Best motherboard, CPU & P.S. upgrade for Dell 4700.

navyfalcon · Aug 22, 2015

Best motherboard, CPU & P.S. upgrade for Dell 4700. I was thinking of a core 2 duo or AMD equivalent about 2.8 or 3 ghz. Expect to purchase used parts on ebay or equivalent.
I know it is old (more like ancient), but I want to write an article with pictures on the upgrade like this (from my website) http://freetutorials.name/Reference1/Dell%204700%20Cooling.html
- - -
Thank You
falcon

sirstinky · Aug 22, 2015

Alright, as an old-schooler who loves vintage PC tech, here's my recommendation.

For the CPU, go Intel Core 2 Duo, like an E8400 or E8600. You can get those for cheap, like around $10 to $20. You'll need to get a cooler too, one for LGA 775.

For your mobo, go for something like an Asus P5xx series board with either the P35 or 45 chipset. You could go cheaper like something with an Intel 945G chipset in LGA 775. For the good 775 boards, plan on spending about $30-50.

For the power supply, it's going to depend on the size. Some of those old Dell Dimensions didn't use full ATX PSU's, but weird proprietary sizes. You'll have to size it to know for sure, but for that setup, you don't need anything more than a 200 watt one.

navyfalcon · Aug 23, 2015

sirstinky :

Alright, as an old-schooler who loves vintage PC tech, here's my recommendation.

For the CPU, go Intel Core 2 Duo, like an E8400 or E8600. You can get those for cheap, like around $10 to $20. You'll need to get a cooler too, one for LGA 775.

For your mobo, go for something like an Asus P5xx series board with either the P35 or 45 chipset. You could go cheaper like something with an Intel 945G chipset in LGA 775. For the good 775 boards, plan on spending about $30-50.

For the power supply, it's going to depend on the size. Some of those old Dell Dimensions didn't use full ATX PSU's, but weird proprietary sizes. You'll have to size it to know for sure, but for that setup, you don't need anything more than a 200 watt one.

navyfalcon · Aug 23, 2015

The original Dell 4700 had a power supply of 305 watts, so this should not be a problem if the connections are not proprietary.
falcon

sirstinky · Aug 24, 2015

Yah 305 watts is more than enough to run all that hardware. If the PSU is running fine then probably no need to replace it. Dell made good power supplies back in the day (better than now I think). I worked on Dell PCs running the same power supply from the day it left the factory 12 years ago.

navyfalcon · Aug 24, 2015

sirstinky :

E8400 is 3.0 GHz and E8600 is 3.33 GHz
Is there much difference in 3.0 or 3.33 GHz in performance.
I am looking for a Dell MOBO for compatibility. Such as the Dell Optiplex 755 or 780. Any suggestions, the Dell front controls has compatibility issues with non Dell MOBO's. Any suggestions ??
Thank You
falcon

sirstinky · Aug 27, 2015

navyfalcon :

Hey sorry it took me a while to get to this. It was buried in my inbox. As far as 3.0-3.3 GHz, yes there is a difference. It's like overclocking, albeit a mild one. You can actually overclock the 8400 and 8600 chips pretty good with the right motherboard, by the way if you're ever inclined to do so. Going from 3.3 to 3.9 GHz is a lot. I've heard of the 8400's going to 3.8 GHz with the right cooler. Not shabby.

As for the motherboards, I'd go for the 780 boards because they were newer, and they're all mATX form factor- like this one http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Optiplex-780-Small-Form-Factor-3NVJ6-MotherBoard-DDR3-Socket-LGA775-/311430218509?hash=item4882b0030d). I found this one with a Core 2 Quad (I think Q6600) http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Optiplex-780-Motherboard-CN-0C27VV-Core-2-Quad-2-66GHz-Q9400-Processor-/262023397314?hash=item3d01cfbfc2.

There are good deals for these out there, but the memory is kind of expensive for old DDR2 533 or 800 MHz.

Hope that helps

navyfalcon · Aug 28, 2015

sirstinky :

navyfalcon :

Hey sorry it took me a while to get to this. It was buried in my inbox. As far as 3.0-3.3 GHz, yes there is a difference. It's like overclocking, albeit a mild one. You can actually overclock the 8400 and 8600 chips pretty good with the right motherboard, by the way if you're ever inclined to do so. Going from 3.3 to 3.9 GHz is a lot. I've heard of the 8400's going to 3.8 GHz with the right cooler. Not shabby.

As for the motherboards, I'd go for the 780 boards because they were newer, and they're all mATX form factor- like this one http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Optiplex-780-Small-Form-Factor-3NVJ6-MotherBoard-DDR3-Socket-LGA775-/311430218509?hash=item4882b0030d). I found this one with a Core 2 Quad (I think Q6600) http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Optiplex-780-Motherboard-CN-0C27VV-Core-2-Quad-2-66GHz-Q9400-Processor-/262023397314?hash=item3d01cfbfc2.

There are good deals for these out there, but the memory is kind of expensive for old DDR2 533 or 800 MHz.

Hope that helps

Search

Best motherboard, CPU & P.S. upgrade for Dell 4700.

navyfalcon

Distinguished

sirstinky

Distinguished

navyfalcon

Distinguished

navyfalcon

Distinguished

sirstinky

Distinguished

navyfalcon

Distinguished

sirstinky

Distinguished

navyfalcon

Distinguished

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page