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Build Advice Noob: Comp build help

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by MarkW7, 3 Dec 2008.

  1. MarkW7

    MarkW7 Total Noob

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    Hi, this is my first post / topic here, i have read a couple of other threads and everyone seems friendly and helpful.

    Heres the basics; I've just bought an old dell dimension 8200 with a couple of bits, inside - 250w [max output PSU?], motherboard [not sure if working, but when i put power cable into PSU a green light comes on], CPU Fan, [this has an air duct that pumps it straight out of the rear] and im not sure if there is actually a processor in there as i dont want to pull the thing off and damage anything as i am a beginner and i dont know if anything works because i cant plug my monitor in; [pics below]

    so basically i need alot of help :(, would be very greatful.

    The Case; [Dell Dimension 8200]

    [​IMG]

    The back;

    [​IMG]

    The back close up on slots;

    [​IMG]

    Case open;

    [​IMG]

    Inside 1;

    [​IMG]

    Inside 2;

    [​IMG]

    Ram, were 2; [Don't know if works]

    [​IMG]

    I took all the covers off;

    [​IMG]

    I need a harddrive, i only need a small one around 40gb's as only i will be using it and hopefully save some money as i am on a tight budget.
    Drive, will only need the one? looking for something that can read CD's and DVD's and also give me the option to burn.
    As there are no monitor slots i'll need video card?[don't know anything about this thing] pref one with just 2 VGA slots or even 3 as i'll have atleast dual monitor.
    Dont know if it has processor, if not i'd be looking for something as an average not super fast or slow as im on a budget.
    Ram again im not sure?
    Case Fans, as the CPU cooler fan comes straight out of the back vents there i not really anywere to put extra fans unless in the front were drives go because ill only have one, again not sure.
    Not sure if motherboard works as i cannot get my monitor attached and it wont boot because it just flashes orange, [power button] bcoz i have no hdd.

    Sticky situation, very greatful for help first build abit useless willing to buy bits and pieces off ebay and things like that to save money, just need to know what im looking for.

    Thanks again

    :D
     
    Last edited: 4 Dec 2008
  2. camera man

    camera man What's a Dremel?

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    i have the same dell i did the same as ur plannin but i couldnt get the mobord out so snaped it and couldnt find any stand off holes not sure if i was blind but oh well so i gave up
     
  3. turboshifter

    turboshifter What's a Dremel?

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    ive dealt with these cases
    you have to take the heatsink and the four screws holding it in to get the motherboard off the motherboard tray.
     
  4. bigsharn

    bigsharn Officially demotivated

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    First, welcome to the first stages of becoming a true geek (You signed up to this forum... that's a start :))

    Secondly... Do you have any plans in how to mod the case? what you want it to look like? what colours? extra parts? Measurements are also a good thing to look into... make sure it can hold a motherboard of some sort... this should help - [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_computer_form_factors ] mATX, ATX, and ITX are the main ones still used, DTX, BTX, and Pico/Nano ITX exist but are expensive/hard to find

    I can tell you that with a Dell you'll need to make your own mounting holes, might need to re-seat the PSU and do some serious modding to the Hard Drive/Optical Drive to get a new motherboard to fit

    Oh, and draw out a plan ot make a Sketchup model of the case, it always helps


    Hope this makes things clearer :)
    Sharn
     
  5. jhanlon303

    jhanlon303 The Keeper of History

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    Yippee, another padawan learner!!!!!!!!!! Welcome to Bit-Tech.

    I would seriously hate to poll how many of us have started with or modded a Dell.
    Almost like navels - everybody has one.

    Be warned - a lot of the parts are usually Dell specific and things like power supplies and motherboards need pitched out.
    The cases are made of some metal that's harder than Egyptian Hieroglyphics.

    Think of a plan and sketch and ask questions, we are here. Most Dell mods start with a 120mm Fan in the front, maybe with a tunnel.
    I have done a bunch, Cheapskate is always pulling stash box parts from Dells, and TheGreatSatan uses Dell parts for picture backdrops.

    Welcome.

    john
     
  6. ModMinded

    ModMinded Are you throwing that away?

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    My first mod (well, use of a rotary tool) was cutting a hole to mount a replacement power supply on a dell gtx260 or something like that (now its in the garage). Darn Dell's weird proprietary parts, Darn them straight to Heck! I've never heard of having to remove the cpu heatsink to unmount the board. My dell had a tab lock holding the tray in, which was cool, but the dell motherboard was a weird one with expansion cards (not pci slots, but for another motherboard part.)

    Welcome to the forums! What is the plan with this case mod?

    It looks like the cpu is in its socket, under the heatsink (aluminum finned thing under the fan shroud.)
    I don't know of too many vid cards with 3 outputs. The usual thing is one, and 2 on the nicer ones. You'll have to find out if it's AGP or PCIe.
    You can still plug in and power on the pc without the monitor to see if it works. There are 4 LEDs next to the keyboard and mouse plugs that light up as you boot. You can look online for the meaning of any lights. There's an all clear signal as well as ones that point to specific problems. Beep codes can also tell you about problems... listen to it as you start up. Long drawn out beeps are not good. ;)
    I recommend you search a little more about computer hardware and making them work, as it doesn't sound like you've done much troubleshooting, or your homework... read the guides and stickies about using the forums as well as about modding. Also, visit dell's support site, and download the user and service manuals. (I got u the product link page) RTFM!

    Also, I recommend editing your post to remove your email address. Forum members who want to contact you can go through the board's private message system. Check in the control panel to make sure the option is set to allow people to contact you privately. Spammers can harvest your email address when its open like that, and before you know it, you're getting more spam than legit mail.
     
    Last edited: 4 Dec 2008
  7. notatoad

    notatoad pretty fing wonderful

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    bad news: that is RIMM (RDRAM) memory, which is pretty expensive and kind of sucks. and the piece in the picture is a filler stick, not actually ram. you probably only have 256MB in the system. based on this, i'd recommend trashing that motherboard. and if you're trashing the mobo, you may as well trash the CPU as well, and the PSU is a dell proprietary (pin 11 is incompatible, probably others are too) you will have to chuck that too. and really, dell cases suck. unless your budget is under $100 and not going to change anytime soon, i'd just chuck everything you've got and start with new hardware.

    get a cheap mATX AM2+ motherboard and processor with integrated video, 2GB of generic DDR2, and a cheap case and power supply. this should cost you well under $200 and will vastly outperform the dell. whatever you have leftover, spend on a hard drive and optical drive.

    if your budget really is under $100, then i guess you're stuck with this. you have a CPU because if you didn't the system wouldn't get as far as it does. pick up the cheapest PCI or AGP video card you can find. it's not worth getting anything expensive, because that computer can't do much anyways. grab a hard drive off fleabay or go harvesting at your local recycle depot to see if you can find one (scavenging could probably also net you a decent AGP card. in fact, if you're in canada i'll send you one from my collection of scavenged gear).

    shopping list:
    CPU+mobo http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=34150&promoid=1034 - $60
    RAM http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=34949&promoid=1034 - $20
    case+PSU http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=21735 - $50 (you could do better)
    HD http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=18530 - $50
    total = $170
     
    Last edited: 4 Dec 2008
    ModMinded likes this.
  8. ModMinded

    ModMinded Are you throwing that away?

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    Supertoad makes excellent points. I didn't look at that ram closely but had a pc with RIMM at work and had a hard time trying to find some.

    I like the hinged aspect of the dell case, and it might be nice to just cover the metal up with a decent material.

    What do you want to use the computer for anyway? Just to practice modding, or to learn about pcs, or to surf the web and word processing? Linux and XP. It could work for that (XP would be slow at 256mb of ram. You can get a cd/dvd burner for about $25 US. 20 and 40gb hard drives can be scrounged (a lot of people don't destroy their before tossing the pc. Gaming or multimedia are pretty much out. Offices and universities are good sources of old hardware. Often they will upgrade and want to get rid of old hardware and might sell for a low price.
    And we know you're on a tight budget, but what is it?
     
  9. MarkW7

    MarkW7 Total Noob

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    Hey everyone! Thanks for all replying,

    Firstly so the RAM's fake lol not a good start, no much room to mod the case, no extra fan holes? - Only fan in there and room for is cpu cooler. under less saw the case apart.

    I will be running xp and will be using for experience and just browsing the web generally no hard stuff on it.

    Also the motherboard is outdated? / hard to get parts for i dont know weather to start with a new case? and i dont really want to scrap the whole thing.

    - Thanks for dell link site and i will remove email.
    Unfortunately im not in canada :(

    As for the case i dont want anything to fancy just a general black outer cover, with something nice tho.

    As far as i get turning it on, i plug the power lead in and the power button just flashes on and off orange and wont start.

    Oh and im not sure what connection it takes to the HDD and optical drives there are some wires in there already, IDEs?

    Hope thats the info you need?
     
    Last edited: 4 Dec 2008
  10. Htr-Labs

    Htr-Labs What's a Dremel?

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    Last edited: 19 Dec 2016
  11. MarkW7

    MarkW7 Total Noob

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    Hi, thanks. Looked at list and i already have; monitor, keyboard and mouse and 320GB is way over what i need, i was thinking the max i need will be 160, 40 will be fine ? and the motherboard, if i can get this, the slots at the back all i'd need is atleast one VGA, usbs 2.0 [highest?] and an ethernet, and at the front, more usbs and earphones? and graphics card, do i need DVI and that black thing lol.
    Nice looking gold ram, and lastly the optical drive, im not sure what its called like - r + RW ect but im looking for one that can read CDs and DVDs and also give me the option to burn data onto blank disk.

    Thanks alot, Mark.
     
    Last edited: 4 Dec 2008
  12. Htr-Labs

    Htr-Labs What's a Dremel?

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    Last edited: 19 Dec 2016
  13. MarkW7

    MarkW7 Total Noob

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    The HDD is sata and i think the cable i already have are IDE and arnt IDE more popular?
     
  14. notatoad

    notatoad pretty fing wonderful

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    the thing about hard drives is nobody wants anything under 320GB anymore, so the prices have risen. whether you get a 40GB or a 160GB or a 320GB the price difference will probably only be about $10. your current motherboard will only support IDE hard drives, which cost a bit more because they are outdated and nobody wants them anymore. if you go for a new system, get SATA, it is the new tech and will be more upgradable. you should really just go poke around newegg, look at various parts, come back and tell us what you are looking at buying. we can tell you if it is a good idea or suggest alternatives.
     
  15. bradders2125

    bradders2125 What's a Dremel?

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  16. MarkW7

    MarkW7 Total Noob

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    Ok; i had a go but it'd probuably blow up or something..

    http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/TemporaryWishList.aspx?ChangeQty=0

    If i was to get a new case, i wouldnt necaseraly want that one but i just love the simplicity of it and the side panel with fan room and see thro.
    Graphic card, i'm currently looking on ebay for a dual VGA.
    Drive - think everything i need, black if theres a cheaper one that does the same great.
    Processor - No idea how they work seemed good for price?
    Power supply - 480W for $13! that ok?
    No idea about RAM
    HDD - Looking on ebay again.
    Motherboard - No idea just want something with usb 2.0, vga and audio slots nothing fancy.



    Dell specs -

    http://support.euro.dell.com/suppor...uk&l=en&lnki=0&s=gen&SystemID=DIM_PNT_P4_8200
     
    Last edited: 4 Dec 2008
  17. notatoad

    notatoad pretty fing wonderful

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    wishlist link doesn't work.
     
  18. bigsharn

    bigsharn Officially demotivated

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    "Power supply - 480W for $13! that ok?

    HDD - Looking on ebay again."


    Bad idea... the PSU is the most crucial part of a system... it needs to be good quality (Look for Corsair, Hiper, or OCZ if you're on a budget

    Worse idea... you have no idea what's been on a hard drive before it goes on Ebay... I'm surprised anyone ever buys hard drives off there
     
  19. bradders2125

    bradders2125 What's a Dremel?

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    HDD on ebay if your lucky you will get it filled with top secret british government information.
     
  20. Htr-Labs

    Htr-Labs What's a Dremel?

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    Last edited: 19 Dec 2016

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