Dell CPU Fan work compatibile with non Dell computer?

[Darryl2120]

I am planning on building a new PC to replace my old Dell Dimension 2400. I am trying to make the new build as cheap as possible, so I would like to take anything I can out of the Dell and put it into the new build. I have a few questions about the Dell components' compatibility with non dell components.

1. From discussion in other forums, I know that the disc drive and hard drive can be used in the new build. Can anyone confirm this just in case?

2. I have read that the power supply if used with a non dell motherboard, can kill the power supply, motherboard, or both. Can anyone confirm this?

3. The case I will be getting should already have a rear fan, and some cases I see have spots available for fans in the front next to the hard drives. Can I take the Dell rear fan and place it in the front of the case of my new build?

4. This is not related to the topic, but the motherboard I plan on buying (used in all the system builders marathon's cheapest builds) only has one IDE slot according to the picture in the below link. Allowing me to only use 2 IDE devices, which will be the disc drive and hard drive. I have 2 old IDE 10 GB hard drives, can those in anyway be added by an IDE splitter or something? If you can, can you give me a link to the product?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128345

Thanks

 

[WR2]

1. Probably. Not enough information provided to be certain.
2. Can not confirm this. I don't believe the 2400 Dells used proprietary power supplies though. If the PSU is 5yrs or older I'd not want to take a chance using it.
3. Depends on the case you select. Not all accept extra fans and some that do might only use 80mm or 92mm fans in front. You can probably get away with using just 1 rear fan in a low end system.
4. You could add a separate IDE Controller card for about $20. But for $15 more you could get a brand new 80GB SATA HDD.

 

[Darryl2120]

Thanks a lot. Looks like my build is not going to change at all then. I was hoping to just buy this $5 IDE splitter, but thanks for your help. Can you comment on my build in the link below?

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=10466506

 

[joefriday]

Well, your build is missing a graphics card. The Dell 2400 uses integrated graphics, so I hope you have some sort of graphics card on hand.
More on the topic, the old Dell fan will/should plug into the new board and work. You may have to cut some plastic off the Dell connector for it to fit properly, but it is pinned correctly to work on non-Dell motherboards.
Also, the Dell PSU is a standard design, so technically it could work with your new build. Only problem is that your Dell PSU as only a 250 watt max continuous unit (it might even be 200 watt), with only a 20 Pin connector and 4 pin accessory plug. Your new board is most surely a 24 pin connector. Although most of the time a 20 pin into a 24 pin board works fine, for your build, with the nice motherboard and decent CPU, it just makes sense to upgrade the power supply.
The optical and hard disk drives are definitely reusable, but with only one IDE connector on the motherboard, it will be hard to connect the two together using just one IDE ribbon cable, as most just aren't long enough to bridge the gap between hard drive and optical drive locations. Not to mention the performance hit of having the optical drive and the primary hard drive on the same IDE channel.
Finally, the old Dell case could even be re-used if you would choose a mATX motherboard instead of the full-sized ATX.

 

[Darryl2120]

Thanks for your help. I was told that Dell uses custom power supplies and cases so others cannot modify them on other forums. But now that I think about it, it would not be that much of an improvement from my old system if I reuse everything I can. I think I will stick with just reusing the hard drive and disc drive. They both work fine in my Dell system (both connected through the same IDE ribbon), I think they would be fine in the new system. I don't think I want to reuse the power supply, or get a mATX motherboard because it would seem like very big drop form the build I currently plan on making. Thanks for the help though. I already have a GeForce 8500 in my Dell system. I am going to reuse that also. Do you have any other comments or suggestion for my build. I forgot to mention that I plan on overclocking, are any components in my build a problem for overclocking? Thanks

 

[hotroderx]

Why not go AMD if your on a tight budget?

Gigabyte Board

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128379
with built in video so no video card worries

and this processor

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103300


you can get both items for 143 dollars and you save


75 dollars which you could use to buy a SATA Harddrive


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136075


so you still save money over the original processor and motherboard

plus you get a new hard drive and you don't have to worry with a video card

 

[Darryl2120]

Wow, that lowered my build by almost one hundred dollars. I decided to go with a better processor and motherboard though. Thanks for the suggestion of AMD, I did not know they were that much cheaper. I only went with Intel because every single system I had was with Intel.

 

[WR2]

Penalty Flag thrown on the Rosewill 350W ATX 1.3 power supply.
Any ATX 1.3 PSU is vintage 2003 and not the preferred ATX 2.2 model PSUs.
And it's >60% Efficiency rating isn't pretty either.

When you see a power supply label with -5V you know you're dealing with an "olde tech" PSU.
And with 15Amps / 180Watts of +12V power available what you really get is less power than a a modern 250W PSU (16A +12V shown)

 

[WR2]

Antec earthwatts EA380 380W PSU $40 For $15 more you get 27Amps of +12V power (324 divided by 12). Thats getting close to double the +12V power. And its 80Plus rated (>60% efficiency) so there's a good chance you'll recoup the difference if you run the computer quite a bit over the next couple of years.

 

[WR2]

I'd rather see you save about $32 on your RAM choice than try and scrimp by on that PSU
CORSAIR 4GB DDR2 800 kit $25 (after $30 rebate)

 

[Darryl2120]

I don't plan on buying that soon. maybe in one or two months. I guess I will be using the Antec PSU then. Does the Corsair RAM have anything over the Crucial RAM, or is just because of the rebate? I picked the Crucial because it was rated the best OC'er on one of the articles here.

 

[WR2]

One or two months is kinda too soon to be choosing parts.
The RAM rebate ends on March 2nd, for example. And I'm not sure the Antec EA 380 will still be on sale at that price.

Since you're not buying a CPU cooler I wouldnt expect that you'd be able to tax the CPU enough to make a difference in the Crucial CAS4 vs Corsair CAS5 RAM.

 

[Darryl2120]

Okay, thanks. I guess I will post again when I will start buying the parts.