New Windows 64 and processors

>Am I really in trouble with these machines once Windows 64
>comes out?

I wouldn't say you are in trouble, but you will be unable to run 64 bit windows, as you assumed.

> Will I be able to upgrade the processors to one that
>supports the new Windows but still works on those boards?

Check with Dell. Normally, yes, but with Dell you never know. But before upgrading, find out if its worthwhile for your apps.

>Are Dells hard to replace the boards in?

Last time I checked, Dell used their own proprietary ATX connector and power/reset/led/.. connector. If that hasn't changed meanwhile: yes, it would be pretty hard.

>I'm making my Mom a computer and I was wondering is it
>worth spending an extra say $120 bucks now to get a low end
>AMD 64 for her or just get the cheapest board and processor
>I can find

Your mom won't need the 64 bit abilities. But buying the cheapest, isn't always the smartest (especially for MB's, memory and PSU's).

>She has an old Dell 8100. Is this worth ripping the
>mainboard out and modifying?

Not really. If if its too slow for her, sell it, and build something else. And never buy Dell again.

= The views stated herein are my personal views, and not necessarily the views of my wife. =

The first thing U have to do is check with DELL.

There is one thing very clear with DELL because I also have a high end machine from DELL and run into problems with them:

DELL is extremely propietary and they misslead you when U buy their computers by lying to you because they told me I can upgrade my DELL 100% and there are two lies there.

Lie number one from DELL (intentional lie) They tell you can upgrade the motherboard....and the truth is....you can NOT upgrade the motherboard from most DELL computers (some yes but not most and my computer falls into the NO upgrade motherboard). Just that limits you in a great way for critical updates on many components.

Second lie(mostly missleading) any upgrade must be purchased from DELL because most of the upgreadable components are highly propietary AND THEY TELL YOU THAT U CAN UPGRADE BUYING FROM ELSWHERE AFTER THE WARRANTY EXPIRES!!!!!!!!!!i did that and I fell flat on my face buying different components from NEW EGG just to send them back because they will not fit. I lost money with the restocking fee.

64 BIT COMPUTERS are the future...64 bit cpu's with compatible mobos and 64 bit operating systems. YOUR MOM AND YOU NEED 64 bit or U will get behind.

I just finish to build my first 64 bit machine and is incredible. Never have anything like this.I am about to install Windows 64 bit...

You would be well served to build her a socket 754 A64. That is the value system at the moment.

Abit IS7 - 3.0C @ 3.6ghz - Mushkin PC4000 (2 X 512) - Sapphire 9800Pro - TT 420 watt Pure Power
Samsung 120gb ATA-100 - Maxtor 40gb ATA - 100
Sony DRU-510A - Yellowtail Merlot

Thanks everyone for the replies!

Look like I'm screwed - no more Dell's on the horizon.

Mike

Can you name specific components? The only two I can think of off the top of my head would be the motherboard and in some cases, the power supply. (Though most of the Dells I've worked on lately have standard ATX power supplies).

You should still be able to upgrade processor, RAM and drives... except for the floppy which may have to be modified to fit some Dell cases.

<font color=red> If you design software that is fool-proof, only a fool will want to use it. </font color=red>

Yes I can name speficic components:

Power Supply very propietary from DELL

Motherboard...extremely propietary.
Case...extremely propietary (nothing fits with an ATX motherboard I purchased from NEWEGG.
FANS...very propietary desing for the assembly on the case.The fans do not provide holes for the screws...they snap into specific holes provided by the case in conjuction with a very weird windtunnel plastic designed for the CPU Fan.

And Memory...even tho memory is not propietary but the propietary Motherboard forces me to buy exclusively RDRAM RAMBUS memory modules which are very expensive and not very much to my budget.ALL ATX non propietary motherboards give you an array of different memory modules you can choose to buy....NOT THE ONE FORM DELL...its RAMBUS or nothing.

Only because you bought a P4-based system early in the game. All new Dells use DDR-SDRAM, not RAMBUS. RAMBUS died out once Intel released a P4 chipset that supported DDR.

Yes, case and motherboard are proprietary... I acknowledged that. Old power supplies are as well. However, every Dell I've done warranty work on for the last year use standard ATX power supplies and DDR-SDRAM. The case and the board are still a different story, though... unless you get something in the Dimension 4600 series... those cases are less proprietary than the higher-end ones.

<font color=red> If you design software that is fool-proof, only a fool will want to use it. </font color=red>

Zoron:

I have an 8300 and an 8400. I was hoping I could change out the motherboard maybe in the future.

SO, a standard Motherboard won't woek on their case in your experience?

I have upgraded the memory and added other harddrives with no problems.

I was hoping I could get one of the new processors that supports 64 installed on the 875 or 925 motherboard form Dell.

My Mom has the Old 8100 that did use RDRAM and is not much upgradable although I had in my mind to replace the mobo on this unit.

Mike

dell told you all those things because they can upgrade them for you, not yourself. as for the ram, thats your own fault for not knowing what kind of ram you need. rambus used to be standard on many pentium boards. even without a dell if you had a board that took rambus you would have to get rambus. NOT DELLS FAULT. dells are kit computers. they arent meant for anything to be upgraded with universal parts. they build stable computers that will get the job done. if you want to customise learn to build your own computer and stop expecting everything to be layed out on a plate for you. if somthing is really simple its usually not worth doing in the first place.

this is my boomstick!

Unless you really know what you're doing with the front panel wiring, probably not. Dell's connectors are proprietary... you won't find another mobo with those type of connectors.

The only other thing would be the backplane... but most motherboards come with their own anyway and with a little cosmetic surgery, they can be stuck on the back of Dell's case.

<font color=red> If you design software that is fool-proof, only a fool will want to use it. </font color=red>