is HT, not DC - PeteRoy, you should know this.....:thumbsdown:

 
The AMD will handle some games better than the P4 if you have a high-end GPU, but not enough to warrant a new PC. Your first mistake was to spend big bucks on that hyped DELL PC. I'd sit on that rig for at least one year, then check out what's available at that time.
 
Originally posted by: furballi
The AMD will handle some games better than the P4 if you have a high-end GPU, but not enough to warrant a new PC. Your first mistake was to spend big bucks on that hyped DELL PC. I'd sit on that rig for at least one year, then check out what's available at that time.
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He'd have a better price if he sells it right now. 😀

Yeah, we all make mistakes. I built a system thinking it would surpass what I wanted it for. It turns out it's not as powerful as I thought. I went ahead and bought an XP 3200+ for my mobo and changed my mind about using it. So, I sold it on eBay. Total loss was only $60 CDN. Still, after I replace my mobo/CPU/RAM/heatsink/video card, it's going to be a lot more.
 
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