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General discussion

Upgrade Dell 8200

May 30, 2005 11:29AM PDT

Hello,
I am looking into upgrading my Dell 8200 1.8G to something a little better. I have 512MB of RAM in the box now. Below are the original specs. I have upgraded the RAM and added another hard drive and that's about it.

I really just want to either a) preferably upgrade the motherboard, graphics card, expecting to probably change out the memory and keep everything else intact (hard drives, usb ports, interfaces, etc. or b) gut out the case and start from scratch or c) just buy a new computer.

Any suggestions? I am trying to find the best cost-effective solution. Thanks.

1 3K363 PROCESSOR, 80531, 1.8G, 0, 400FSB, SOCKET N, D0
1 3M673 INFORMATION, NO-RISER, DIM8200
1 8G894 ASSEMBLY, CARD (CIRCUIT), PLANAR (MOTHERBOARD), DIM8200, NO-RSR
1 6H257 KEYBOARD, 104, 6P, UNITED STATES, AUDIO, NMB, MIDNIGHT GRAY
1 735HE MOUSE, PERSONAL SYSTEM 2, 6P, 2BTN, WHEEL, 1.3A, MICROSOFT, MIDNIGHT GRAY
1 5740C CABLE, AUXILIARY, INTERNAL, MODEM, 4C
1 8F217 MODEM, V.92, INTERNAL, DATA/FAX/VOICE, SOFT, Z, DIMENSION
1 3H788 KIT, COMPACT DISKETTE, COMPACT DISK READ WRITE, ROXIO, V5.1
1 7N956 COMPACT DISK READ WRITE, 680M, I, 5.25" FORM FACTOR, 24X, LITEON, REVISION, CHASSIS 2001
1 1D430 KIT, SPEAKER, 110, HARMAN KARDON (MIDNIGHT GRAY SPEAKERS), DELL AMERICAS ORGANIZATION
1 181UR CARD (CIRCUIT), MULTI-MEDIA, AUDIO, CRTV-4780, FRONT AUDIO JACK
1 4N857 CARD (CIRCUIT), GRAPHICS, 64MB, GEFORCE3TI, DIGITAL VIDEO INTERFACE
1 2D067 FLOPPY DRIVE, 1.44M, 3.5" FORM FACTOR, 3MD, NO BEZEL, SONY, CHASSIS 2001, W3
1 6K223 KIT, SOFTWARE, WKS-STE2K2, 5.25" FORM FACTOR, ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT MFGR., ENGLAND/ENGLISH
1 8K233 KIT, SOFTWARE, OVERPACK, WINDOWS XP HOME, COMPACT DISKETTE W/DOCUMENTATION, ENGLAND/ENGLISH, A01
1 7C712 CARD (CIRCUIT), NETWORK, ETHERNET, 10/100, CNET TECHNOLOGY INC, REVISION
2 7D110 RAMBUS INLINE MEMORY MODULE, 128, 400M, 64X16, 4C
2 9578D CARD (CIRCUIT), MEMORY BOARD, MEMORY, PRINTED WIRING BOARD, CONTINUITY, RAMBUS
1 7J379 HARD DRIVE, 80G, I, 1N, 7.2K, 40G/P, MAXTOR VIPER

Discussion is locked

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(NT) (NT) A little better is not worth it.
May 30, 2005 12:07PM PDT
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Thanks Ray...
May 31, 2005 11:18AM PDT

Maybe a little better wasn't very good wording on my part. I want to bring the system up to at least 3GHz processor with at least 256MB graphics card (new) and 1Gb RAM.

Thoughts?

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Abit more...
May 31, 2005 1:35PM PDT

Did you visit Dell support and see what "upgrade options" were available to you? You needn't get the upgrades from them, but it gives an idea just how far or what an upgrade may entail. You're cpu upgrade maybe limited to 2.4Ghz, provided that Dell as an OEM system doesn't lock it down to a lesser Ghz value. Plus, when you start to stuff the system the power supply started to be stressed as it delivers more power upto its limits.

tada -----Willy Happy

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ethernet card for Dell 8200
Jun 1, 2005 4:40AM PDT

Did you order your 8200 with an ethernet card? If not, where did you order it.

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Ethernet card
Jun 1, 2005 11:36AM PDT

Yeah, I ordered with an Ethernet card.

On the Dell support site, the only upgrades I have available for this system are memory so I don't really know if I can put in another processor.

Thanks.

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Upgrade Dell 8200
Jun 2, 2005 3:55AM PDT

Up grading an older Dell is not worth it.
They do not use standard MB or PSU.
Save up your money and get a new one it will cost less in the end. John