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Re-using dell motherboard

T

tjhacker

Junior Member
My first post here... not so sure if this is the right forum to put my request in. Please direct me if I need to take it to some other forum.

Here's the deal. I am planning to build a cheap system (to use it as a low-end media center pc) using components from my old Dell Dimension 4300 desktop. I am hearing that it is not possible to fit a dell motherboard in any other third-party casing. Is it right? If it is, then can I at least use the processor and other components, and use them on a different motherboard? What motherboard should I buy? How do I figure out the type of motherboard that will support my processor (P4), memory (PC133/168 pin) and video card (AGP)?

This is my first attempt to build a system, and I am still learning a lot of stuff about hardwares - a lot of them through the forums here, and any help will be greatly appreciated.
 
I don't recommend trying to salvage parts from your system. An older like system yours may be worth more as a complete, working computer than the sum of its older, slower parts so you may do better by selling it for whatever you can get and using the money to help pay for new components.

The individual parts aren't worth that much. You could use the CPU in a new setup, but that's probably not the best way to maximize its value to you. Your Dimension 4300 uses SD RAM. If the sticks are at least 256 MB, they may have some value to others looking to add memory to other old systems because new SD RAM is much more expensive than DDR RAM. The AGP video card is probably usable, but considering its age, it is probably quite slow compared to an inexpensive new card.

You can probably build a new setup for around $600 - $700 that will use newer, faster techologies, such as SATA hard drive, DDR 2 RAM and a CPU using one of the current sockets that will also cost less because they are the currently popular form factors.

If you live in an area with a good selection of dealers, go shopping. If you don't have a bunch of local dealers, consider packaged systems from reliable shops like Newegg or PC Club. There are other good vendors, as well.

The weakest part of many such "pre-built" systems is often an undersized power supply (typically 300 - 350 watts). Unlike "department store" brands like Dell, Gateway, etc., many of these dealers will allow you to upgrade individual components for just the price difference between the stock part and a better one so it shouldn't cost too much extra to bulk these systems up to at least a 450 watt supply. You can add other features as you want or need them, possibly at a reduced price as part of the system.

These systems often include Windows. If it includes XP Home, and you want XP Pro or Vista, they may upgrade you to that for just the price difference, as well.

Good luck. 🙂
 
I've actually salvaged components from a Dell Dimension 4600 before. The only components I was able to use were the CPU "Intel Pentium P4 3.4Ghz s478", HDD "Maxtor Sata 250G", Memory "PC3200 2x512MB" and that's it. The poster above is absolutely correct.
 
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