Dumb Dell question:

[rivan]

My mom's got a Dell Dimension 4400. Where on Dell's site (if anywhere) do I find specifics on what CPU & RAM upgrades it'll take?

 

[Snapster]

If it's still the original install, you can browse Dell's support website using the rig and choose find my service tag option. Either that or look for the dell service tag sticker that's normally on the box. From that it'll tell you what you have and what you can upgrade.

 

[FlyingPenguin]

Support Section of the website. As snapster said, you enter your service tag and it'll tell you about upgrades, updates, etc.

You can easily upgrade the RAM - just be sure to use an online configurator like the one on Crucial.com or Corsair.com. OEM systems are fussy about RAM so don't just go out and buy any old RAM. In needs to be matched to your system.

 

[rivan]

Ok, so I've looked up what the config is, the parts of interest being:

PROCESSOR, 80531, 1.8G, 0, 400FSB, SOCKET N, D0

and

DUAL IN-LINE MEMORY MODULE, 512, 266M, 64X64, 8K, 184

So, that would be a P4 1.8 and a single DIMM, but it doesn't give me any guidance on what the supported stuff is. Edit: Flyin mentions configuratiors for the RAM, but what about BIOD support for faster processors? Is there a way to tell what the upper end of processors it'll take is? I dont see anything about available upgrades listed.

 

[rivan]

Anyone? CPU support for Dells?

 

[FlyingPenguin]

Don't expect to be able to upgrade that CPU much. You should be able to download a service manual that should list the CPUs it supports. Also you can check out the Dell forums - lots of good tech info there.

 

[Slowlearner]

Best advice on Dell pc upgradeability is available at their forums http://forum.us.dell.com/supportforums/board?board.id=dim_upghw. Wgile Dell's own website offers some upgrade options it is not comprehensive. For older Dell's www.roberthancock.com is very useful.

Another option to explore is to use Powerleap's Upgrade configurator at http://www.powerleap.com/. At home I was able to upgrade an old Dim V350 to a Celeron 1.4 using one of their add on CPU cards.

As an user of a Dim 4400 at work I am reasonably familiar with the system and have concluded that, it is limited by its 400mHz bus, and upgrading the CPU is not worthwhile. It is however more than adequate for routine office work - though some came with 5400 rpm drives and only 128 mb memory - I have replaced both and used generic memory. What particularly upset me was the fact that the mb does not support USB 2.0.