Damn Dell PC's

[tommy]

I had a chance to upgrade my processor from my Celeron 1.70 to a P4 2.4 and it didn't work out, the damn board and socket matched for the swap but these Dell's are so shity nothing else will work but what you have already.

Every time i see these commercials about dell i feel like calling them and telling them off, "buy a dell PC they're great" they say, in this day and age for a computer maker to make a PC that is absolutly not upgradable is insane.

Don't get scammed like i did.

Just abit pissed off at the moment and had to vent.

[ChadTower]

Could it be that you bought a PC with the motherboard already maxxed out?  That you got the top of the line at the time, but now that it's older, you can't upgrade it more than it was?

You presumably read the specs when you bought it and knew that it wasn't upgradeable beyond what was already in it.

[Shape D.]

a lot of dells stuff will only work with dells stuff. I hate dell, and that annoying dell kid.

[missioncontrol]

allways build your own........... 

That way you know the specs........ 

[ChadTower]

I run several Dells in my basement and they are all rock solid and were awesome deals.

[slayj]

I have a Dell desktop and laptop and have been quite satisfied.  However, I built my first machine while building my cabinet and I will ALWAYS do that from now on. 

[lokki]

let me defend dell :-).
I think they are a great company that offers great products and great customer service.
Having said that

I would not buy (for my personal use) most brand name computers.
I personally don't need the customer service, But would recommend my parents to a brand name computer.

We buy a lot of DELL computer for work (along with HP and Gateway) and of these 3 I like Dell best.
But the lower consumer line of dell computers (optiplex?)are (or where) completely not upgradable.
Issues we had included

1) No room for additional HD, had to remove existing HD and replace with Higher capacity (same for RAM)
2) 2 PCI slots (and no AGP) so once video card was upgraded future upgrades where limited.


But other than that they where good work horses.

[missioncontrol]

you'll just have to upgrade your mobo along with your processor............

[tommy]

Could it be that you bought a PC with the motherboard already maxxed out?

[pointdablame]

you may need a BIOS upgrade to accept chips with speeds higher than what was available when you got your machine.

If it really is the same Socket and the same FSB, there is no way for Dell to stop you from upgrading.  Socket A is socket A no matter what... 478 is always 478... etc.  At worst you need a BIOS update.  Either that or your chip is running a different FSB. or its set wrong in the BIOS.

Dell does a lot of things, but they can't stop you from upgrading your CPU.  And Dell hasn't used proprietary PSU cables in a number of years.. how old is this system?  I've played around with a lot of recent Dell machines, and they aren't much different than a regular home-built ATX machine.

[tommy]

you may need a BIOS upgrade to accept chips with speeds higher than what was available when you got your machine.

If it really is the same Socket and the same FSB, there is no way for Dell to stop you from upgrading.

[pointdablame]

It wouldn't just come on and work if the CPU you put it was not available at teh time of your BIOS revision.

I have a socket939 Athlon64 motherboard that can use the new dual core processors... but only if I upgrade my BIOS. why? Because they weren't available during the time my current BIOS was released.

You can't expect companies to be compatible with processors that aren't even out yet.

[tommy]

It wouldn't just come on and work if the CPU you put it was not available at teh time of your BIOS revision.

I have a socket939 Athlon64 motherboard that can use the new dual core processors... but only if I upgrade my BIOS. why? Because they weren't available during the time my current BIOS was released.

You can't expect companies to be compatible with processors that aren't even out yet.

It was available thats why it has the same socket, mine was the lesser of the two i could have bought, they might have made a whole other mobo for the celeron then the P4 (thats what i was told) even dell couldn't tell me for sure,i will find out more about why it won't work.

Thanks for your input.

[AlanS17]

You might have a conflict in bus speed. Have you checked the jumper settings on the board?

[tommy]

You might have a conflict in bus speed. Have you checked the jumper settings on the board?

It has the same FSB(front side bus) it's compatible on paper.

[RayB]

Tommy, sorry to say this, but it's your own ignorance. Just because it fits the slot does NOT mean you bought a compatible processor!

Motherboards have "clocks" for the timing, and they have limits as to what speed chips they can support. Did you research what exact CPUs your board could support?


I only build my own PCs but my experience with Dells at one of my former jobs is that they are very reliable machines.

[DrewKaree]

NO, i was told i could upgrade the processor at a later time if i wanted, the processor socket is the same as the upgrade i wanted but it won't work.

Even with a new mobo i would have to hack the power wires as dell has them all on one connector and any normal board has several connections for power, it's just not worth it.

Maybe I'm reading this too hard, but this reads to me as if the power supply for your P4 requires something extra (wasn't there an extra power lead required for 'em?), and the power supply you have in your Dell there already is perfectly fine for your Celly, but isn't stout enough (or wasn't the proper kind) to run a P4.

Is it possible that getting a P4-compatible power supply would have the connector your upgrade chip requires and allow everything to worky-worky?

[jbox]

Which motherboard is it (brand/serial)? It might also be helpful to post the bios revision too, it comes up when you boot and probably looks something like 031031012752E.

[AlanS17]

Look on the bright side. At least it's not a Gateway!

[tommy]

Tommy, sorry to say this, but it's your own ignorance. Just because it fits the slot does NOT mean you bought a compatible processor!

Motherboards have "clocks" for the timing, and they have limits as to what speed chips they can support. Did you research what exact CPUs your board could support?


I only build my own PCs but my experience with Dells at one of my former jobs is that they are very reliable machines.

 It's not that it just fits the slot, it was an avaliable upgrade at the time i bought this "dung"and everything should be fine. I'm not saying they're not reliable just not very upgradable. This thing dosen't even have an AGP slot.

[tommy]

NO, i was told i could upgrade the processor at a later time if i wanted, the processor socket is the same as the upgrade i wanted but it won't work.

Even with a new mobo i would have to hack the power wires as dell has them all on one connector and any normal board has several connections for power, it's just not worth it.

Maybe I'm reading this too hard, but this reads to me as if the power supply for your P4 requires something extra (wasn't there an extra power lead required for 'em?), and the power supply you have in your Dell there already is perfectly fine for your Celly, but isn't stout enough (or wasn't the proper kind) to run a P4.

Is it possible that getting a P4-compatible power supply would have the connector your upgrade chip requires and allow everything to worky-worky?

You read it too hard, if i switch the mobo i would have to cut into the power wires because dell's mobo has all the connections to one connector, on a aftermarket mobo they are spead out through a few different spots on the board.

Jbox, my mobo is a "Blueford" E139765, or this number CN-07W-080-70821-31J-D106. I'll get the bios number another time.

[missioncontrol]

I'm not saying they're not reliable just not very upgradable. This thing dosen't even have an AGP slot.

sorry Tommy, It's begining to sound like you didn't do your homework before you bought the PC and now your taking out your frustrations on DELL.

[tommy]

I'm not saying they're not reliable just not very upgradable. This thing dosen't even have an AGP slot.

sorry Tommy, It's begining to sound like you didn't do your homework before you bought the PC and now your taking out your frustrations on DELL.

It sounds like that but i did know what i was buying, the fact remains, it is not possible to upgrade the CPU on the original board.

[Daniel270]

Look on the bright side. At least it's not a Gateway!

... or a Hewlett Packard.....

[AlanS17]

Look on the bright side. At least it's not a Gateway!

... or a Hewlett Packard.....

Amen! Or a Packard Bell!! Anyone remember those things? (If you don't, there's probably a good reason.)

[pointdablame]

I remember my first Packard Bell... a 75mhz monster.  I turned it on the day we got it all happy and excited.  It was late at night when we set it up and we went to sleep after playing with it for 10 mins or so.

We went to go turn it back on in the morning, and it was dead.  The motherboard totally ate itself.


..... great machines those Packard Bells......   

[sc1103]

I remember my old AST 486DX...my dad managed to break that christams day...about 5 hours after we got it trying to put on windows 3.1  Now they leave all that work to me 

[jbox]

It sounds like that but i did know what i was buying, the fact remains, it is not possible to upgrade the CPU on the original board.

What brand of Dell was the total package? eg. Dimension 2300, 2300C, 2350, etc... 

Even on dial-up it only took me about 10 minutes to find that the Dell website offers several BIOS updates for its older brands, dating back several years, which allow support for the later releases of CPUs. 

[shmokes]

I was a tech support guy for Packard Bell when I was in high school.  Man, those were awful computers.  They had a run of hundreds of thousands of motherboards with onboard video that, when a specific resolution and color depth (that were supposedly supported) were selected, the motherboard fry itself dead.  They didn't want to do a recall, so we were instructed to tell the customers it appeared that the motherboard was dead and send a tech out to replace it.  But they just sent out another identical, defective motherboard.

Funny.

[tommy]

It sounds like that but i did know what i was buying, the fact remains, it is not possible to upgrade the CPU on the original board.

What brand of Dell was the total package? eg. Dimension 2300, 2300C, 2350, etc...

[Shadowgate]

I work for Dell so I know an awful lot about their PCs. If you bought a bottom of the line dimension system then yes it doesn't have AGP or PCI-E slots because the machine costs about $300 brand new. Its meant for grandmas who want to "surf the web" and not for gamers or anyone looking for a powerhouse system. You should have spent a bit more and got something upgradeable if thats what you were looking to do.

[DrewKaree]

2350, http://www.epinions.com/content_103290932868

Well there you go.  Now that you know, save that proc and toodle on over to NewEgg and build a system around that little chip you've got.  Or you can save that money and buy a throwaway Dell again

Oh, for the record, I just built a new PC for $600, which INCLUDED a $150 dual-tuner PVR card, so let us know if you buy another Dell so I can enjoy my drive to FLA to beat your brains in

[missioncontrol]

Quote from link posted above:

Pros
Cheap, disposable

so let us know if you buy another Dell so I can enjoy my drive to FLA to beat your brains in

Will That be activities during the Florida BYOAC meet

[DrewKaree]

so let us know if you buy another Dell so I can enjoy my drive to FLA to beat your brains in

Will That be activities during the Florida BYOAC meet 

Well, if I have to make a trip to beat his brains in, I may as well get help so I don't wear out my brains-beating-in arm....there's others that need my "assistance" too, ya know!  With ChadTower's kicking leg and my arm, we could set the world straight with some help...or just a select few without help.

[tommy]

I work for Dell so I know an awful lot about their PCs. If you bought a bottom of the line dimension system then yes it doesn't have AGP or PCI-E slots because the machine costs about $300 brand new. Its meant for grandmas who want to "surf the web" and not for gamers or anyone looking for a powerhouse system. You should have spent a bit more and got something upgradeable if thats what you were looking to do.

I guess the top of the line Dell is for middle aged tetris paying house wives. 

[ChadTower]

No, top of the line Dells are for corporate server rooms and can do more than the average home user would even understand.

[tommy]

Quote from link posted above:

Pros
Cheap, disposable

so let us know if you buy another Dell so I can enjoy my drive to FLA to beat your brains in

Will That be activities during the Florida BYOAC meet

[DrewKaree]

There are all kinds of fun games we can take part in, like who can boot this Dell the furthest and how would this Dell look on the front lawn of Dell's headquarters.(on fire or in a pitbulls mouth)

I heaved a Packard Bell off of a second-story porch once.  Quite satisfying in the end, and it was a final lesson that Packard Bell could offer to me - PC hardware isn't designed to make that trip safely

I guess the top of the line Dell is for middle aged tetris paying house wives. 

Now HOLD ON a minute!  You just said up there, and gave us a link, telling us that not only is your Dell NOT a top of the line Dell, but it's more accurately described as a Dell bargain system.

WHAT is your Dell - model number and name (Inspiron or whatever the name is) - if that link you gave us above IS NOT your Dell?

If that link you gave us IS your Dell, you are woefully misunderedumacated as to what kind of Dell you bought.

Either you are giving us bad information, or you are unclear as to what you actually have, and you are the only one who can straighten this out.  Right now, based on EVERYTHING you've told us, I'm going with the informant, rather than the information.

[missioncontrol]

I guess the top of the line Dell is for middle aged tetris paying house wives.

[tommy]

I do have the crappy dell, i was making fun of shadowgate.