Upgrade a 2002 PC

[Clement_95]

Well, since my friend's computer is ordered and shipped... it's my turn!
So, a company near where I live is replacing their 2002 PCs, and they're giving them away on the condition that we (some of my friends included) help them wipe some hard drives. Not just that, we get a 17" CRT, and XP PRO!
These are Dell Dimension 2400's, with the following specs:
-Pentium 4 2.2 GHz
-256 MB RAM, one slot open
-48X CD-ROM
-3.5" Floppy (Gasp!)
-400 MHz FSB
-Some PCI slots
-40 GB HD (IDE)
-Integrated Intel 3D Extreme Graphics (I think 64 MB)
Official specs are here: http://support.dell.com/support/edoc...m_en/specs.htm

So, this being insufficient for what I want, I'm upgrading these. It doesn't need to be ridiculously powerful, but at least not ultra low standards. My upgrade budget is max $200, preferably under $150. I have a few questions.
1. These use DDR SDRAM, could I put DDR2 inside? Would be great. Main problem is, however, that "1 GB" max limit. Anyway to overcome this, without a new mobo? Also, it says PC2700 (333 MHz) max, if I put a faster one in, would it slow down, or cause a bunch of errors?
I'm thinking of this one, assuming faster speeds are allowed:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145440
Of course, if I could put DDR2 and >1 GB in, there are a lot more choices.
2. Want a better graphics card. Problem: only has PCI. Another problem: it says 32-bit max. What would happen if I put a, say, 64-bit video card in? Or higher?
3. NEED more hard drive space. Any suggestions?
4. Want a better disk drive, like a DVD burner using IDE. Same as above, any suggestions?
5. Would all of these things still be okay under a 200W power supply?

Thanks a lot!

P.S. Does anyone know how to wipe a hard drive of everything but the OS?

[glc]

1. Nope. Go to www.crucial.com and use the configurator, and max it out.
2. Don't bother. There's not a PCI video card strong enough to game with any more.
3. Any IDE hard drive should be compatible.
4. Any IDE burner should work.
5. It will support a hard drive, more ram, and an optical drive, but not a video card. It's also not easily or cheaply upgradable.

Bottom line - it's not a gamer and never will be a gamer. It's a decent basic machine, and that's all it will ever be. You can't take a low end machine like that of any vintage and turn it into something it's not designed to be.

P. S. - wiping everything but XP is not feasible. Get ahold of any Dell reinstall CD and it will work without needing a CD key or activation. You will need to download drivers.

[Clement_95]

Originally Posted by glc 1. Nope. Go to www.crucial.com and use the configurator, and max it out. 2. Don't bother. There's not a PCI video card strong enough to game with any more. 3. Any IDE hard drive should be compatible. 4. Any IDE burner should work. 5. It will support a hard drive, more ram, and an optical drive, but not a video card. It's also not easily or cheaply upgradable. Bottom line - it's not a gamer and never will be a gamer. It's a decent basic machine, and that's all it will ever be. You can't take a low end machine like that of any vintage and turn it into something it's not designed to be. P. S. - wiping everything but XP is not feasible. Get ahold of any Dell reinstall CD and it will work without needing a CD key or activation. You will need to download drivers.

Thanks for the ultra-prompt reply! As for your answer to 1), does that mean that I can't even use a faster speed RAM? (forget about DDR2 and >1 GB)
The thing is that I don't have it quite yet, just want to plan for the future.

I never planned for it to be a gamer, but rather able to run XP and Linux, and use a word processor, etc.

[Clement_95]

Wait a moment... I'm confused. Crucial.com says that Dimension 2400s can handle 2 GB of memory... can anyone confirm this? Because Dell says a max of 1 GB.

[glc]

Use any guaranteed compatible ram. If you buy it from Crucial through the configurator, it's guaranteed compatible. Faster than stock speed ram may work, but it won't improve a darn thing, so go for cheapest.

[minsonngo]

Originally Posted by Clement_95 Wait a moment... I'm confused. Crucial.com says that Dimension 2400s can handle 2 GB of memory... can anyone confirm this? Because Dell says a max of 1 GB.

Looking through Dell's documentation... 1GB looks like the maximum supported size. 512mb of DDR-333(PC2700) for each slot.

But like GLC stated... Crucial's memory configurator is guaranteed... so if there is a problem... Crucial will take care of it.

[glc]

The Crucial info is going to be much more up to date than the original Dell documentation from 2002. The Intel 845GV chipset supports 2gb.