New with a few ?'s

[AntiPaladin]

Hi,

I have been lurking around this site for a few days, trying absorb as much knowledge as I can as I don't know alot about computers.(but I am trying) I am kinda new to windows as I have only owned one since 2003, the last computer I messed with before this one was an apple IIe lol. From what I have seen this is a great site, with mature and knowledgeable ppl. Hopefully someday with a lil' schoolin' I can contribute here as well.


I have a few question's. Though I always feel "funny" about joining a site and asking question's. So here goes.

I wish to upgrade my graphics card in my dell 4550 pc. It has a 30Gb HD with 1 floppy drive and 2 cd drives and 256 mb memory( I plan on upgrading to a 1 gb as well) I have read quite a few posts about this and I have the #'s off the MOBO. Oh yeah it currently has a NVIDIA geForce IV in it now. I dont want to drop a lot of money in this system as I intend to build one and use this one for my music recording. Just something that will let me play 3d games such as Doom3, 2 Towers etc. Dang talk about the long way around the barn.

How do I cross reference the #'s off the MOBO to tell what Vid card is acceptable? And what #'s do I use the ones that dell put on there or the one's etched into the board itself?

Heres all the specs. Dell 4550, intel Pent 2 2.0 GHz, #on mobo etched E210882., theres a couple on the MOBO that are stickers though I think they are Dell part #'s I have checked the site and I could find no way to look them up as I was trying to see what Psu I have also. The number on the Psu is TH-00N380-1797-258-40DS.

Thanks and sorry for typing a book.

Ps I am not old just old fashioned.

[classicsoftware]

First, Welcome to http://www.pcguide.com/ubb/pcgubb.gif forums.


Second, you have a DELL.:( The only good thing about that is you can get all of the specs off of the DELL web site. You need your service tag number and that should provide us with all of the information you need.

[AntiPaladin]

Thanks Classic,

Heres what it says....


1 6U214 CARD (CIRCUIT), PLANAR (MOTHERBOARD), DIM4550, NETWORK INTERFACE CARD/CONTROLLERS
1 9U540 PROCESSOR, 80532, 2.0G, 512K, 400, SOCKET N, C1
1 7N242 KEYBOARD, 104, UNITED STATES, SILITEK, LOW COST, MIDNIGHT GRAY
1 6U220 KIT, MOUSE, PERSONAL SYSTEM 2, S69, LOGITECH
1 181UR CARD (CIRCUIT), MULTI-MEDIA, AUDIO, CRTV-4780, FRONT AUDIO JACK
1 5740C CABLE, AUXILIARY, INTERNAL, MODEM, 4C
1 8F217 MODEM, V.92, INTERNAL, DATA/FAX/VOICE, SOFT, Z, DIMENSION
1 0R575 DIGITAL VIDEO DISK DRIVE, 680M, 16X, I, 5.25" FORM FACTOR, LITEON, CHASSIS 2001, V3
1 7E840 KIT, SPEAKER, 120V, HK395, SAMSUNG, DELL AMERICAS ORGANIZATION
1 9P301 CARD (CIRCUIT), GRAPHICS, NV17, FULL HEIGHT, SECOND, DIMENSION
1 7T281 FLOPPY DRIVE, 1.44M, 3.5" FORM FACTOR, 3MD, NO BEZEL, TEAC, V4, CHASSIS 2001
1 0X438 HARD DRIVE, 30GB, IDE (INTEGRATED DRIVE ELECTRONICS), 1N, 7.2K, WD-XL40S
1 0J568 KIT, SOFTWARE, MS-MNY-2K2, ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT MFGR., ENGLAND/ENGLISH
1 0E784 KIT, SOFTWARE, OFCXPSB, ENGLAND/ENGLISH, ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT MFGR.
1 8P472 KIT, SOFTWARE, OFCXP-SP1, ENGLAND/ENGLISH
1 3U669 KIT, SOFTWARE, OVERPACK, WINDOWS XP HOME, COMPACT DISKETTE W/DOCUMENTATION, ENGLAND/ENGLISH, A03
1 8R093 KIT, DOCUMENTATON ON FLOPPY DISK, SOFTWARE, DIGITAL VIDEO DISK DRIVE, CYBERLINK, 4.0C.11
1 3K648 DISPLAY, FLAT PANEL DISPLAY, 15, DUAL, E151FP, MIDNIGHT GRAY, DELL AMERICAS ORGANIZATION
1 3K113 DUAL IN-LINE MEMORY MODULE, 256, 266M, 32X64, 8K, 184
1 1P930 KIT, COMPACT DISKETTE, COMPACT DISK READ WRITE, ROXIO, V5.2
1 2P509 COMPACT DISK READ WRITE, 680M, I, 5.25" FORM FACTOR, 40X, NEC CORPORATION, CHASSIS 2001
Enter a Service Tag
Service Tag:

And if it wouldnt be a bother could you tell me what makes the Vid Card compatible? Thanks

[classicsoftware]

Download Everest Home Edition (http://www.filehippo.com/download_everest_home/) This should give us more detailed info on the motherboard and video card.

[AntiPaladin]

okay done what figures do we need?

[classicsoftware]

The motherboard and video card information....

[AntiPaladin]

okay, heres the MOBO

Motherboard id <DMI>
MOBO name Dell dimension 4550
Front side bus properties
Bus Type Intel Net Burst
Bus Width 64-bit
Real Clock 100 MHz(QDR)
effective clock 400 MHz
Bandwidth 3200 MBs
Memory bus properties
BUS type DDR SDRAM
BUS width 64- bit
Real clock 133 MHz (DDR)
Effective Clock 267 MHz
BANDWIDTH 2133 MB/s
Chipset Properties
BUS type intel Hub interface
BUS width 8 bit
Real Clock 67 MHz (DDR)
Effective Clock 267 MHz
BandWidth 267 MB/s

[AntiPaladin]

heres the GPU

nVidia GEforce 4 MX 420
GPU code name NV17
PCI device 10DE/ 0172
transistors 29 million
Process technology 0.15U
Bus Type AGP 4X@4X
memory size 64 MB
GPU Clock 250 MHz
RAMDAC clock 350 MHz
pixel pipelines 2
TMU pipelines 2
Pixel fillrate 500 MPixel/s
Texel fillrate 1000MT/s
Memory Bus Properties
BUS type DDR
BUS width 64 bit
Real Clock 166 MHz
Effective Clock 333 MHz/s
Bandwidth 2664 MB/s

Then it has manufacture name and something called Nvidia registers

Thanks

[AntiPaladin]

OOps messed up in first post its a Pentium 4 not 2

[saphalline]

If I were you, I wouldn't spend too much money on this. You've got an older Dell using AGP. Gaming performance is not going to be its forte! ;)

I'd recommend a nice cheap modern vid card, like this GeForce 6200 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814121542). It will wipe the floor with your current GF4 MX 420, but it also won't set you back a huge bundle. Don't expect gaming miracles out of it, but the upgrade should be well worth it all the same.

[classicsoftware]

Thanks Saph.... Gaming is out of my area of expertise....

[AntiPaladin]

Thanks Feller's,

And your right. I am not expecting much out of it just enough to get me by for awhile. Until I try to build a system. I can play Doom3 on it now barely but its so ratchety its tough to play. I am not really a cutting edge technology type person. I more the type to wait till cutting edge is affordable because as much as I like to game. I am not gonna spend 50 bucks on one.

Thanks Again

[computerhilfen]

Hi AntiPalladin,
you said you also want to built in new ram yourself? If you ask in a local pc store, they will most of the time also do that for you, when you buy the ram.

Even if its not really hard to build in new RAM modules, you have to buy the right ones first (take motherboard manual to store) and should know, how much free slots you still have (or throw the old ones away and buy complete new ram modules)

Pictures on how to easy get rid of you ram when inserting it wrong:
http://www.dau-alarm.de/g_ram.html

But, if you bought the right ram modules and take a good look in which direction to built them in, its not that hard:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=6qfKJ1k1AR0

[Erik]

Most stores will charge to do work on your computer, that is afterall how they stay in business. Installing extra RAM is very simple, just don't force anything. You will just need to see how many of the slots are being used and hom many you have. You can probably buy another 1GB as 2x512MB chips cheap enough.

[AntiPaladin]

Thanks,

I opened up my case to see what kind and how many slots I have. Then while searching. I stumbled across a site called Crucial memory. They have a program that scanned my computer and wrote down all the specs of the memory that they guaranteed compatible. The scan also stated that my computer is not dual channel and after reading about dual chan. It seems that I can mix memory. So I was planning on buying a 1 GB memory module and use the existing 256 module as well. Does this sound alright??

[mjc]

Some of the places that I know of that will install RAM, that you buy from them, for free tend to charge more for it than you can buy it for online, even with the shipping charges.

[AntiPaladin]

I plan on buying online. I live about 3 hours from the nearest electronic store. I gotta ask. I always see Newegg listed as the place to get parts. Is there something wrong with TigerDirect?? Inquiring minds want to know.

[mjc]

Most of us who do a lot of online buying prefer Newegg because overall we have had better service from them. Newegg's customer service is top notch, their prices are very good and the return policies are outstanding. Some of us have had less than 'good' experiences with TigerDirect and overall, believe them to be a second tier seller...

[Erik]

Most of us who do a lot of online buying prefer Newegg because overall we have had better service from them. Newegg's customer service is top notch, their prices are very good and the return policies are outstanding. Some of us have had less than 'good' experiences with TigerDirect and overall, believe them to be a second tier seller...

I agree 100%. I have spent thousands at NewEgg and haven't had any issues so far. They are really willing to do what it takes to help you get what you want/need. I know once I ordered the wrong parts by mistake. A quick phone call and they corrected MY mistake before shipping the order.

As to the RAM you should be fine mixing the two different size sticks. Even in dual channel it will work, just not at peak performance. If there are any problems running with the single 1GB stick will not make a noticable difference.

[AntiPaladin]

Thanks guys,

My dad always orders from TigerDirect, although usually just peripherals and he does not build or has ever built a computer.

[saphalline]

I would recommend both Newegg and ZipZoomFly before I would ever mention TigerDirect. TD is a good place to find some awesome rebate deals every now and then, but overall I wouldn't buy parts for an entire PC from them.

[AntiPaladin]

Thanks,

After Christmas, I am going to put some $$ aside and see if I can build a system.

[squirrel3383]

I don't post in forums much. I just wanted to say I have the same model dell with a few differences, but still the same mobo. the thing is that the crucial scanner should have told you, because it told me, that the max memory that the comp can handle is 1024MB (1GB). It also said that each of the 2 slots can only handle 512MB. I think it has something to do with the fact that it uses Intel's 845PE chipset, I could be wrong. I just didn't want you to buy a gig on a single stick, and have it not work. also don't spend money on a 8x agp graphics card cause it can only handle 4x agp. Mine came with a 128mb ATI 9700 pro. it has been a great card for me.

[AntiPaladin]

Thanks Squirrel,

I will keep those things in mind and welcome aboard.

[jkorrell]

I have this same system, does anyone know how to change the dip switches on the mobo to accomodate a 2.54GHz P4 533 MHz CPU? Currently has 2.0 GHz P4 400 MHz...

is this possible?

I got a free CPU, and would like very much to be able to use it...

cannot find a manual for this mobo, anyone know where to find a dell mobo manual?

[jlreich]

I have this same system, does anyone know how to change the dip switches on the mobo to accomodate a 2.54GHz P4 533 MHz CPU? Currently has 2.0 GHz P4 400 MHz...

is this possible?

I got a free CPU, and would like very much to be able to use it...

cannot find a manual for this mobo, anyone know where to find a dell mobo manual?
Dip switches haven't been on mobo's for many years. Mobo's are now "jumperless", install the CPU and if the mobo supports it, it will automatically know it's correct settings. In theory anyway... Sometimes it takes a little messing around, but no dip switches.

Somewhere on you system you can find a "service tag", write that down and go to the dell website and you can find out everything you want to know about the computer including what CPU it supports and downloading the manual if you like.

I could very well be wrong, but I have a feeling the mobo will only support CPU's with a FSB of 400MHz. But it's worth checking out. Who knows...

[squirrel3383]

If your system is using the same motherboard as the one in this discussion, you should be able to use that processor. the 845PE chipset that this mobo uses supports the 478-pin (FC-PGA2) processor in either the 400 or 533 FSB. It can even support the 3.06ghz processor, which has hyper-threading, as long as it is the 478-pin 533 FSB version. problem being that it is hard to find this processor now, and when you do it is big $$. go to dell's website with your service tag # and find out if you do have this mobo first.