Upgrade or replace PC?

SteveJH200

Just be aware that Dell do not use standard ATX motherboards in many of their machines so you need to check out whether your current motherboard and PSU will fit into a replacement case.

alexalexalex

SteveJH200 wrote: »

Just be aware that Dell do not use standard ATX motherboards in many of their machines so you need to check out whether your current motherboard and PSU will fit into a replacement case.

Damn you Dell! why do you have to make it so difficult for me!!! :mad:

I took the case off to look at the power supply and (it says Delta Electronics DPS-350XB-3 A on the side of it
Does that tell you anything?

This is what CPU-Z has to say about my motherboard:

Would that be easy enough to transfer to a new case?

gonzo, Do i assume that the 6850 only needs one power connector and would work with the first case you linked to (i did look but cant for the life of me see where it specifies that or not but did see its needs 500w PSU)

SteveJH200

It looks like it's a standard Micro ATX motherboard 0M017G. Take a look at this forum http://www.eggxpert.com/forums/thread/640009.aspx and this photo http://www.esaitech.com/commerce/catalog/showpic.jsp;jsessionid=B4FAE56B882594C604595303D0C95160?product_id=54659&czuid=1321100398085 and this one from ebay http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Studio-540-Core-2-Duo-Quad-Motherboard-NEW-M017G-/170596519751?_trksid=p4340.m263&_trkparms=algo%3DSIC%26its%3DI%252BC%26itu%3DUCI%252BIA%252BUA%252BFICS%252BUFI%26otn%3D15%26pmod%3D250847451618%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D4142122185811225219

Here is a link to everything regarding ATX. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATX

As long as your motherboard is a Micro ATX - and it appears that it is, then it will go into a standard case. If your PSU is an ATX and you want to use it again then it will fit, but if you're buying a higher wattage one then buy a ATX one. A new one will have the 20 pin power cable and enough SATA connections for your needs. The only bit I'm not sure about is whether you can use your original CPU cooler so be prepared to buy another one. I personally like very quiet computers so I tend to look at the offerings from Quiet PC http://www.quietpc.com/gb-en-gbp/home and their tech guy Andy is extremely helpful and knowledgable with advice.

alexalexalex

Thanks for the help so far guys. I've been trawling the net for more info and i came across this thread which would suggest that i dont need to replace the case at all (thats a good thing) just the PSU and GPU...

This would be my preferred way of doing things so with that in mind could you suggest some PSU/GPU combos that would compliment the rest of my hardware and get me up to speed for MW3? (as money saving-ly as possible of course )

Thanks guys

alexalexalex

Just a quick update, as the Radeon 5850 referenced in the AV Forums thread i linked to seems to be an old model thats not so readily available im looking at the 6850 instead and this PSU

Any comments or suggestions?

karl-123

corsair make the best power supply units,

about £ 70 ish should get you a goodunn,

make sure its 80 plus certified,

modular ones are nice but dear,

you just plug in the cables you want less mess,

:j pps, if you want to overclock your intel chip just increase,
the fsb in the bios, till it crashes,then go back a bit,

alexalexalex

karl-123 wrote: »

corsair make the best power supply units,

about £ 70 ish should get you a goodunn,

make sure its 80 plus certified,

modular ones are nice but dear,

you just plug in the cables you want less mess,

:j pps, if you want to overclock your intel chip just increase,
the fsb in the bios, till it crashes,then go back a bit,

a Corsair like this one?

on the overclocking, will i be able to do that on a Dell? i thought they build in restrictions to stop people making any adjustments like that?

JamesK10

On the power supply...I would get this one instead at the 500W level;

http://www.cclonline.com/product/55436/PPA5001902/Power-Supplies/FSP-Bluestorm-80-Plus-Bronze-500W-PSU/PSU0203/

Problem being that one of the biggest manufacturers, Seasonic, is apparently planning a new range. If you can't wait, then get the FSP.

My two cents is when looking at Radeon graphics cards the card ending in --70 will always be more expensive but a little faster and therefore longer lasting.

I've got the 4670, great budget card for the money but now the 5770 supercedes it and now the latest games are stretching that one too. Whatever you buy make sure it has 1Gb of RAM on the graphics card itself, to protect any potential resale especially on Ebay. I'll edit my response whenever I can find the last batch of Custom PCs where current graphics cards and power supplies were reviewed.

Best call Dell, give them the asset tag number and then you'll get the definite yes or no as to whether a standard PSU will fit in the Dell 540's case.

alexalexalex

i'll be getting this card - not from that site but thats the same card, would the fsp power supply you linked be a good match for it?

SteveJH200

It is false economy to buy a cheap PSU if installing that graphics card. Something in the http://www.quietpc.com/gb-en-gbp/products/powersupplies £70 to £90 mark would make more sense.