Hi I have recently been given an old dell. It has Intel Pentium 4 2.8Ghz processor and 512mb DDR Ram I have been thinking about building a computer recently because my laptop is struggling now. My problem is that the motherboard in the Dell doesnt have PCI-E slots so i wouldnt be able to put a decent graphics card in. If i where to buy a PCI to PCI-E would it work sufficently with a decent graphics card? http://www.startech.com/item/PCI1PEX1-PCI-to-PCI-Express-Adapter-Card.aspx Would you recommend i spend money on more ram or build a new computer? if i am to build a new computer would there be any salvageable parts from the Dell? sorry i dont know the exact model of the dell but it is over 5 years old Thanks for your time
Depends what you are using it for but because you mention a graphics card i'll assume it is for gaming in which case far easier to build a new one. Don't think their is too much you can salvage from it ram is from two generations ago as is processor. Possibly a hard drive but even that is likely to be slow and small compared to a new one. Think you can use the dvd drives if it has that tech hasn't moved on much. (i think) Also peripherals if they are to your taste (keyboard, mouse etc.)
Depends on what model it is. If it's a SFF it's probably proprietary in regards to the PSU and motherboard. The mid-towers are pretty generic, and will fit most m-atx motherboards. The PSU might be usable but only if it has a high enough output. The Optical drive and HDD will be usable. So in conclusion PSU (maybe) Case (maybe) Optical and HDD (yes) My current setup fit and ran well in an old Dell Optiplex Mid-tower case so it is doable.
You'll never get decent graphics card perfomance from a PCI-E card via a PCI slot (I've never even seen such an apadtor and the link you provide is down). There's adaptors the other way round (to allow PCI into PCI-E) but they won't help you. Give up on the idea of trying to add a PCI-E card into the current mother board, it's a lost cause I'm afraid. Your best bet is to do some googling and searching on Dell's website on the system you have to find out what you've got and what bits you can salvage. There may still be dells "Service tag" sticker on the case (try the back or a corner) you can paste that into Dell's site and get all sorts of info on exactly what was in the PC when it was bult (May have changed, do you know the history) As Confusis said, you may get the case up and running again but at 5 years old it's borderline, Dell were great back then for making intergrated systems but were never designed for swapping out the parts. Be wary of any of their cases where opening the case un-hinges half the system, they are always buggers. I'd say it's unlikely the PSU will do much good in a new PC, it will likely suffer from underpower, lack of cables and what wires there are will be very short. The HD could well be ATA not SATA so check that one out, if it's a big fat ribbon it's ATA. Nothing much wrong with ATA, not as good / fast as SATA but will still boot as long as you buy the correct motherboard. The CD / DVD may work for you, check if it's CD or DVD if you want to load up DVDs. Everything else internal is a lost cause really. As to adding in more RAM to the Dell as it stands? RAM is pretty cheap and 512 is not enough for anything other than a minimal XP system running basic or legacy apps. If you try to tax it then you'll be running out of memory really quickly and the hard drive will thrash and clatter. Have a look at the buyers guides here on BT, see if the budget for a new build is right for you. And if you're going to build a new PC then make sure you're happy doing it, have help or are prepared for a bid of head scratching and possible product returns. Most people don't have any issues, but you've only got to read the threads here to see there is a fair number or buy a good kit and for whatever reason (Bad luck, Error - whatever) end up with a system that won't start or is unstable. If you plug in half a dozen components into a new PC and it doesn't want to play ball, are you comfortable working out which bit(s) is the problem? Unlikely to happen, but it does from time to time. If you do build your own, try and buy everything from one supplier, if you do have issues it will likely be easier that way. Goog luck, keep us all here on BT posted on what you're planning.
Having looked at the link the OP posted, it is a PCI->PCI-E 1x card. Therefore will not fit a graphics card anyway. I'd go for scrap the Dell/keep it for word/internet, and build a new one for games.
There's not much you can do with it, you won't even be able to overclock it to squeeze a bit more life out of it, since the BIOS will be locked down. Just keep it for the interweb/minesweeper
I messed around with a similar one. As the bios is locked there's not a lot to tinker with, and even on e-bay I couldn't really see any "not quite so old" components which would have improved it at sensible cost (ie not a lot). £8 for a refurb sound card from a few years back and it's now our W98 box for playing screamer rally once in a while
