Salvaging parts?

Limehouse · 10 Aug 2006 at 09:24

I am completely new to this whole pc building thing so I was wondering, what parts from a dell dimension 3100 P4 2.8Ghz w/ 1gb DDR2 Ram, Geforce 6200 PCI, i could use in order to build my own. I have no idea of specifics so could someone just tell me which parts are universal (or not just specific to dell).
Many thanks.

b4z · 10 Aug 2006 at 09:40

cpu - can be salvaged (as can its heatsink most probably)

ram - can be salvaged

graphics card - can be salvaged (although if you want a gaming pc consider upgrading?)

motherboard - (i wouldnt bother to salvage it (if you can at all) - dell?)

psu - i doubt (dell specific? although maybe)

-----------------------------------

basically, you can take out most things - but the cpu, the ram, and the graphics are the ones you want

and then all you gotta do is buy a decent motherboard (with the correct socket for your cpu (probably 775))

buy a new pc case, buy a new psu,

put the new mobo and new psu into the new case, plug in your existing cpu, ram and graphics card into the new motherboard, and away you go

hope that answers some of your question

Limehouse · 10 Aug 2006 at 09:46

as im looking to upgrade, i dont think that graphics card has a use anymore. and from what i've heard unless all the parts I buy are dell, then that motherboard is redundant, cheers for the info.

Larnica · 10 Aug 2006 at 10:17

Hi Limehouse, your right, some of the parts in dell machines can only be upgraded with dell components. If you have a budget I'm sure some of the builders here and put together a list of components

Limehouse · 10 Aug 2006 at 13:18

limited? extremely, £300.

lee87 · 10 Aug 2006 at 13:28

You could upgrade to this. This would be a big improvement over what you currently have, if it is used for games.

CA-052-AN Antec NSK4400 Mini Tower Case - 380W SmartPower PSU (CA-052-AN) 1
£43.95 £43.95
MB-071-MS MSI K9N Neo-F nForce 550 (Socket AM2) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard (MB-071-MS) 1
£46.95 £46.95
GX-025-BG BFG 3DFuzion GeForce 7600 GT 256MB GDDR3 TV-Out/DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (GX-025-BG) 1
£97.95 £97.95
CP-165-AM AMD Athlon 64 3800+ 2.4GHz (Socket AM2) - Retail (CP-165-AM) 1
£68.95 £68.95
Subtotal £257.80
VAT £45.12
Total £302.92

Limehouse · 10 Aug 2006 at 13:34

wow, only £300, and yes, thats my main use for the pc, gaming.
so i what would i be using from the dell?
the hard drive, cd drive and ram?

lee87 · 10 Aug 2006 at 13:37

Yes, you can use the ram, hard drive and cd/dvd drives from the dell.

Limehouse · 10 Aug 2006 at 13:40

ok thanks, but i've heard that psu's that come with cases can be unreliable, what about this one?

lee87 · 10 Aug 2006 at 13:49

Antec are very good psu manufacturer and make decent quality and reliable psu's.

MattJones2k6 · 10 Aug 2006 at 13:59

lee87 said:
Antec are very good psu manufacturer and make decent quality and reliable psu's.

Yep. Good luck with your building

Limehouse · 10 Aug 2006 at 16:23

ok cheers, now i just have to wait for my next payment to come through, cheers guys.

Edit: As i am a complete pc building noob, i'm going to take a couple of photos of the insides of my machine, and could someone identify the parts? dank.