There are millions of Dell computers
out there and although early systems were built well sooner or later
components will break or have to be upgraded. The big problem is that
many major components such as the power supply and motherboard are
proprietary in design and cannot or easily be substituted with current
industry standard components. Users are generally forced to buy parts
which are obsolete from Dell at premium plus prices making replacements
or upgrading uneconomical.
Replacing the power supply
can be tricky. The units that come in Dell computers are proprietary
in form and with connectors that look standard but are not
with different voltages. Power supply units with Industry
standard connectors may fit and plug right into Dell motherboards
but will likely be damaged or destroyed along with the motherboard
when the system is turned on.
There are special adapters that can be used to solve this
problem. Here's one example.
The standard power supply unit of a Dell Dimension 4400 is
rated at 250 watts, inadequate for today's video cards and
memory of even middling power and speed.
The power supply units below are good replacement upgrades at a
reasonable price compared to a Dell unit and provides enough power
for component upgrades and are specifically designed to safely work
in Dell systems. Other good power supply makers that may have Dell
replacement units are Antec, Corsair and PC Power and Cooling. It's
always a good idea to get a unit that's highly rated. A power supply
gone bad can destroy your motherboard, video card, memory etc., I
know from personal experience.
Cooler
Master eXtreme Power Plus Series 500W ATX12V V2.3 Active PFC Power
Supply - (RS500-PCARD3-US)
A quiet running 500 watt power supply at a good price. Be sure to
check computer model number for compatibility.
Startech.com
400 Watt ATX12V 2.01 Dell PC Replacement Power Supply Boosting the power supply enables upgrading to faster video
cards and memory or installing more drives. Fits right in and works
like a charm. Compatible with Dell Models (partial list): 1100 / 2200
/ 2300 / 2350 / 2400 / 4300 / 4400 / 4500 / 4550 / 4600 / 8200 / 8250
/ 8300 / 8400 / B100.
Thermaltake
W0070RUC TR2 Series 430W Power Supply with 2 Fans A quality power supply that offers more power and is cheaper
than Dell factory replacement units.
Antec
TriCool 92mm DBB Case Fan with 3-Spd Switch 3/4-Pin & 3-Pin Monitoring
Long lasting and quiet double ball-bearing design with a 3 fan speed
switch and a fan speed monitoring capability. A great case fan, comes
in other sizes.
Arctic
Silver 5 Thermal Compound, 3.5grams with ArctiClean 60ml Kit (includes
30ml ArctiClean 1 and 30ml ArctiClean 2) with Bonus DB Roth Microfiber
Cleaning Cloth
Heat is the number one enemy of computer components. Gain a 4 to10
C drop in CPU temperatures under load by replacing manufacturer applied
thermal compound. Handy kit comes with cleaner, purifier, thermal
compound and cleaning cloth. The most widely accepted product for
preventing heat problems.
For replacement memory sticks, as long as the number of pins are
the same and the DDR spec matches, any brand will work. Some systems
require matched sets in terms of memory capacity.
Kingston
512 MB 333 MHZ DDR-PC2700 DIMM CL2.5 PC Memory Quality 184 pin PC2700 512 MB memory stick that'll work in
older Dell systems that use DDR memory.
Kingston
64MX64 DDR400 CL333 UNB V RAM ( KVR400X64C3A/512 )
184 pin PC 3200 512 MB memory stick. A little faster than the PC2700
model. DDR are backwards compatible.so a PC3200 will work in PC2100
systems etc. but they should all be the same if more than one.
This is a good site that discuss many aspects of upgrading a
Dell computer: Dell
Dimension Processor Upgrade FAQ
When hardware becomes "old" and after close out sales
by major retailers they tend to become expensive being available
only in specialized niche stores. When that happens buying major
replacement components may become cost ineffective and must be weighed
against projected viability of the system, immediate needs and cost
of a new comparable system. As you know technology depreciates quickly
and faster machines become cheaper every year.
One place to look for hardware, as I found, is the Craigslist
of your locale. I was able to purchase a matched pair of quality
memory sticks, 2 Geil DDR PC3200 512 MB for $20.00. I was also tempted
to buy a XFX GeForce 6800 AGP 128 MB video card for $25.00. I didn't
because although the card would fit in the motherboard, it was too
long for the Dell Dimension 4400 case.
You can look on Ebay but that's generally a last
resort unless you are feeling lucky and find a private seller that
has what you are looking for. Commercial venders there know that
if you are looking you must be desperate and their prices reflect
their upper hand.
