NotebookForums.com › Forums › Off Topic › Desktop and Hardware Discussion › Replacing a Dell motherboard
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Replacing a Dell motherboard

post #1 of 9
6/29/04 at 6:50am
Thread Starter 
Is it possible?

Much to my dismay about a year ago I ordered a Dimension 8250 which had RDRAM. This was a period of time where I was very much ignorant about the parts of a computer (and I still have more to learn.)

I thought that the price of RDRAM would go down as the price of RAM is wont to do, yet I was very much mistakened in this regard.

So I'm wondering can I remove the motherboard from my Dimension 8250 and replace it with something else? Or is this not possible for one reason or another?

I've seriously considered this because the price of RDRAM doesn't look like its going down any time soon (if ever.) I'm even tempted to switch my system into an Athlon. (Imagine the confusion, a Dell with Athlon!)

My warranty is up anyway so no fear from that.

Any comments, suggestions, or whatever's helpful?
Reply
Reply
post #2 of 9
6/29/04 at 2:37pm
To my knowledge, the Dell case only fits dell motherboards. It'd be pain in the ass to remove it (Dell purposely made it like this) so that you cannot upgrade it and you HAD to buy a new comp.
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 9
6/29/04 at 10:32pm
Thread Starter 
Those bastards!
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 9
6/30/04 at 3:34am
dell uses special power supply connectors to the motherboard... you'll need a new psu... new case.. everything else should be standard/universally compatible with normal hardware provided your motherboard can accept rimm's.. a decent case that'll suit a non-oc'ers needs is like 30 - 50$ at newegg... decent psu that'll suit someone not using a geforce6 is about the same... so lets say 75ish.. less if you trust the powersupplies that come with some cases.. ram will kill you... i don't know the speed of rambus that you're looking for but you'll pay at least ddr400 prices for it even if it's pc800... if you can't find a rambus motherboard for your socket cpu anywhere search ebay and you'll find one..
unless you want to play games etc right now you don't necesarilly need a new computer right away so i'd just save up and get a socket939 system.. otherwise you'll need to weigh pro's and con's
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 9
7/2/04 at 6:36pm
You could order a replacement from Dell, but it would likely cost an arm and a leg. Look for a case with an Antec power supply in it. This will save you a bit of money. 350 watts should be sufficient unless you have a ton of drives.
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 9
7/4/04 at 3:24am
Thread Starter 
Yeah, I'm going to try and do that when I have time but if the motherboard ends up costing about as much as the RAM I'm not recommending Dell to anyone who plans to own a PC that they can upgrade over time

I might as well have bought a Mac...

Sorry, folks, just feeling sore though I should have put more research into things before I bought it.
Reply
Reply
post #7 of 9
7/4/04 at 1:55pm
If you have a socket 478 processor and 256mb or less of Rambus, I would recommend getting a newer bord that supports DDR. It will be cheaper and give you some room for upgradeability.
Reply
Reply
post #8 of 9
7/4/04 at 2:13pm
I've got a customer with a Dell. It's sitting in my shop right now. It's an 8250, and the motherboard is bad. I found a couple on Ebay for around $80.00. I can't believe they would make it were only there stuff would fit. What a CRAP company!!
Reply
Reply
post #9 of 9
7/4/04 at 3:25pm
Most major computer manufacturers do this so that you have to go to them to replace certain components. Some companies even lock down their motherboard so it will not accept any upgrades at all!
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Desktop and Hardware Discussion
NotebookForums.com › Forums › Off Topic › Desktop and Hardware Discussion › Replacing a Dell motherboard