Help with Dell graphics, mobo upgrades please

[novus1517]

Hello all, I am a newbie to most all of this so that may explain a lot of my questions. To start off with.. I have a Dell Dimension XPS T600r with a Pentium 3 I think it uses the 440BX chipset on the motherboard. I bought it in 2000. It has a GeForce 1 graphics card, so I am needing to upgrade the video card so I can keep up with the newest games. Well, it only has a 2x AGP slot, version 1.0., and only a 200W power supply, which the gForce FX 5200 card (that I already bought...sigh)that I want to put in it requires at least a 250W powersupply and version 2.0 AGP. I understand about the Dell proprietary powersupply. I have decided to just buy a new motherboard and powersupply. My questions are...

Does anyone know if the case for the Dell Dimensions XPS are ATX form factor? (I am thinking of getting an ECS mobo with an AMD XP cpu)

Secondly, if I decide to just get a new case, will all of the other hardware transfer over to the new case and will it boot up correctly or are there other things that are proprietary?

Lastly, are there any other routes that I could take with this system in order to get my graphics capabilities up to date for current gaming demands?

I really appreciate any help, this is a great site for info for people like me who are not that knowledgeble.

Thanks,

Novus

 

[pIII_Man]

IMO...you should screw the FX...

Get a ti4200 or a 9000/8500/9500/9700 (pro or non pro)

most 4200's are agp 1.0 compatable and all of those ati cards listed abover are 1.0 compatable...

Hmmmm....i would stay away from ecs...they make [-peep-] (no offense)...you probably have a an atx case with some proprietory stuff...i could not really tell ya without seeing the inside of the case....i think the solution above is best...

If i put my k6 in a Ferrari it would be faster than your your pentium 4 or Athlon XP :tongue:

 

[Crashman]

You most likely have a Palo Alto ATX case with a Dell propietary power supply and front pannel header. The cases are very nice. If it looks like ATX, it probably is the one I just described, which is ATX. I've converted these cases before.

Fist things first! The front panel header has a ribbon cable with a single connection to the motherboard. To use it, you'll have to rewire it. That's a simple task, because you can actually SEE the traces that go to the POWER switch, reset switch (if used), HDD LED, and PWR LED.

You simply (carefully) remove the clip from the back side of the swich board, remove the cable (carefull not to pull out and loose the pins), and press in some "pigtails" (wire leads). You can get the pigtails from some old 486 AT case or something.

The ATX power supply fits right in, no problems. The back panel (where the ports are) has a Palo Alto proprietary cover plate. The internal shield has all the right holes for a standard ATX backpanel, the plate itself will have to be removed (to uncover the other holes), but the shield will cover the hole.

If you have a board with a nonstandard backplate, you'll be left with nothing at all to cover that hole, unless you cobble something from the one included with the board. Also, the slot hole isn't wide enough for these newer, taller connections, you might have to notch the case for them!

My recomendations are, if you want to use the case, get a board with the old standard port layout and use the shield to cover the hole, as sheet metal work can be trickier than it looks, unless you don't need professional results.

My fried has an Asus P4S533 (P4 board) that would fit your case perfectly. I'm not sure which AMD boards have standard port layouts.



<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[Crashman]

Curious as to what boards would fit your standard port layout backplate shield, I looked and found <A HREF="http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProduct.asp?description=13-122-108&depa=1" target="_new">THIS UNIT</A> which has an nForce2 chipset for the AMD CPUs, and the only thing that you might need to notch that shield out for would be the network port.

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[Flinx]

Is it really worth all that trouble for the cost of an empty generic ATX case? I mean you are getting your own PSU.

I can get one here for $10 or $15 bucks in a PC recycle shop. The gas to go get it is probably prohibitive but if you drop by on the way home from work?

Maybe even a good retailer has a cheap one, $20-$30.

The loving are the daring!

 

[JP5]

I agree with buying a Ti4200. You will be able to play recent games on it and it will be an easy upgrade. If you are set up a full upgrade then go for the gold and get everything new.

 

[novus1517]

Wow, thanks for the help all. Such a quick response )

The Ti4200 looks like it may be the better option except for a few things that I am not sure about.

1) According to PNY's site, they say that that the Ti4200 requires "AGP 2x or AGP 2x/4x/8x with AGP bus 2.0 compliance" I am sure my system is AGP version 1.0 but I am using a 2x card... will the 4200 still work in my system... but maybe just a little slower or something?

2) Also, according to PNY's site, the 4200 requires a 300W power supply.. I only have a 200w psu. How important is this?

3) How important is the onboard memory in a vid card? Is it worth it to get a 128 MB memory over a 68MB memory card?

4) How do the ATI Radeon's compare with the Invidia GeForces?

I havent checked the psu requirements for the Radeons yet.

Thanks again all... If I can just get out of this with only buying the right video card I will be happy. I am just wanting to add enough to keep my system useable for the next two years hopefully, then I will buy a new system alltogether. I mainly just use my comp for gaming and the basic office applications. I was aggravated because I bought Neverwinter Nights and could not play it hardly because it was so choppy. Anyways, thanks again.

Novus

 

[pIII_Man]

it could run on a agp 2x system...i am 90 percent sure of that...if someone would back me up that would make me feel better...but i think you should be able to do it...

Hmm the psu issue...is well...ermm...

i would say...get the card...worse case senerio you need to spend an extra 50 bux and get a fortron 280 watt powersupply and install that...per crashmans nice dell case hacking guide...

i would say the price diffrence is so marginal go for the 128 if you have the money...

i would say if you can dish out the dough...go for a saphire 9500 non pro (new egg has modable ones)...and do the driver mod to convert it to a 9700...75 percent of the cards can take the mod...if it does not work...you are basically left with equal performacne to a 4200...plus you have direct x 9 support...

If i put my k6 in a Ferrari it would be faster than your your pentium 4 or Athlon XP :tongue:

 

[chandanarahul]

Well! That's a decent solution and I wouldn't go with modifying the case as it's too tedious and also the mother board screws are unlikely to match with the ones on the case if u get an new motherboard. and also I don't think u need to mod the case to fit in a new psu.