Old Dell computer - replacing MB

[whoami1234]

Hi everyone,

A friend of mine gave me a old Dell computer at P4 1.6ghz, and told me that everything works except the MB.
I was wondering, would I be able to buy any P4 motherboard to replace the one that is not working?

Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks.

 

[Samm]

Let us know what model of Dell it is.

A lot of Dells use proprietry motherboards that only fit in a Dell cases. Most of the time though, the rest of the hardware (RAM, CPU, drives etc) is standard & will fit non-Dell boards.

As a replacement mobo from Dell will probably be expensive, you might be better off buying a different motherboard & case, then transferring everything into that.

Can't say for sure though without knowing what the exact model number is.

 

[whoami1234]

It's a Dell Dimension 4300,
I was thinking about getting a new case along with the motherboard, but just wanted to make sure that the cpu and other stuff could be transfered out.

Thanks for the info.

 

[Samm]

Thats cool. 4300 Dimension uses pretty standard components throughout. Providing you get a new case & power supply for it & the new mobo supports your system specs, there shouldn't be a problem.

 

[geekster]

A friend gave me a 4500 with a bad mobo. I used the old case with the mobo listed in my specs below. My 4500 had two proprietary front panel boards that I couldnt use. I had to cut the mobo chasis so my ports would fit. It was a real pain to make it work. I had to buy a new cpu fan because Dell has a different type fan that doesnt work with non dell mobos. Before you spend the money pull your pci cards and try to boot. Sometimes dead pci cards wont let your mobo boot up.My 4500 had a bad mobo and a bad modem from lightning. The modem wouldnt let my new mobo power up. In the end a new mobo and case is recommended.

 

[whoami1234]

Thanks for the info, I'll probably get a new MB and case when i get the money, and have some time to fiddle around with it.