Maximum Upgrade

[jokerlad]

Hiya.
I would like to upgrade my Dell Dimension 4500 to the max of all parts, but would like to keep the original motherboard which i have the latest BOIS A04
And yes its a old un but still.
I have at the mo
2.66 cpu
Radeon 9250 128m
500w psu
40GB hd
1GB ram
windows xp home.
Im not a gamer but do a lotta Auto CADs
Thanks in advance

 

[ScrewySqrl]

2.66 What CPU? AMD? Intel?

That radeon gpu is probably AGP slot, which has been dead since 2005, and will limit your upgrade options.

 

[asteldian]

Any particular reason you want to keep that mobo? Regardless of its Bios it is dated and replacing the core of your system will give you huge improvements

 

[jokerlad]

2.66 What CPU? AMD? Intel?

That radeon gpu is probably AGP slot, which has been dead since 2005, and will limit your upgrade options.

Its 2.66 pent 4 intel and yes its AGP

 

[jokerlad]

Any particular reason you want to keep that mobo? Regardless of its Bios it is dated and replacing the core of your system will give you huge improvements

What do you recon i should get ?

 

[ScrewySqrl]

What do you recon i should get ?

its probably time for a whole new computer

 

[jokerlad]

Ok. Thanks, but i allready have a kool pc. I wonna upgrade this Dell for a spare. Dont wonna get a new one !

 

[Richard_nixon]

I would say the best and easiest thing you could do would be to get more ram. (Need more info about the ram to tell you which you would need) You can get a better videocard, but I dont think it would be worth it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007709%20600007850&IsNodeId=1&name=AGP%204X%2f8X

 

[jokerlad]

I would say the best and easiest thing you could do would be to get more ram. (Need more info about the ram to tell you which you would need) You can get a better videocard, but I dont think it would be worth it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007709%20600007850&IsNodeId=1&name=AGP%204X%2f8X

Thanks for your reply. I can have 2GB in my Dell even tho Dell's specs say my max is 1GB. Intel and crucial's tool says 2GB.
Would like to get a better video card, I like the Radeon HD 3650 1GB , would that work in my pc ?

 

[mavroxur]

Your system will support up to (2) 1gb PC2700 DDR DIMMs. Technically, Dell says the max is 1gb, but i've seen 2gb work just fine in the 4500's. And as far as the video card, a Radeon 3650 AGP would work just fine in that system. You said your PSU is a 500w, so it's obviously not the original. You should be good to go.

 

[jokerlad]

Thats wot i like to hear. Thanks.
Yes, its not the original psu it packed up.
I also installed 2.66 cpu from the original 1.5 ....should i go for a faster one ?

 

[ScrewySqrl]

if you can find one for your socket any more

 

[mavroxur]

Your motherboard supports socket 478 CPU's with either a 400MHz or 533MHz FSB. The fastest CPU you board will support is a Pentium 4 3.06GHz. The nice thing is that the 3.06GHz Socket 478 Pentium 4 supports hyperthreading. It would run circles around a 2.66 non-HT Pentium 4. The following steppings will work on your board -

SL6K7
SL6JJ
SL6PG
SL6QC
SL6S5
SL6SM

 

[asteldian]

What do you recon i should get ?

Depends on budget, but ultimately I would replace mobo RAM and CPU.
AMD Rana 445/450, Mobo (770 chipset), 4gb RAM. In the UK that would be £150. No idea if you are willing to invest that much on a spare PC but ultimately, throw in a rocking GPU and it would even be an incredibly viable gaming machine (obviously not a big interest to you, but just an example of how a simple change can vastly improve the PC)

 

[ScrewySqrl]

I would not bother investing in a Socket 478 at all. Its still going to be painfully slow by modern standards - its 4 chipsets ago now.

 

[jokerlad]

Your motherboard supports socket 478 CPU's with either a 400MHz or 533MHz FSB. The fastest CPU you board will support is a Pentium 4 3.06GHz. The nice thing is that the 3.06GHz Socket 478 Pentium 4 supports hyperthreading. It would run circles around a 2.66 non-HT Pentium 4. The following steppings will work on your board -

SL6K7
SL6JJ
SL6PG
SL6QC
SL6S5
SL6SM

Thanks for your reply. I need to find out if my mobo supports HT tech. The SL6QC is the only one which dont support HT.

 

[jokerlad]

Depends on budget, but ultimately I would replace mobo RAM and CPU.
AMD Rana 445/450, Mobo (770 chipset), 4gb RAM. In the UK that would be £150. No idea if you are willing to invest that much on a spare PC but ultimately, throw in a rocking GPU and it would even be an incredibly viable gaming machine (obviously not a big interest to you, but just an example of how a simple change can vastly improve the PC)

Thanks for your info....but way over the top for me. I have a better pc as a main, but for this one the less dosh the better.

 

[jokerlad]

I would not bother investing in a Socket 478 at all. Its still going to be painfully slow by modern standards - its 4 chipsets ago now.

Yes, i know but just dont want to throw it away, iv had it since new....be like losing a pet ! lol

 

[asteldian]

Yes, i know but just dont want to throw it away, iv had it since new....be like losing a pet ! lol

Yes, but a pet is still fo some use (well, apparently they are. My wife insists the dog has some kind of worth, I don't see it myself though) ultimately that machine will just be clogging up space, though I guess it could be a mighty doorstop...which I guess would give it one more purpose than a pet - so I guess it is not all that crazy keeping it

 

[jokerlad]

Yes, but a pet is still fo some use (well, apparently they are. My wife insists the dog has some kind of worth, I don't see it myself though) ultimately that machine will just be clogging up space, though I guess it could be a mighty doorstop...which I guess would give it one more purpose than a pet - so I guess it is not all that crazy keeping it

Ha Ha ..your right !