Dell XPS 435T / 9000 (early 9000) upgrades

[broche]

I have a Dell XPS 435T / 9000 (early 9000). Here are the current specs:
Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit SP1
CPU: Intel Core i7 920 @ 2.67GHz 60 °C Bloomfield 45nm Technology
RAM: 24.0GB Triple-Channel DDR3 @ 529MHz (7-7-7-19)
Motherboard: DELL Inc. 0X501H (CPU 1) 45 °C
Graphics: 1024MB ATI AMD Radeon HD 5800 Series (MSI) 60 °C
Storage: 3726GB Seagate Expansion Desk USB Device (USB (SATA)) 39 °C
Optical Drives: HL-DT-ST DVD+-RW GH50N ATA Device
Audio: AMD High Definition Audio Device

I'm having problems with my power light blinking yellow and my mouse would freeze so that I have to re-start the machine. It's happening more often now and it seems clear to me that soon, the PC will not be able to re-start as I had a few instances where I could not get the yellow power light to show white for me to even start the machine. From what I read it seems to be either power supply or the motherboard. Maybe the graphics card as I had a blue screen yesterday and the report indicated a graphic problem.

Can you recommend the best 1. Motherboard, 2. Power supply and 3. Graphics card that I can upgrade to? I'd like medium range pricing, I don't do well with the cheapest stuff - when I upgrade I want good and reliable products with great reviews or just the best I can get - taking into consideration that the overall cost should stay under that of spending on a brand new PC for the obvious reasons.

I want to stay with this Dell as all new Dells come with Windows 10 and I'm afraid I'm not ready to deal with compatibility issues for Autocad LT 2011 and I am unwilling to upgrade to the latest Autocad at this point in time. Please help, I am basically a newbie and learn as I go. I installed new RAM and the SSD drive all by myself for the first time but am anxious about whether I make the best choices for the rest of upgrades. I don't mind changing the RAM type either if it can be done and if it's necessary to make it compatible with a new and better motherboard but overall price still rules, if everything's too expensive then I might as well buy a brand new PC which defeats my purpose with Autocad if I want to stay with Windows 7.

I also have a Windows 7 CD which was purchased separately and am not sure I can downgrade a PC from Windows 10 to Windows 7 anyway.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

An update (about an hour later):

I was looking at thsi: http://www.amazon.com/Dell-Flagship-Keyboardand-Quad-Core-Graphics/dp/B01DHKK612?ie=UTF8&redirect=true

which is Dell XPS 8900 Special Flagship Edition windows 7 Pro Desktop with Keyboard and Mouse (Intel Quad-Core i7-6700 8M Cache 3.4GHz 16G 2TB HDD HDMI 4G NVIDIA Graphics) - it comes with Windows 7 Professional. Might this be a better buy for my buck?

Problem: I read that it can't be easily upgraded to SSD but am wondering whether they're only referring to size whereby I'd have to use the plate support just like I did in the last. Is this really an issue that I can't upgrade it to SSD? See this review: http://www.digitaltrends.com/desktop-computer-reviews/dell-xps-8900-special-edition-review/

As usual, am grateful for all your feedback.

 

[Lutfij]

The nature of your problem is multiple folds. You're running on the first gen series of enthusiast Core i7 processors which means it will not run on any motherboard outside of an X58 platform. Right about now the only place to find an X58 motherboard for cheap will be on Ebay and the lowest I can see goes for $200US which is the cost of buying a new motherboard meant for the latest Skylake platform and that too you can downsize the scale of your chassis in the process while maintaining the same power profile.

The previous platform required triple channel memory so you'll only be able to use 4 out of the 6 dimms you have or only 2 out of the 3 you may have on your motherboard. You're also advised to move to lower power draw ram kits since the memory controller onboard the processor can see damage/malfunction. 2nd reason to move to a new platform.

The cost of buying a new PSU almost ushers in the need to go for a scaled down(size wise) of your 435T chassis. You're going to have a better experience overall with building the machine you're going to use much like how DIY work on a car is self satisfying.

You can do with your Windows 7 installation disc since any/all boards coming out till date have official support for the old OS. All you need to do is hold on to your licence key for your copy of Windows 7. Second point, you can downgrade your installation of Windows 10 to Windows 7 but it will take you time. As an architect, I know how bad that can be trying to reinstall OS while client work are pending.

Tell you what, please follow this guide and post a follow up on this thread. We're probably going to build you a system that is two folds better than that system you sourced/linked at the end.

 

[broche]

Hi Lutfij,

thanks so much for your response. I used the time I waited to go look for all the information I could get. Already, this exercise has taught me that I am working with a dinosaur and my embarrassment for having asked all you tech folks to deal with this was overwhelming to say the least - I could just imagine the eye rolls - 12 views and 'no comment' lol so I'm even more grateful I even got a response!

Ok, well I visited the link and already also know that either I build my own brand new PC or get a brand new Dell. Yes and I realised I am getting bare bones with Dell for quite a bit and must spend about $2,200 for a system I could be proud of. I am already pissed that Autocad has its issues, I'm technically grieving for my XPS and hadn't even realised that it is already 7 years old so I don't know if I can really complain. It's in Neanderthal land now, what can I say.

What should I really do with the case and all? I'm one of those who really supports recycling - it was beyond aggravating when I realised I could not even get a reasonable motherboard to fit into this thing and most parts I saw were 'used' and still pricey - I should have purchased a brand new PC even when I upgraded the memory. I also personally don't want to waste the time to buy a PSU (found one that I thought was suitable) only to find out that it's the motherboard. Does not make sense at all, seeing the age of the system.

Anyway, I'm looking at the guide and will post my follow up.

Thanks a mil again!

 

[Rexer]

I bought a 435mt in 2009 and still use it as my daily work computer. Replaced everything in it except the motherboard and cpu. Even replaced the heatsink on the chipset. I kept a spare motherboard and i7 920.
When the Dell xps 435mt first came out, owners complained of crashing and bsod and black screens. Some wouldn't work after the first day. The 350w psu had barely enough power to keep it running. It was the first thing I replaced.
I've been saying after 2012, I'll replace the 435mt a couple years but I still use it. I just don't play games on it anymore.

 

[broche]

I bought a 435mt in 2009 and still use it as my daily work computer. Replaced everything in it except the motherboard and cpu. Even replaced the heatsink on the chipset. I kept a spare motherboard and i7 920.
When the Dell xps 435mt first came out, owners complained of crashing and bsod and black screens. Some wouldn't work after the first day. The 350w psu had barely enough power to keep it running. It was the first thing I replaced.
I've been saying after 2012, I'll replace the 435mt a couple years but I still use it. I just don't play games on it anymore.

Thanks Rexer, I realised a long time ago that I should have purchased a spare motherboard and the CPU - from what I could gather, even the CPU wasn't good. I had to get work done so went ahead and purchased a finished system and have the 435T there to take my time to upgrade. If I only knew the exact size of the motherboard I'd purchase a brand new, different motherboard. I did a lot of work putting systems together on pcpartspicker but eventually gave up because of time.

 

[Lutfij]

Thank you for selecting my post as the Best Answer but did it answer your question? If not, I'll be more than happy to remove it for you if you did it by accident. On the matter about not having time, that's where the beauty of opening a thread with the necessary details as linked in the guide I posted in my initial post will help get users from our community to build one for you albeit with a little bit of wiggle room.

The problem with technology is that it's always changing but it's also a good thing otherwise the industry would've been stagnated. Whats the update on your existing system btw? How are you coping with down time?

 

[broche]

Thank you for selecting my post as the Best Answer but did it answer your question? If not, I'll be more than happy to remove it for you if you did it by accident. On the matter about not having time, that's where the beauty of opening a thread with the necessary details as linked in the guide I posted in my initial post will help get users from our community to build one for you albeit with a little bit of wiggle room.

The problem with technology is that it's always changing but it's also a good thing otherwise the industry would've been stagnated. Whats the update on your existing system btw? How are you coping with down time?

Not at all, it was no mistake! It certainly did answer my question! Several questions in fact - very valuable lessons learnt as a 'beginner'. To be quite honest, well the time basically made this venture into building a new PC a major failure and my learning curve was too slow having busy days ahead of me. In the end, I still wasted loads of time putting together quite a couple alternatives on pc part picker (which was really exciting and fun!) but had to end up ordering an HP system (because Dell no longer sold pre-installed Windows 7) which oddly enough has landed me in a few extra expenses - because the systems now are updated.

For instance, I had two monitors and have only one DVI connection on the back. ARRRGH! I see 4 Displayports but can't source the cables where I am (the Caribbean) so have to order from Amazon. Right now I'm working with one monitor. Then my headphones has two jacks and no two jack ports next to each other so new headphone with one jack to order as well. These were not things I thought of while ordering the new PC. It's cute but I don't feel as super excited if I had built my own PC.

I kept the old Dell and intend on trying to come up with a brand new MOBO that can fit in it or order what seems to be one of the last mobos for that system and give the PC to a younger family member when it's done. Then I will have practiced putting a PC together for myself. The more I thought about it, it seemed easy enough but unfortunately I had to abandon the entire idea of building one right now. Apart from the old Dell, I am ALSO planning to build a brand new one based on your excellent instructions so I have not given up as yet.

I'll open up two new posts to get the assistance from the community users on 1. the old Dell changing out the mobo and 2. also a BRAND new system. Thank you tons!

 

[Lutfij]

Well, in that case, Thank YOU!

Both of your questions can go into system's or have the former in Motherboard's section. Hopefully the thread for your new build should be eye catching and worthy for you to build asap Should you like my assistance you can contact me via PM to guide me to that thread...also you're welcome!

Speaking of thread, I'll close this thread as it's solved. If you'd like it reopened for any reason, please feel free to PM me.