Dell 4700 Upgrade/ New Budget Gaming Rig

[Herbo13]

Hi Everyone, I'm posting yet again. So, $ issues have changed so I can't drop all the cash at once on a new decent budget gaming rig (OC Capable and decently future proof) right now. SO, I would like to build it piece by piece (or in affordable chunks) for as long as it takes, but I'd like to swap in certain parts as I get them into my current Dell 4700 w/ some upgrades (see specs below), so I still have home computer access, can game (I want to play Fallout 3 badly now), use the internet, etc. After my new rig is built, I'll give the Dell 4700 to my wife and kids to just use for their light gaming and general computer use.

The problem is, of course, compatibility with the Dell 4700 (namely their MOBO and horrible case design), bottlenecking, etc. My question is where do I start with this whole process? I assumed I should buy the case first (to swap the Dell garbage since the Dell case is WAY to small for a new PSU and the newer GPU's) right up into and new PSU. But, the Dell MOBO is a micoATX board - will this still be able to go into a standard ATX midtower case or would it cause problems (too small for it?). I was considering an Antec 300 case. I'd also probably pick up a 500-550W power supply with the case. But again, would this be compatible with the Dell MOBO (and its BIOS). As money permits I would guess I would pick up and swap in the new CPU and Mobo, RAM, GPU, OS, Speakers, Monitor, network adapter - in that order? Am I on the right track with this so far? Once I had all the parts I'd build my new rig, rebuild the Dell 4700 for the fam to use and we'd finally be a 2 computer household. That's my plan anyway - Does this look feasible or are there incompatibilities I'm missing here or off on. Thank you so much for your help!

JEFF

PS: Just reference this is the standard Dell 4700 Specs Page: http://support.dell.com/suppor...sm/specs.htm#wp1043338


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System Specs
Budget:Need everything, tight budget, bang for buck VGA:BFG 6600 GEFORCE (Upgrade) Monitor:15" LCD Dell issued
MB😀ell issued Mobo, Intel Chipset 945G, I believe OS:Windows XP Pro 32-bit (Dell issued, linked to MOBO) Browser:Firefox 3
CPU:Intel Pentium 4 ,3.2 GHz (Dell issued) Sound:Soundblaster Live! 24-bit CPU Pps:NEW ONE GAMING, 4700 for general family use
Memory:2 GB (unknown specifics- Upgraded 2 years ago) PSU:305W Dell issued Brand:none really
HD:150 GB (Dell issued) Cooling😱ne Dell Case Fan Misc:These are the specs for my current refurbished Dell 4700


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Jeff

 

[krnmastersgt]

Firstly, yes a microATX board will fit in any standard ATX sized case, only issues might be cable length and how strange it might look in a transparent side window 😛
As for your order of upgrading, case+psu first is a good choice, I'd suggest the video card next since you'll get an increase in the performance of any game you play on your current system, assuming the framerate can be improved by a better video card.

Now the issue with changing the motherboard+cpu+ram would be that the motherboard operates on a different chipset from what you currently use (you are upgrading it, right?) so the harddrive with the OS as is probably won't work. One option would be to delete the motherboard drivers while you're on the Dell set-up, download the new drivers to a flash drive and then install them while you have the new motherboard hooked up. This isn't guaranteed to work so be prepared to have the mobo not-usable for a little while. This is where you'd get the OS + harddrive to have 2 functional computers.

Now if you just want to continue upgrading your older system to its fullest before turning it into 2 systems, you'd go case + psu, video card (this would be first, but a psu upgrade might be a better idea first, to ensure your video card stays safe), monitor/speakers. That's the limit on your current system, then you'd start stockpiling the parts needed to have 2 separate systems running, these components are useless till all the others have been gathered together: mobo, cpu, ram, new OS + harddrive (this could actually be used on the old system, but you might have to reformat + re-install when you change mobo so why bother? also the possible slow performance on a p4).

Not really sure why you think you need a network adapter, most onboards are very good these days, so that's some extra cash saved. Not really sure what else I can add to this, but if I think of something I'll edit it in for you.

 

[Herbo13]

Thanks for answering a lot of questions! I'm glad the MATX will fit into the new case I get - that'll be it's temporary home until all is done and finished. One question tho - If I upgrade to new a case, PSU, and Video Card (probably a 4830) wouldn't the old MOBO and P4 processor bottleneck the GPU's performance?
I forgot to mention that I would be updgrading the Hd also, so that won't be an issue. The old MOBO, CPU, HD, etc. will all stay in the family computer once mine is built! I have no plans of investing anymore money into that Dell- that's just gonna be a "family" general use computer and works good for that as it is! =) Oh by the network adapter, I meant for a wireless home network- I have Verizon Fios and they claim that I have to buy their version because of certain programming, blah, blah! Thanks again for the help!!!

 

[krnmastersgt]

Ah mmk, and yes your p4 will bottleneck it, however if the framerates can be improved at all by a better video card, even if its not the full potential the 4830 will offer a performance boost. Now if the games you're playing are already running very well on your gpu's end, and the only limiting factor is the cpu, THEN the video card upgrade won't really yield any improvements. That's rarely the case however unless you went from a decent gpu to a better gpu with a heavy cpu bottleneck prior to the upgrade. That Fios thing sounds like a load of bologna but if its what you need, go for it.

There's also the improved image quality you'll get in all games with some of the more recent video cards. That's always a big plus in my book.

 

[JDMnAR1]

Personally, before I would invest much time and effort into transplanting the guts of your 4700 to a new case for what will in all likelihood be marginal performance gains, I would rethink my plan. If you don't stand to gain much by doing a rolling upgrade (which you probably don't), why not just start buying your new parts as money allows (and hot deals pop up) and stockpile them until you have them all? That way you don't have all of the headaches associated with moving hardware (especially temporary moves) and flip-flopping drivers, etc.

Edit: Keep in mind that while moving your Dell motherboard to a new case will alleviate any space issues due strictly to the case layout, it won't fix any limitations created by the motherboard layout (i.e. - you won't be able to magically fit that dual slot GPU in the motherboard just because you have more space in the case).

 

[krnmastersgt]

Very valid point, I guess I might be one of the few that enjoys having a reason to take apart my systems. The hot deals approach is very valid for saving money, assuming deals actually do come up. However most of the components the OP is considering aren't the type that Newegg or another e-/retailer would have trouble moving, so featuring special deals on them might not be too common.

 

[Herbo13]

I guess I'm doing the "Transplant" here solely for hobby reasons. I know I won't have the complete results I want til "the end" but also I like tinkering- and also I'd like to play certain games at a better quality sooner than- I dunno a couple months or a year down the line (plus hopefully By the time I get to the CPU phase, there might be significant price drops). I know I'm doing this in a time consuming way, but... I kinda enjoy it Plus, I'll keep my out for deals and specials and maybe save some good $! =)

 

[JDMnAR1]

Well your reasons for doing it this way are certainly sound. However, you mentioned in the OP that one of your concerns is that the newer GPUs won't fit in the Dell case. Unless this is because the card physically won't fit because it is long enough that the drive bays (assuming tower/mid-tower case) preclude it, swapping your motherboard into another case won't fix that problem.

The scenario I have encountered personally was trying to stuff a 7900 GTX OC into my Antec mid-tower case with an Intel mATX motherboard. There was plenty of space for the dual-slot GPU on the motherboard itself, but the length of the card meant that not only was it in contention with my hard drives for the same real estate, but it also interfered with some of the SATA connectors on the motherboard. If I move my board to a larger case, the drive issue may be alleviated, but the SATA ports would still be problematic. Just some food for thought, because I know I was irritated that my plans fell apart...