Upgrading Dimension 8100 to Athlon

[bach_1006]

Hello. First, some background: I have a Dell Dimension 8100 (1.3G P4, 256MB, 40GB) that works fine, but is particularly slow when rendering videos (1hr = 8hours redering time!). The computer needs an upgrade anyway, but uses RDRAM (1GB ~$400). So, I am thinking of swapping the motherboard and adding a hard drive:

MSI K8N Neo4-F
Athlon 64 3500+ (939)
1 GB DDR-400
Maxtor 160 GB UATA-133 -OR- Hitachi 300 GB SATA-150

I believe the current power supply is 330 W. I already have an IEEE 1394 PCI card and external DVD/CD RW in addition to the monitor, keyboard, mouse, DVD ROM, etc. from the original 8100.

This is my first rebuild, though I am not a stranger to computers or technical hurdles (Elec. Eng ). I have read through lots of articles on building, but wanted to get some live feedback.

Before buying, what are some other things that I should consider that I might not be seeing, or common problems that I might try to avoid? Are there any sites or resources I should check first to make sure everything will fit together the way it is supposed to? What should I do with my old board/memory? What are your thoughts on this configuration?

Thanks!

[doctorgonzo]

You're pretty much looking at a new build. I would get a new case and PSU too, since the 330W PSU with the Dell, even if it is not proprietary, will limit future upgrades. You can keep the Firewire card, combo drive, DVD drive, monitor, and keyboard though.

MSIs aren't the greatest motherboards. Check out an Asus board with an nforce4 chipset.

[Staren]

Sorry, but doc gonzo is right. The Dell 8100 uses a proprietary motherboard, and PSU. Keep the hard drive, DVD drive, and the monitor / keyboard / mouse. You'll need a new case, PSU, motherboard, CPU, RAM, and video card, basicly the core of the system needs to be changed if you want to upgrade. I had an 8100 and it's what I had to do a few years ago. Though I turned mine into a storage server on my network and started from scratch on a new tower. Good luck.

[bach_1006]

Thanks for the heads-up. Out of curiosity, what don't you like about the MSI boards?

[jayb1234]

You will also have to get a new copy of Windows because the liscense for the Dell copy is tied to the original Dell configuration and can't be transfered to another build.

[Staren]

MSI is an ok brand. Everyone has their own favorites and horror stories. I personly like Abit, but am going with a Giga-Byte for my up coming project.

Asus
Abit
DFI
Giga-Byte
MSI

seem to be the main five, and I would feel fine trying a board from any of them really.

[Kiwi]

Originally Posted by bach_1006 Thanks for the heads-up. Out of curiosity, what don't you like about the MSI boards?

Three of the MB makers were particularly hard-hit by a scam a few years back, when substandard counterfeit CAPS were sold to them, and then were used to manufacture system boards. I believe they were Abit, Epox, and MSI. Abit has a generally negative attitude toward the end user in most things, and MSI isn't much better. Epox RMA'd the boards with leaking caps without a lot of hassle for the users.

One of the three named, possibly MSI, but I really think it would've been more like an Abit reaction, reportedly had to be sued before they would agree to exchange their bad motherboards (and Abit has had a fairly bad history of suffering from bad management, so maybe they had cash flow problems when the consumers started complaining).