(EXPIRED 6/12) Dimension 8300, R9800, Office XP $623 AR/AC (possibly $580) Insp 1100 laptop $620

[dakels]

Originally posted by: RossMAN

Originally posted by: dakels
well I got my 4600... The case sucks! Its small, cramped and drives are a b!tch to install. Reminds me of the old cases, just a little better, but barely. I am going to put it into a Antec 1080AMG with a True 430 PSU (Check staples antec case deal thread). I'll have to see if I need that $10 power converter but I think it's a dell PSU thing, not the mobo.

Only problem is that when I swapped my HD's over I thought I could reinstall... there is an admin password to reinstall... I am calling dell to see if they know the password because it is not a default and I sure as heck didnt put one in. My 400mhz RAM is also only coming in at 266mhz...

:disgust:

Thanks for keeping us informed, can you possibly take pics of the case inside and out?

I can host them.

err... only if you post a digital camera deal

The only cameras I ever owned was a Canon Eos 1 with an assortment of lenses (including a 300mm 2.8f lens[$$$$])... that got stolen from me a while back, whole Tamrac bag and all.

actually, I can try to borrow my friend's digital camera. I'll PM you if I do. I'll probably see her this week so I'll just tell her to grab the camera. I am removing the CPU and R9800 replacing it with a 2.4C and R9500. I have been inside and out and all over this case already so I know it well. Maybe I'll just draw you some diagrams in CAD or illustrator

 

[dakels]

BTW guys for the memory tests, use memtest86. Its been an industry standard for a while. It should tell you the SPD and other settings on your RAM and overall RAM performance/health.

To my knowledge, most or all newer DDR chips now, especially the higher speed ones have an SPD. The SPD is set by the factory to tell the motherboard bios what the specs of the RAM is. This includes compatible frequency (mhz) and latency timings. The Bios then takes the information and depending on the bios, will use whatever it feels will be best on your system. Dell's are automatic, and kinda crappy IMO but set for maximum stability. A bios with good user control (Like the dual bios's on the Gigabyte 8KNXP motherboard I am replacing this dell's with) will allow you to overide SPD's and preferred settings. This is needed for OCing but sometimes just to get your memory to run at the factory spec, as in the case with my HyperX 400mhz chips running 333mhz due to the dell motherboard being fussy and not wanting to run 400mhz with such aggresive timings that are on my chips (2-2-2-6).

 

[dakels]

BTW guys I plan on giving you the full heads up on all the tests I will be running on my 4600. I will also test the factory RAM quality on 2 different motherboards. From the looks of it, it would appear to be OC'd PC2700. I will also report back on the performance difference of the same RAM and processor adn R9800 on a Gigabyte 8KNXP motherboard. This may take a while to find the time to do all this and the Gigabyte 8KNXP motherboard won't be in for a week so don't get your panties in a bunch.

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

Did folks want pics of the innards of a 8300 case? I can do that with mine. Will be this weekend before I hook it up.

Wondering about the power supply. I'm stuffed to the max in this case, ouch.

Raid card, 2 hard drives in raid, one extra drive, dvd drive, cdrw, floppy (maybe? can't remember if it'll fit)

Hopefully my 430w Enermax will work with no problem.

Also, does anyone know if it's legal to sell XP Home and Office XP that came with it?

I have Office 2000 and XP Pro and don't need Office XP and don't want to downgrade to home.

 

[dakels]

Originally posted by: BrunoPuntzJones
Did folks want pics of the innards of a 8300 case? I can do that with mine. Will be this weekend before I hook it up.

Wondering about the power supply. I'm stuffed to the max in this case, ouch.

Raid card, 2 hard drives in raid, one extra drive, dvd drive, cdrw, floppy (maybe? can't remember if it'll fit)

Hopefully my 430w Enermax will work with no problem.

Also, does anyone know if it's legal to sell XP Home and Office XP that came with it?

I have Office 2000 and XP Pro and don't need Office XP and don't want to downgrade to home.

You should be able to fit the 3rd drive in the 2nd 3.5" bay under the floppy. You are maxing it out though. The enermax PSU should go in just fine. I was told by 2 people tech people (one a manager) that the PSU is not proprietary or need any special adapters.

I think you could sell the XP but it says Dell all over it. The Office XP disc is just an OEM disc. It has a Dell sticker on the registration but the CD is plain microsoft OEM.

 

[Thump553]

Got my 8300 system last night, where it wasn't supposed to even ship until today. Good news and bad news-the bad news is my system makes some noise, it sounds like there is a sick fan inside it. Not loud, but somewhat irritating. My sister got a 4500 last fall which is dead silent, I was hoping for the same thing here. It is the same case as that (now old) 4500 (a good thing).

The good news-my video card is coming up on system information as a Radeon 9800 PRO! Anyone have any information on how I can verify this, determine what speed its running at, etc?

Mild Dell rant-why can Dell ship systems with Windows at somewhat current? I've donw two systems from them in the last year, each required 30 MB of required updates to WinXP.

Also, does anyone know the administrator pw for these systems? This information/option never came up during the install.

 

[lesch2k]

i'm certain it is against microsoft (and ebay) policy to sell oem SW without the original machine it came from. not so sure about the law though.

 

[Tom]

Thump553,

If you only have one user account on WindowsXP that person is automatically the adminstrator.

I wouldn't blame Dell for the fact that Microsoft issues 35 patches a day for Windows !

And, I thing the Radeon 9800 gets recognized as a Pro because they are the same except for clock speed. The drivers wouldn't necessarily tell the operating system there was any difference. But maybe you got lucky.

 

[DaCurryman]

If you guys want, I have a 4600 that I can take pics of. But I'm packing it up today, so let me know where to send the pics to for hosting.

Also the 9800 shows up as Pro even when you look it up on ATI's site.

I'd also like to know about seeling off Office and Windows XP if possible.

 

[dakels]

ripped from my older post
Stock R9800 Pro cards are 380/340 (680 DDR). Stock R9800 non Pro cards are, I believe, 325/310 (620 DDR). Same as the R9700 Pro. The great thing is that it's not a R9700 pro and is capable of higher speeds and better performance. PDS (AT member) says his 9800 that comes from Dell is pushing 430/380.... that's just phenomenal. YMMV

Rage3DTweak, Rivatuner, and Powerstrip are all downloadable OC/video card control software. They will tell you what speeds you are running at. The 9800/9800 Pro drivers are the same so windows may report a 9800 Pro. Same card, different speeds. I have yet to hear from anyone abuot an unsuccessful OC to Pro speeds though of course it's not guaranteed. Past pro speeds, YMMV big time. OCing also voids your warranty but I don't think they could tell that you OC'd it. Just stating the obvious, don't call dell saying "I overclocked my card to 500mhz and now it's on fire. plz send new computar"

btw regarding sales, my mind must have blanked because OEM clearly states something like "for distribution with new computer/not for resale" But then I don't know how places sell OEM software legit like newegg. I think you're defintely skirting the rules if you try to sell dell's OEM discs.

 

[dakels]

Originally posted by: Dead Parrot Sketch
Thump553,

If you only have one user account on WindowsXP that person is automatically the adminstrator.

I wouldn't blame Dell for the fact that Microsoft issues 35 patches a day for Windows !

And, I thing the Radeon 8500 gets recognized as a Pro because they are the same except for clock speed. The drivers wouldn't necessarily tell the operating system there was any difference. But maybe you got lucky.

yea seriously, dell could ship a machine and by the time it gets to you there will probably be a XP update or 2. XP updates are not always the greatest anyways and some people are selective about which patches they download.

yea seriously, dell could ship a machine and by the time it gets to you there will probably be a XP update. XP updates are not always the greatest anyways and some people are selective about which patches they download.

About the password.... there is a problem with a reinstall password issue. I don't think it's dell's fault though. I think its a glitch with windows XP and the installer CD. a repair/reinstall may be PW locked. I spoke with dell about this and they informed me they do not use install PW's. I searched google and groups for a bit and found a few reports of this happening to others from normal retail CD's. You can just ignore this and go to the normal install and wen the GUI menu comes up choose reinstall. That worked fine for me.

btw anyone reinstalling the OS on a dimension, make sure you run the seperate diver/utility CD afterwards or windows won't recognize most of your components. The built-in network adapter on the 865PE boards need a seperate driver installer found on the driver disc for the Intel Pro 10/100 controller.

 

[RossMAN]

DaCurryman emailed me some pics of his 4600 which I will upload and host tonight for all to see.