Can i put a modern DDR3 motherboard into a dell dimension 4600 case?

willieon

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Mar 3, 2012
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for some time now i have been upgrading an old dell 4600 with new parts but now i have what i think are the best parts the motherboard can take for it (model number 0f4491) and i want to build a new more powerful gaming pc to play more modern games with, nothing super powerful just something that wont take forever to load games or have them lag and i am trying to save as much money as possible by reusing older parts in it. I think the first thing i need to consider is the mother board, i want to get one that uses DDR3 because that ram is cheapest and works the best and i want to use my dell dimension's case which i think will hold it but i am not sure what will work so can anyone help me out with some suggestion for one that is not too expensive but works well with games. Here are the parts i want to save:
1000 gb hard drive, ATI radion HD 4650 1GB GDD2 graphics card, and whatever else you think is salvageable. also here are some pictures of what it looks like http://wellconnectedlife.wikispaces.com/Mom+-+Dell+Dimension+4600
 

willieon

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Mar 3, 2012
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so my graphics card will slow it down? (not quite sure what bottleneck means) so ill need to get a better one? also can you suggest some good ram and CPU to use for it?
 

It's a workable idea, there are a couple of issue's;

1) You really need a bigger budget *

2) The front panel power connection uses a 10-1 connector and the wires will likely be to short, means you will need to replace the power button, pwr_led and hd_led wires
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=60_237&products_id=31007
http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=60_237&products_id=31010
No sys speaker or reset on the Dell, have to add those yourself
Local PC shop I deal with always has a pile of old systems for recycle and allows me to scavenge them for a couple of bucks

3) Front sound, Dell uses a proprietary connector that requires thier mb, a Sound Blaster sound card or some modifications, pinout is here;
http://forums.overclockersclub.com/index.php?showtopic=65559


Here's one I did ( before attaching any case fans, 90/92mm works, remove HD cages and install 1 as intake and 1 as exhaust, install HD in fdd bay )
SDC10651.jpg


* Components I used
MB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131724
CPU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116399
Ram http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148476

I wouldn't suggest reusing the Dell psu, you don't need a 520w, it's just what I had sitting around
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026

Also going to need an OS
 

taosaur

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Oct 22, 2012
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Very helpful post! If you're still watching this thread, would you anticipate any connection problems with the Dell PSU and a modern board? I'm looking at a low power build to replace the original guts in the 4600 I gave my mom, and the PSU has gone strong for 8+ years now. I know there are two ways to look at it (8 years of reliability vs. 8 years of wear and tear), but I'm inclined to "not fix it if it ain't broken" if there won't be compatibility problems.

I'm looking at building around an AMD A8-3850 combined CPU/GPU with this AsRock mobo or similar and a SSD, so unless I'm radically underestimating the impact of 4-8GB DDR3 1600 RAM, the 250W PSU should have power to spare.

Any thoughts are welcome.