Tell me if this will work

[Ilsimen]

In a couple of weeks I will be doing my first ever computer build. I'm on a pretty tight budget in the sense of what cash I can raise at one time. My current Dell desktop has died on me after 5 years. First the video card burned out after the fan got jammed up somehow, then the cheap replacement I put in burned out when I thought it would be a good idea to hook it to my 42" LCD TV just to see what it would look like on the big screen! When the first one burned out, it was real easy to go through the troubleshooting steps on Dell's website to find that the video card was bad. This time however, I get inconclusive results (I can get it to POST one minute, turn it off and without making any changes, it won't POST the next time) leading me to believe that there may be more damage than just the video card this time.

So here's my plan: I am going to keep the case, both hard drives (I added a second one a while back), and my two optical drives. Both of the hard drives are SATA drives. I will replace the motherboard, RAM, CPU and power supply (don't want to take any chances on a 5 year old PSU with this new equipment.) Here is what I intend to purchase:

ASUS M4A78T-E AM3 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131366

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor Model HDZ955FBGIBOX - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103674

OCZ Gold AMD Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model OCZ3G1600LVAM4GK - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227448

CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power ... - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139004

I'm going with AMD to help with the budget issue as it seems I will get more bang for my buck, and I like this motherboard because it seems to have decent on board video, plus the abilty to do a hybrid CrossfireX when I have a little more money to spare on another video card. The memory I'm not 100% sold on and if anyone has a better suggestion for 2X2GB sticks of RAM for around the same price or cheaper, I'm all ears. I spent several hours poring over the QVL from ASUS' website for this mobo and was never able to find an exact match on model numbers listed vs what Newegg carries for 2X2GB sets. The PSU was chosen based on what I see suggested on this site in nearly every post, my only question is if 550W will be sufficient for what I am going to be running, PLUS, like I said I do intend to add at least another video card, maybe 2 in the future, and I eventually intend to replace my C drive with a solid state drive when my budget will allow, so please comment if more juice will be needed.

No for the reason I'm posting (sorry about the long build-up). The above 4 items stretches my available cash to it's limits, hence the need to reuse the case HDD's and opticals. I have no money left to buy an OS, and the only OS I own came with the Dell and if I'm correct will only work on a Dell which this will cease to become once I swap out all these parts. This leaves me with my C drive that already has Windows XP loaded on it that will be going into this build anyway. My question is will this boot up this way, or am I going to have loads of problems. The original configuration of the Dell as best I can recall is:

3.2GHz Pentium 4
GeForce 6800 (replaced by a GeForce 7???)
SoundBlaster Audigy2 (not going into new build as I don't see a need for it)
1GB RAM

It is my intention to eventually buy a copy of Vista (from what I've read it is required if I want to run another video card in hybrid CrossfireX), but what I need to know is whether I'll be able to run this new build with what's already loaded on my hard drive.

If you've read this far, thank you, and I appreciate any feedback you might be able to give me. Also, if I've left anything out, please let me know and I will answer as best I can.

Thanks-Mike

[nicolaus corelius]

no the windows will not work. moreover even if it did, it would be violating the EULA. for the meantime you can use a linux distro like ubuntu (or any other one that suits you). BTW whats the model on that dell? some of them have BTX cases which wouldnt work with atx motherboards

[glc]

You could buy some time and use the Windows 7 release candidate.

[Khalil]

glc is right on the money, your best is go to with the windows 7 beta, it would be a waste of money at this stage to buy Vista as 7 is far superior

[Ilsimen]

The Dell is a Dimension 4700. Will this be a problem? I never even considered the mobo not fitting. A new case will be a part of the new build eventually, like the other parts I mentioned to come. I'm just trying to save what I can now.

The problem with getting Windows 7 is that the computer I'm on now, does not have a CD burner of any kind so I'm not sure how I'd be able to get a copy to use on the new build. I'll have to figure something out I guess. The copies of Vista I was looking at all came with free upgrades to Windows 7 in the future anyway, so maybe it's just a matter of talking the wife into letting me increase the initial budget right now.

Thank you so much for the help.

[Khalil]

Think new build from the ground up case and all, that is my advice.

[nicolaus corelius]

if you really wanna save on the case. you can build one using planks of wood or plastic and just screw the standoffs. take a piece of plastic or wood and make screwholes for the ATX standoffs and then box the whole thing so its closed. although i would recommend using metal, because metal has grounding qualities.

[doubledragon5]

I know this is a sticky topic, but I have used a Dell OS, on a new build I did for my daughters machine with no problems. You will have to activate it, and I'm not sure if that is considered illegal or not since it did activate with no problems.. Now as far as using a Dell case, most cases I have seen it is difficult to put in a standard mb, as the mb is designed to fit the Dell from the manufacture.. You can get a decent case for around 50-100 bucks.. I would save up and do that instead just like khaill has suggested..

[nicolaus corelius]

yes it is illegal. it worked because microsoft cannot see whether the computer is a dell or a costum build.

[Khalil]

It is NOT Illegal, Illegal is when you break a law mandated by the Government not when you do something against Dell policy.
If it was illegal you would not be able to re-activate it.
There is nothing in the Microsoft EULA that says you can't use a different motherboard than the one supplied by Dell.
The difficulty the OP may have here is the front panel wiring, it can be tricky to use on a new motherboard.
You will also need a Microsoft OEM CD other than the one supplied from Dell so you can re-install the operating system.

[nicolaus corelius]

http://oem.microsoft.com/downloads/p...nsingGuide.pdf

[Khalil]

Did you read that before you posted the Link? The OP is a not a refurbisher, he is changing parts on his computer which is perfectly LEGAL by LAW since he owns the computer. This is about the use of the word ILLEGAL, even if it was against Microsoft policy it does not make it ILLEGAL. Microsoft is not the law maker of the United States.

[glc]

It's not ILLEGAL, it's a violation of the End User License Agreement. Not exactly the same. However, it's piracy, which we don't discuss here.

Back to your regularly scheduled show.

[nicolaus corelius]

Did you read that before you posted the Link? The OP is a not a refurbisher, he is changing parts on his computer which is perfectly LEGAL by LAW since he owns the computer. This is about the use of the word ILLEGAL, even if it was against Microsoft policy it does not make it ILLEGAL. Microsoft is not the law maker of the United States.

im sorry i was not clear enough. i am actually aware that it is not illegal in a legal/criminal sense. however its against MS policy and stores (like ours) get fines for it

[Khalil]

My store would as well if we were found guilty by a Jury of our peers. I stick to the Microsoft EULA with anything I sell wheather it is new or used at my store, I just want to clarify to folks, Microsoft, Dell, HP and the likes do not make laws nor are they able to fine people or enforce any laws period.

[nicolaus corelius]

I stick to the Microsoft EULA with anything I sell wheather it is new or used at my store, I just want to clarify to folks, Microsoft, Dell, HP and the likes do not make laws nor are they able to fine people or enforce any laws period.

im confused, US has no copyright laws that EULA is part of? you say that you stick with EULA, why? its not a law, so why follow it?

[glc]

Ahem -

Back to your regularly scheduled show.

In English, this means "end of discussion". Thank you.

[nicolaus corelius]

thanks. i guess ill have a talk with copyright law experts if i want indepth info.

[Ilsimen]

I'm not sure how this thread got off track, but I get the point. Anyway, I've been looking at cases on newegg, and I think I can probably squeeze one into the budget but I was wondering if there are any brands I should steer clear of.

It was stated above that I should start with ALL new parts and I just can't pull off a new HDD and optical drives right now. So now my question is this: If I stick my used C drive into this new build, and get a new copy of Windows, am I going to have any trouble wiping the drive clean and installing the new OS as I have no other way to wipe the drive prior to hooking it into this new build. I assume I'll just be able to start up from the CD and it won't be an issue.

I'm sorry if this seems like a stupid question, but although I have no issues with tearing open a computer and swapping or installing new parts, the "how they work" side of things sometimes eludes my grasp.

Thanks again for the help, and I'm sorry I somehow sparked a taboo subject.

[Khalil]

You can reuse the old hard drive and optical drive. Most new motherboards will have only 1 IDE port though, so that means you will have to run them as master and slave. Yes you will start from the windows CD and follow the instructions, pretty simple really. Here is a Micro$soft How to http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Win...522671033.mspx

[Ilsimen]

Thank you for the help. As I mentioned before, the HDD's are both SATA drives so this shouldn't be an issue.

[glc]

If you use the exact same version of Windows - for example, XP Home, you can do a repair install and not lose any info.

[nicolaus corelius]

as a precaution you can back up your data before the repair. pop in a linux livecd like slax or ubuntu and copy the stuff onto a flash drive or another hdd. or you can burn them onto a disk