upgeading a dell dimension l800r

romtech

Senior member
Jan 19, 2001
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can i upgrade this computer at all. it has an intel 810mb on it.... and if i can upgrade how high can i go???
 

MichaelD

Lifer
Jan 16, 2001
31,528
3
76
Hello there. Let me say this as gently as possible; you're screwed. I'll explain.

Back in January, I built my very first, home-built computer...a smashing success story. Why did I do it? Because I also have a Dell Dimension L550r, that's why! Same boat as you.

I went round and round and round with Dell tech support via email and phone for a week trying to find out if I could just plug in a faster CPU I.E. the 800 that's currently in your box. Their tech support knew substantially less than I did about my L550r. I couldn't get a straight answer from Dell and I didn't want to risk frying a brand new $300 CPU and my Dell's mobo. It should be noted that back then I knew maybe 20% about computers in general as I know right now. Building your own system from scratch is one the most highly educational and rewarding things you'll ever do.

My Dell has the same intel mobo that yours does, but a different BIOS. As you probably have already found out, Dell BIOS's don't let you set anything about your chip. Not FSB, not multiplier, not voltage, nothing. Also, that mobo has no AGP slot, so upgrading to a "real videocard" isn't even possible.

I just refused to believe that I was stuck with an unupgradable pc. I even posted on this forum and was told the same thing that I said on the top line of this post.

Now, you can get a fast PCI card Voodoo 5000 comes to mind. But 3DFX is dead, so forget about future driver upgrades. Buy at your own risk. You can also upgrade the memory (if you haven't already done so) to 256mb. I did that on my Dell and it made a big difference.

I'd say maybe it's time for you to build your own pc. Build it the exact way you want it, not the way someone else tells you that you want it.! Good luck. Cheers!
 

Why don't you guys just flash the BIOS to intel's BIOS,That way you can upgrade to a faster cpu.
 

romtech

Senior member
Jan 19, 2001
224
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ok first off i am not thinking of upgradig right now but it would be nice to know that i can upgrade in the future.. ok looking at teh bios i have no options on setting the processor... one option that was posted is to flash the bios seeig as the mb is an intel mb i am sure there is a bios flash on the intel site and i know for a fact that the 810 mb can go up to at least 966 caz dell sells systems at 966 with the 810mb... so i will caall tech support and find out about flashing the bios... and one more thing if i do go and buy another motherboard will it fit in the dell case????
 

romtech

Senior member
Jan 19, 2001
224
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0
buddy check this link it has the bios flash for the 810mb
link
it may be help full but i dont intend to flash my bios till i am ready to upgrade whcih is a while from now...
 

toph99

Diamond Member
Aug 25, 2000
5,505
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you can just drop in a new chip and it should recognize it. keyword is should, the dell tech said it would but i don't know how much i trust them after i somehow confused them when i asked a question about CAS latency ;)
 

romtech

Senior member
Jan 19, 2001
224
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ha ha... i hope the 810mb can go up to 1000mgz do you guys know its limits.....
 

llc00ljoel

Senior member
Nov 24, 1999
211
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i work for dell...and for some dimension systems the intel bios flashes do work...your mileage may vary and it could work, but it could also potentially hose your system...and well, to be honest, officially dell will not tell you that it is ok to flash with an intel bios as it would void your warranty...and since dell wouldn't want to promote anything as such, you can be assured they aren't going to tell you even if the tech does know the answer...
so if you're feeling lucky, go for it...just be warned if turn on your system and it doesn't POST...
 

romtech

Senior member
Jan 19, 2001
224
0
0
but if i was to use the flash provided by dell would that allow me to upgrade to a faster processor and play around with the processor settings...