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Puttting life back into my old Dell

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  • 30-07-2012 9:03pm
    #1
    Greenmachine
    Registered Users Posts: 5,063 ✭✭✭


    Okay guys want to do a project upgrade on old dell 4700
    Not sure which information is the most important, so including as much as I can think of. Looking at over clocking but from what I can remember it could not be reset from the BIOS.

    From what I can figure. I should be able to drop in any P4 HT with Socket 775 LGA.
    Not sure about this or whether I would need to upgrade the fan.
    Ram can be upgraded from 512mb to 4gb. (DDR2)
    Will the Ram upgrade increase speed much or is it worthwhile putting in a higher rated P4. They seem cheap enough on ebay.

    Current set-up

    Microsoft Windows Home Editiion XP
    Service Pack 3

    Pentium 4
    512 mb of ram

    Intel Pentium 4 HT 520
    Code Name Prescott
    Socket 775 LGA
    Technology 90nm
    Family/extended family F/F
    Model/ Ext Model 3/3
    Stepping 4
    Revision D0
    Multiplyer x 14.0

    Not sure what other values are important here.

    FSB 800
    CORE SPEED Pretty much 2800.00 Mhz with some small variation.

    Main board Dell Inc. OM3918 Chipset i915P/i915G.

    Graphics Inter (R) 82915G/GV/910GL (Built in Graphics)

    Budget I guess €50-100? Know I could do the Ram for this anyway.
    Hopefully can put 64bit P4 on there so I won't have to buy two new versions of windows.


Comments

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    #2
    BostonB
    Closed Accounts Posts: 18,056 ✭✭✭✭BostonB


    Waste of time. Pick up a core2duo desktop for the same price 50~100 which is better than your machine in everyway.


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    #3
    Greenmachine
    Registered Users Posts: 5,063 ✭✭✭Greenmachine


    Might be true. This was meant as a project however. This would be a 2nd pc as opposed to my primary pc. It is more about learning the inner workings of the pc. If the motherboard would take a core 2 duo. I would consider it of course.

    So do you think the main board would take the core2 duo.


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    #4
    BostonB
    Closed Accounts Posts: 18,056 ✭✭✭✭BostonB


    Nope forget that motherboard. Also a P4 is too slow and too wasteful in energy to be a useful project. Though the 4700 is unusually for a Dell pretty much a standard case so will accept a regular mATX board.

    http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/desktop/f/3514/t/19432814.aspx

    If it were me I'd get a cheap mATX board, cheap 1155 celeron, and a 2GB stick of ram.

    Heres some ideas
    http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056508989

    1155 board gives you loads of options in the future.


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    #5
    Greenmachine
    Registered Users Posts: 5,063 ✭✭✭Greenmachine


    So is 1155 the socket.
    Have an case off a friends old computer, bigger one so that would give me more options I guess.
    Only problem I think is that it switches itself off before loading anything. Can't even get as far as the Bios to view what boards is in it.
    Think it is a slower chip than my current one but the board is definetaly more expandable as it has 4 expansion slots on the back instead of two. Might be able to plug some kind of a graphics card in there if I can work out, what is going on with it.


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    #6
    BostonB
    Closed Accounts Posts: 18,056 ✭✭✭✭BostonB


    I don't think you are really getting the idea.

    Those old machines are useless/obsolete. A modern website and browser will slow them to a crawl. Whereas even a basic new chip with a new motherboard will fly, and cost roughly the same at the end of the day. Even a P4 3Ghz crawls compared to something like a 1.8 Core2Duo. But they'll cost much the same.Like wise even an old dual Xeon 2.4 workstation is much slower then a basic core2duo and the c2d would use vastly less electricity too. So it doesn't make sense to recycle them either.


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    #7
    Greenmachine
    Registered Users Posts: 5,063 ✭✭✭Greenmachine


    Okay so going down that line. Will the mother I buy have a socket rating that will dictate which processor I put in. I know it would dictate what type ram I would use.
    So what about buying harvested used parts from the likes of overclockers. Anyone any experience of doing this.


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    #8
    BostonB
    Closed Accounts Posts: 18,056 ✭✭✭✭BostonB


    Not much cheaper than buying new IMO.


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    #9
    Gurgle
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,064 ✭✭✭Gurgle


    Greenmachine wrote: »
    Will the mother I buy have a socket rating that will dictate which processor I put in.
    Yes.
    So what about buying harvested used parts from the likes of overclockers. Anyone any experience of doing this.
    E-bay is better if you're looking for older stuff. I replaced an old Athlon 64 x2 with a Phenom 2 x4 last year for around €50 IIRC. But that was in a custom built PC where I'd got the best motherboard I could find at the time.

    Unfortunately with a Dell motherboard it's unlikely you'll be able to put a faster chip in there. Your GT 520 seems to be the top end of the 84W chips, your motherboard may not support the higher power requirements of faster chips(115W).


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    #10
    BostonB
    Closed Accounts Posts: 18,056 ✭✭✭✭BostonB


    Why would you want to put a chip at 115w in a machine that old?

    http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/celeron-g540-g440_7.html#sect0

    You could sell yours for 50 and buy this for 100
    http://www.adverts.ie/desktops/hp-compaq-dc7700p-desktop-pc-intel-core2-duo-2-13-ghz-4gb-ram-160gb-hdd-dvdrw/1929775

    vs
    http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-203-OK&groupid=43&catid=2047&subcat=


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