Custom computer help needed!

Technical Support Forum

I am building a new computer. I bought a new proccessor and a new motherboard but I am planning to get the rest of the parts from my year old Dell. Will all the parts work properly with the new proccessor & motherboard and in a new case?

Also I was wondering what case I should buy or what to look for in a new case or if I am better off just using the new proccessor and motherboard in the Dell.

your first question:

if the new MB and CPU will fit in your dell case then you shouldn't have any problems with any of your old equipment. the exception would be your RAM. if your dell was using SDRAM and you bought a MB that only supports DDR then you'll have to invest in ram as well. the MB documentation (heck, it'll probably even show you on the box) will tell you what type of ram it supports (some MBs have slots for both ram types).

visually you can notice the different footprints:

first pic is SDRAM (look at the notches between the copper connectors. this one has 2.)
http://www.devhardware.com/rhinoCms/__x6frAF0BI3/img/rev3.gif

second pic is DDR (this one only has 1 notch in the footprint)
http://www.bit-tech.net/images/review/96/topmod.JPG

[i do not support or reject mushkin or crucial products]

your second question:

i guess it all depends on interior space. i've seen some dells that had very little wiggle room inside. so little that you had to remove the processor heat sink and fan just to get the power supply out, or to remove a hard drive you had to pretty much rip all the intestines out just to get to it.

from your other thread i know you're wanting to game. so from strickly a cooling standpoint i would probably get a new full-sized case so that you have plenty of room for proper air flow (and the best byproduct of proper air flow is a nice environment for cooling your system). if your MB will fit into your old dell case you can always just use it for the time being until you find a new case that suits you.

Yeah, listen to Larke He is smart

So, anyword on your new computer? Did ya get one?

i think jut jetted.

Oh yeah, gotta ask ya a question:

How can I find out what video card I have? My brother got me this computer and he said "don't ask any questions"

I really don't feel like taking it apart... so is there a way of looking it up on my comp?

sorry, chodder, but you'll have to take the computer completely apart.

just kidding.

right click on an empty area of your desktop and select "properties". then you should see a "settings" tab at the top. in here is where you can change your screen resolution and color depth, but if you look right above those options you should see a line that describes your display adapter.

if you want to get more specific, then click "run" and type "dxdiag" and it should bring up a directX diagnostic program which displays more specific details about your video card (chip speed and memory).

NVIDIA GeForce2 MX

Is that any good? I just looked it up and it is less than a hundred beans

when it was released it was a middle-of-the-road card. certainly not low-end but not a powerhouse either. it's a few years old in terms of architecture but it should run well for you. with general computer use you should be very happy with it.

i know you do pc gaming so it will be hit or miss. the newer stuff will eat that card for breakfast. but it shoud run generation equivalent games nicely. so i'd say you got a good card with a really nice price.

unless your brother got the computer from mcdonald's. some of those have grease caked on the heat sinks somthing awful.

He works in a school system where we live. So I have an idea where it came from Every year the school ships old computers off to India and we get new ones (yes, we have THAT much money (it is sick )) So my brother must have just taken one of the computers and brought it home I feel bad for the Indian kid who my brother screwed out of a computer

Ah, I'm glad to see that my video card is "alright"

no chodder, your brother just saved a child!

computers hurt kids.

here's proof: http://www.geek.com/news/geeknews/q...00913002355.htm


naw, that's BS. you and your brother are going to hell.

i take that back. i looked it up and the bible doesn't say anything about computers, so you're safe.

hey, what'd you do with your sig? i liked the one you had.

I felt like switching it around. Time for a change, eh?

I'll try and come up with another witty one or find one.

Yeah, you can never have too many shoes : D

Oh man Larke, that article was total BS. But I guess someone has to freak out about everything, eh? Oh, and I've used a computer for most of my life, and I'm not fat. I'd actually be open to the idea of gaining weight in front of a monitor, but it's just not panning out.

These people remind me of Mrs. Lovejoy form the Simpsons

"What about the children! Will somebody think about the children!!"

yeah, if computers were bad for me, i'd be dead by now.