Upgrading Dell XPS Gen 2 desktop

Jajao555

Solid State Member
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Location
Delaware
My parents had the HDD go bad with RAID set up so I got their info they wanted off the mirror and they let me have it. I've been messing around with it and this stuff is old and I'd like to just upgrade some stuff. I'd like to be able to play some higher end games also.

Can I still use this case and just upgrade a few things mostly the motherboard, processor, and RAM. Depending on how much those are I would also upgrade the video card. I don't think I really need HDD and cd drives and hopefully can keep the same power supply.

I think I'll also just bite the bullet and get Windows 7 and I did some research and I think I'll get the Linux Mint and do 2 partitions on a single HDD.

Heres the specs I got off CPUID.

Name Intel Pentium 4
Codename Northwood
Specification Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.20GHz
Package (platform ID) Socket 478 mPGA (0x2)

Northbridge Intel i875P rev. A2
Southbridge Intel 82801EB (ICH5) rev. 02
Graphic Interface AGP
AGP Revision 3.0
AGP Transfer Rate 8x
AGP SBA supported, enabled
Memory Type DDR
Memory Size 2048 MBytes
Channels Dual
Memory Frequency 199.5 MHz (1:1)

Memory type DDR
Manufacturer (ID) Samsung
Size 512 MBytes
Max bandwidth PC3200 (200 MHz

Display adapter 0
Name RADEON 9800 XT
Codename R360
Technology 0.15 um
Memory size 256 MB
GPU ref clock 27000
PCI device bus 1 (0x1), device 0 (0x0), function 0 (0x0)
Vendor ID 0x1002 (0x1002)
Model ID 0x4E4A (0x1002)
Performance Level 0

Display adapter 1
Name RADEON 9800 XT - Secondary
Memory size 256 MB
PCI device bus 1 (0x1), device 0 (0x0), function 1 (0x1)
Vendor ID 0x1002 (0x1002)
Model ID 0x4E6A (0x1003)
Performance Level 0

Windows Version Microsoft Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 (Build 2600)
 
What is the model of this unit? I can already tell you this machine isn't worth really upgrading but you have a 75% chance of being able to use the case again. Back in those days Dell liked to use proprietary boards and case setups so you couldn't reuse their stuff.

The Pentium 4 is too slow to play any modern games, and if you upgraded the motherboard/CPU/RAM you would need a new GPU due to it being AGP and the new setup will be PCI-E. Judging from how old this setup is, those HDDs are probably going to be IDE or very old model SATA meaning slow. You could do with a new drive too.
 
Heres a link to the manual it has pics of what the case looks like and what the board looks like.

Documentation

I saw this thread and it sounds about like my needs and budget. So I did about the same but with a few small changes and with the stuff you recommended. Also that main board is micro ATX that would be fine in that case right?

Will I have to buy like the SATA cables for the HDD or mounting hardware or anything since it says bare drive? What about any other power cables or anything extra I'd need thats not listed? The thermal grease stuff for the CPU? Is that included?

Came out to about $760 with shipping.

http://www.techist.com/forums/f76/650-263251/

The list:

LITE-ON DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model iHAS124-04 - OEM

Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F4 HD322GJ/U 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

EVGA 02G-P4-2660-KR GeForce GTX 660 2GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

SeaSonic M12II 620 Bronze 620W ATX12V V2.3 / EPS 12V V2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL

ASRock B75M-DGS LGA 1155 Intel B75 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

Intel Core i3-3220 Ivy Bridge 3.3GHz LGA 1155 55W Dual-Core Desktop Processor ...

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM
 
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PC you built if pretty spot on.
No you don't need new SATA cables as the motherboard will come with some if you need them.
Don't need extra power cables as those come with the PSU you are buying.
Thermal grease comes pre-applied on the CPU heatsink that is supplied with the CPU.
Don't get that VelociRaptor. If you want more speed then get an SSD if it fits in your budget, if not then just stick with the Samsung F4 you have listed.
 
Ok I'm not worried about speed to much I was just hoping to use the SATA 6.0. What about it being a bare drive will the case have mounting hardware? How noticable is the difference between 16MB cache and the 32 or 64?
 
The bus (SATA3) speed doesn't really matter for HDDs as their speed barely even saturates SATA1. Cache doesn't make too much of a difference besides in long transfers. Yes the case has mounting hardware for your drive.
Actually, if there isn't any specific reason why you want that case then I would look at the Corsair 200r instead.
 
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