Dell Dimension E520. Help with upgrade

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jerodpaul

jerodpaul

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May 28, 2012
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Hi,
I just bought a refurbished PC, It came with the Dell Dimension E520 case, the Dell OWG864 Motherboard, 2 gigs of DDR2, The Intel G965 GPU and a Pentium D 820. I was wondering if this case could support any other mobo form factor besides BTX. I was Wondering if this mobo could take DDR3, I was also wondering how to take the stock cpu fan off (it's impossible). Once I get all this info I'll be able to start figuring out how to go about upgrading this machine.
Thanks,
Jerod
 
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L


I beg to differ...
I upgraded my e520 with a quad core 2.4 processor , used a different heat sink which I had to drill four holes in the case. Then strapped the heat sink to the proc with bailing wire. I then took a pair of tin snips and sipped a little metal off the back end to fit a EVGA GTX 660. I upgraded the power supply , and installed 8 gigs of ram. Threw in a hybrid sata 1TB drive. I can play all games even from 2013 at the highest settings at 120hz on my 60 inch LED TV.

It took a little bit of work but she purs like a kitten and after a year shes still running strong. I saved a ton of money.

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I know it's all to old lols but still then can I at least scavenge the case or is the case not ATX? and I still needa know how to take off the fan cause I have several Pentiums which I could swap out as well. I'm broke so I'm doing what I can.
 
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Well I'm trying to upgrade it to gaming, but I like the design and all of the case and I don't mind putting some work into it to make it fit an ATX mobo cause I can't afford anything right now but my friend is giving me his ATX mobo with a core 2 duo processor so it'll be able to handle minimum reqs on most games.
 
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I beg to differ...
I upgraded my e520 with a quad core 2.4 processor , used a different heat sink which I had to drill four holes in the case. Then strapped the heat sink to the proc with bailing wire. I then took a pair of tin snips and sipped a little metal off the back end to fit a EVGA GTX 660. I upgraded the power supply , and installed 8 gigs of ram. Threw in a hybrid sata 1TB drive. I can play all games even from 2013 at the highest settings at 120hz on my 60 inch LED TV.

It took a little bit of work but she purs like a kitten and after a year shes still running strong. I saved a ton of money.

 
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Solution


wow that sounds awesome. I'm in a situation where money is tight and it would be fun to get hands on and do my first actual case mod. Is there any way you can post some pics or maybe a step by step with pics as to how you went about doing it? Sounds like a great mod and i'd Love to give something liek tht a shot.
Currently I have the e520 and upgraded it summer of 2013. Still runs the same although it gets a little loud when i play gpu intensive games.

q6700 quad
sapphire 7750 single slot
corsair cx750 PSU
4 1 gig sticks of 333 mhz ram DDR 5300(i didnt know at the time mobo could handle the higher speed 5300 sadly)
 
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My Dell Dimension E520 has a Q6700 2.66Ghz cpu, 4GB DDR2 ram (to match XP32), 500W psu, XFX HD6770 1GB DDR5 single slot video card, a 3 heatpipe cooler from Ascendtech (#X9694). Dual boot Linux/XP. The plastic cooler cover needs a little trimming to work (use your old cover).

If you want to do a motherboard swap look at an Optiplex 780 btx motherboard. LGA775,1333fsb,16GB ddr3 1066 memory. Dell 0C27VV. Might O/C using BSEL mod. Own one,haven't tried it yet.

Dell doesn't use i/o cutout plates. Each case is cut to match each original motherboard,so motherboard any swap will involve cutting the I/O area out.

I had to install a slot fan to pull hot air out from behind the video card.

Future plans include an HD6970, and 250 GB SSD with Win 7 64/Linux 64, and 8GB ram.
The motherboard and OS upgrade should be done at the same time to avoid windows "validation" issues.
 
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Pretty sweet. Never Thought of swapping out mobos on this dell. I just figured that most of them came pre-sized to fit their individual parts. That seems a bit much considering i already did all those upgrades from before. But i will give it some research. Sound interesting.
 
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First, don't listen to anyone who says upgrading a Dell is impossible. It can definitely be done, but it takes a lot more work than simply buying a new modern case and screwing stuff onto it. This is a job that requires metal cutting tools (Angle grinder, dremel tool or just snips) and lots of superglue. It's basically a hack job, and probably not worth the time and effort unless the case holds some sentimental value for you.

I recently upgraded my girlfriends C-521 with a new mobo and i5 2390T processor. I used an Asus P8-H61 mini itx motherboard. They are small enough to position up by the I/O ports and if you use the metal shield that comes with the mobo (and you don't hack up the opening too bad) it'll look nice and clean from outside. You'll have to mark the positions of the standoffs for the motherboard and mount them (you'll probably need to make spacers to "lift" the motherboard to the proper height so that it lines up with the I/O panel). I used a lot of superglue for this.

The panel for the Video card is on the bottom of the case and wont line up with the motherboard. So, for gaming, you'll need to get a long (12" or so) PCIE ribbon extension and run it from the PCI slot, over the motherboard and down by the opening in back of the case. If you are using a low profile GPU, it should fit in there pretty nicely. There are other options if you want to use a larger card, but they're a little more complicated.

Lastly, you'll need to buy a bezel wire pack for the front panel, plug them into the corresponding pins on the mobo and figure out a way mount the power switch in a way that doesn't look too janky.

The only reason I went through this whole procedure was because the PC was a gift to my girlfriend from her aunt who passed away and she couldn't bear to get rid of it. If you're just trying to save money, you might actually spend just as much going this route (if you factor in the cost of the wires, standoffs, glue, PCIE ribbon and so on) as you would buying a new, cheap case.

But the choice is yours. Good luck either way.
 
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I posted before about my E520 with Q6700, and Hd6770.
It's now running at 3.2GHz. with QX6700 (12X2.66Ghz @1.4v.) I used Throttlestop software. It controls multiplier (on unlocked CPU) and voltage. It ran at 3.45 but was unstable. A QX6800 SLACP might do more. 3.45Ghz is the next step. An X6800 2 core should do that easily. I used a D9729 cooler (lapped of course). No metal tools or glue were needed. If TS wont run from the desktop icon try moving the whole download folder to the desktop this worked for me. Don't worry about swapping out that fan It's a Delta 1.6A beast! The hotter your CPU the faster it runs until you need headphones!
 
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As far as video cards go If you dont mind using a nibbler to widen the video card slot some of the newer Nvidia cards (GTX750) that aren't too long should fit. They don't draw a lot of power. The Dell PSU is considered very conservatively rated at 305w. Most consider it at least 350W, some even say 400W. Normal PSU's fit if needed. What you spend extra on Nvidia you might save on a PSU. I haven't tried this so do some research first. But I think any card that doesn't need an extra power cable should work.
I bought a second case to play with and I've mounted a Silverstone 1.3A. 180mm case fan (metal work required), and plan on fitting an Hd6970 video card (relocated heatsink with Delta fan ).
 
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Hey man I'm doing the same thing! Mine has only 4 gigs of RAM right now, and I'm cutting the case and making some places for LEDs and extra fans. I got the computer for free and I'm just seeing what I can do to it. I have some pentium dual core from an asus in mine, I'm not sure what the difference exactly is with a dual core vs quad core, but I'd like to upgrade my processor to a quadcore eventually. I need a graphics card and a network card, and I'm currently running backbox linux on it, as it is the only OS I had at the time. Anyone want to help me with modding this PC? I just want to know where to find the compatability info.
 
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I now adapt video cards to fit computer not the other way a round. GTX750Ti o/C 2GB DDR5 single fan. Remove Bracket, Cut it in 1/2, trim plastic cover back so air can turn and go out back vents, install bracket.
I now use cooler T9303, requires slight mod to cover but better air flow. QX6800 SLACP @ 3.45Ghz now
 
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If you want more, Delta fan GFB1212VHG 2 motor fan fits. Run power leads to molex connector. It gives fan error at boot, I use sleep mode and ignore them. They must be cleared manually in BIOS/Maintenence/ Clear Log. Running fan off of molex frees up power for CPU. Would help with stock fan also.

With a little more work ITX video cards can be made to fit Sapphire R9-285 ITX has legacy BIOS compatibility mode. I haven't tested this yet, waiting for bigger PSU to arrive.
 
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