Please don't laugh at this one (Dell user writing this post)

[bravo2zero]

Hi Guys,

I've currently got Dell Dimension 5000, p4 3.6Gig / 4gig of ram and a couple of 250gb disks, and a 6600GT 128 meg card.

My question is this, i have a spare identical 6600gt card, what would be the best option:

1. buy SLI capable motherboard, case and PSU and transfer the bits from the dell machine to the new one.

2. Just buy a 7800 of some sort, and put it in the dell.

Any help would be appreciated.

Rob

 

[bravo2zero]

Almost forgot to say, the cards are XFX 6600GT with 128 meg

Thanks

Rob

 

[PX7800GT]

If You Have Enough Money , Just Buy A PowerFull PSU ( At Least 550Watt ) & Then Buy An ATI X1900XTX Or GeForce 7900GTX :twisted:

 

[MasterLee]

Do the transfer deal, no other power supply will work with what you have.
Just buy PSU, case, and motherboard, and start swapping, you'll be happy you fled the Dell.

 

[SuperFly03]

Depends on your level of comfort with the idea you will be your own technical support team. Switching cases and such will obviously void your warranty, and if you don't feel comfratable with the idea of dealing with the issues that might arrise then don't switch. You could easily switch out, I did it 2-3 years ago with an XPS desktop I had.

You could just throw down for a 7900GT for $325 and you'd be done. Otherwise your lookin at $100 for a decent mobo, $100 for PSU (give or take depending on which one), then a case, and time and effort. When you switch mobos you are almost definately going to have to reinstall windows.

There are pros and cons to each, its just a matter of evaluating the situation as a whole.

 

[bravo2zero]

Not Fussed on warranty, tech support and reinstalling windows (the joys of keeping a server running in the background mean all i have to do is install windows, apps and games etc.)

Is it worth it performance wise?

 

[SuperFly03]

If you do a straight swap then no.

However, if you do the swap then you run into OC potential. Also I have a feeling 1 7900GT can spank the crap outta 2 6600GT's, although I am not 100% positive on that, check the VGA charts, and remember 7900GT is approx = 7800GTX on THG's charts.

 

[bweir]

Don't waste money on SLI unless you are using one of the fastest cards available (and you are not). It won't translate into a worthwhile frame rate increase Vs. the Cost of actually doing it.

The 7900 will possibly cause power issues because Dell under specs their PSU's consistently. And I've heard rumors that Dell's PSU's are proprietary, or they at least need to be ordered right from Dell. I can't verify that, because I've only pwned a Dell when it was being used by a competitor online.

 

[rodney_ws]

Don't waste money on SLI unless you are using one of the fastest cards available (and you are not). It won't translate into a worthwhile frame rate increase Vs. the Cost of actually doing it.

The 7900 will possibly cause power issues because Dell under specs their PSU's consistently. And I've heard rumors that Dell's PSU's are proprietary, or they at least need to be ordered right from Dell. I can't verify that, because I've only pwned a Dell when it was being used by a competitor online.

For a brief period of time, Dell shipped PSUs that looked just like ATX units, but did not conform to ATX standards... a couple of the leads off of the 20 pin connector were reversed if I remember correctly. Damn you Dell! Thankfully this practice is way in the past... here's an exert I found on this topic...

"You might be somewhere in between the type to scratch-build and the kind who doesn't remove the cover, and if you are, you might want to know this about Dell - they use non-ATX standard wiring for their motherboards and power supplies. Not only that, but these items, with their non-standard wiring, use ATX standard connectors. This is not a problem if you stick with Dell components. But if you decide to stick in a new standard ATX motherboard, or your power supply blows and you decide to stick in a standard one, watch out. You'll be looking at fried components.

I read about this in Scott Meuller's "Upgrading and Repairing PCs," the 13th edition published September 2001."

 

[Exterous]

Most Dell's are proprietary PSUs (Sometimes in terms of size, sometimes in terms of wire layout, sometimes both)

Here is a link to a site that sells Dell PSUs: http://www.pcpowercooling.com/products/power_supplies/selector/index.htm

While I did not see your model listed they do give a phone # to call

Edit: rodney is correct - they do reverse ATX leads alot, keeping the same standard ATX connector

 

[Misrach]

At that point, you may as well build an entirely separate PC. Unless your hard drives are in a RAID array, you could split them between the 2 PC's. And even if you don't want to separate the two, the cost of an extra hard drive is small compared to the cost of the PC. You will, however, have to get a new version of XP somehow, but there's always OEM versions.

I built a PC for my brother with a 7800GT last year, ringing in at around $1200 -- and that's even with my shortsightedness that forced him to buy a separate PSU (his case came with one, but the wattage was too low). We bought the mobo and CPU locally too; online that would have saved us about $100. The only "downgrade" was that he had to settle for 1gb RAM and an AMD 3200+. For his purposes, however, they were more than enough.

 

[bravo2zero]

Thanks for the sensible answer Misrach, Just for your info i am going with the second option, new case, motherboard and PSU, and will extract the components from my Dell

I am going to use the 2 6600GT's for now as it means i dont have to spend much money.

Oh and for all you Dell bashers, heres why i bought the dell, i bought the box purely for its components, a p4 3.6, a 250gb drive and 2x1 gig DDR2 DIMM's, it cost me just shy of £175 (thats about 290 dollars) and is a refurbished box.

The machine has given sterling performance as a general workhorse pc its just not up to gaming.

I've ordered an Asus motherboard with SLI support, a coolermaster case and some zalman cooling fans. The dell box will be repopulated when i get spares in and sold on to one of my customers.

My biggest worry is the noise coming from the machine now. The Dell is near enough silent, except when its really working hard. Possibly due to the BTX designed board.

 

[gudodayn]

Depends on how much the motherboard / PSU and case is going to cost you!!
A 7900GT will definitely out-perform dual 6600GTs by far.............
A Albatron 7900GT on Newegg will only set you back $299 and will most likely last longer than Dual 6600GTs.

 

[bravo2zero]

The thing is i can do my upgrade and plan for a better machine long term. The Dell machine, whilst being a fine machine, just doesnt give me any room to add to it.

I have outgrown my machine (I think).