Upgrading my Dell XPS 430

SaltandSauce

SaltandSauce

SaltandSauce

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146
Alright everyone,

Looking at the time, it's probably a little too late (early?) to be concerned about the state of my current PC but since I'm still up and running, I thought I might as well go for it. So anyway, I've had this machine for quite a while now and I'd quite like to upgrade a few things. I know with it being a Dell, I'm going to have to change over the case and motherboard before anything else so I'll leave it all up to you.

I've got a little cash aside and my budget can stretch as far as £350-400 and I'm hoping that can include another monitor. I'm currently running a 24" Dell monitor and I'd quite like something similar in size to sit side by side.

The current spec of my machine as at the moment is the following:

<<< System Summary >>>

> Mainboard : Dell 0G254H
> Chipset : Intel X48
> Processor : Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 @ 3000 MHz
> Physical Memory : 4096 MB (4 x 1024 DDR3-SDRAM )
> Video Card : ATI Radeon HD 3600 Series
> Hard Disk : M4-CT128M4SSD2 ATA Device (128GB)
> Hard Disk : Seagate ST2000DL004 HD204UI ATA Device (2000GB)
> DVD-Rom Drive : PLDS DVD+-RW DH-16A6S
> Monitor Type : Dell Computer DELL S2309W - 23 inches
> Network Card : Intel 82801IB/IR/IH (ICH9 Family) Gigabit Ethernet Controller
> Operating System : Windows 7 Enterprise Professional Media Center 6.01.7601 Service Pack 1 (64-bit)
> DirectX : Version 11.00
> Windows Performance Index : 5.1 on 7.9

With the kind of budget that I'm looking to spend,is it worth going ahead and carrying out a few upgrades at the moment or should I set tight until I've got more money aside before purchasing any components? I'm not entirely sure myself? :confused:

Anyway guys and girls, any help would be much appreciated. I look forward to your responses!
 
What do you mainly use it for?

What’s currently letting it down the most?

Even without buying a second monitor your budget is a bit low for a complete overhaul. A typical gaming build goes for £600+ without an operating system.

The Dell would probably stand a graphics card upgrade that could be transferred to a new build later on. Luckily the existing PSU should be up to the job.

I’d keep on saving if you possibly can.
 
Thanks for the quick response, it's much appreciated.

I mainly use the PC for day to day browing with the occasional photoshopping. I've recently been wanting dual monitors to help me for the days I'm working from home.

I must admit, I did think my budget was a little on the low side for a complete overhaul but I've always been a bit of a dreamer. So, on that note, should I keep on saving for a complete overhaul or could I get away with running my current system with a new graphics card and an additional monitor? If so, what models would you recommend?

If you think it would be a wiser move just saving up the extra cash, could you give me a ball park figure as to how much I should be looking to save before considering a complete overhaul?
 
Is it slow your computer? Seems an ok spec for browsing and photoshop. I'm not sure how much gpu's affect photoshop work so i cant really comment on that. Apart from the gpu, the obvious thing is to sell your ram and buy a 16gb kit.
 
With your use you don't need such a big budget.

Looking at the PC though, it uses the funky BTX motherboard...

The cheapest way though, is to first check if the 3600 card has two display outputs, so then all you need to buy is a new 24" monitor and maybe some 8gb RAM to help with the photoshopping. Probably hunt down a second hand Q6600 or something as well.

But honestly, since the photoshopping is occasional, your current system must be fine at the moment?
 
In all honesty, the computer isn't that slow at all. The obvious difference in speed was the minute I swapped out my old IDE hard drive for the SDD - the best purchase I've made in a long time.

My only issue is from what I can see, the ATI 3600 only has one DVI-I Dual Link connection, a TV output and an HDMI output. If it had the two DVI connections, I'd do exactly what Orcvader recommended and just go out and buy myself a new 24" monitor and that be that. But since it only has the one output, it's looking like I should be going out and replacing the graphics card. What do you think?

Sorry for the same old question but I'm stuck at a crossroads here and I'm looking for a little advice as to what my best options are here.
 
Thanks very much for the second link. I didn't realize those cables were an option! Yeah, and you're right there, I meant VGA, my apologies.

With regards to another 23" montior, do you have any recommendations? From what I hear, Dell monitors are actually up there with the best of them?

Other than the monitor, you see the possibility of new RAM and that be that until I get myself some more cash to play with? If you have the time, could you recommend some new RAM to work alongside that rather odd MTX motherboard that I'm currently running.

Thanks for the help man, it's been much appreciated. You guys here do an awesome job at helping me people out when it comes to hardware! You can certainly pat yourself on the back for that one! :)
 
How much memory do you want?

The maximum officially supported is 8GB (4 x 2GB). It's also reported that 4GB sticks will work giving options of 8GB (2 x 4GB) or 16GB (4 x 4GB).

4GB sticks would make more sense if you want to transfer them to a new machine later on, but there's a small risk they won't work in the Dell.
 
If I'm being totally honesty, I'd much prefer upgrading to 16GB (4x4GB) sticks since there isn't a giant leap from 4GB to 8GB. But that being said, if there's a slight chance that it might not work, I might just leave the RAM until I have enough to money swap out the mobo/cpu and case. Do you think that seems a wiser decision? Out of curiosity, why might the 4x4GB sticks not work on my current system? Don't worry though, if you can't be assed getting into the nitty gritty, then don't worry about it. I mean it is Sunday after all! :D

Will a new monitor run smoothly with the system that I have at the moment? Once purchasing the cable mentioned above alongside a new monitor, I don't need to stress about upgrading anything else on the system to compensate for the additional monitor do I?

That reminds me, what monitor would you recommend along the £150-200 budget for a 23" monitor? I'd even consider going the extra inch but I'm anal and it just won't sit flush with my current monitor.

As always folks, thanks again! :)
 
The X48 chipset the machine is based on supports 4GB sticks.

Dell only ever claimed support for 2GB sticks which is why Crucial's and Kingston's websites will only show 2GB sticks as available. A quick Google finds people claiming to have 4GB sticks working, and it's probably true.

Mismatched monitors are annoying. Is there any chance you could get an exact match on the secondhand market? If not it's a matter of teaming through the specs to find the closest match you can. I'd start with Dell and see what they have to offer.

You should be fine with two screens connected unless you try to play games using both of them.
 
Thanks for the heads up bremen. It looks like it's hit or miss with the 4GB RAM. Out of curiosity, have you any idea as to why Dell would only claim the XPS 430 only supports 2GB and not 4GB of RAM? It seems a little strange to me. Unless it's one of their famous marketing plots.

When it comes to 4x4GB sticks, is there a certain type you could recommend for my machine?

I see what you mean about trying to get my hands on the same monitor again. Otherwise, it might look like pretty odd having monitors that look slightly different. Do you recommend Dells? In all honesty, I've been quite impressed with my current monitor and I've had it for quite some time now. I'll try hunt around eBay and places like that and see if they still have my monitor up for grabs.

Thanks again dude for all the help!
 
SaltandSauce said:
Thanks for the heads up bremen. It looks like it's hit or miss with the 4GB RAM. Out of curiosity, have you any idea as to why Dell would only claim the XPS 430 only supports 2GB and not 4GB of RAM? It seems a little strange to me. Unless it's one of their famous marketing plots.
Click to expand...

I'd guess that at the time 8GB was more than enough for most people. 4GB sticks were probably horribly expensive as well.
 
Yeah I guess that would make total sense.

When it comes to RAM for my board, what out there do you recommend?

From what I can see, it looks like it might be quite a mission trying to source a DELL S2309W 23" monitor. I can't believe it's almost been four years since I got my hands on my machine. I might need to consider looking at a similar monitor that's a little more readily available.
 
It doesn't need anything special for its memory, just standard 1.5V DDR3.

For 4GB sticks you should be fine with OcUK's value memory here.

If you want a 100% guarantee then hit Crucial's or Kingston's memory configurator and buy what they recommend.
 
I suppose this one has a similiar monitor: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-055-DE&groupid=17&catid=1425&subcat=

But looking at the stand it may be a different height, however it does seem you can adjust this.

I think it's probably best to stick with 4gb RAM for now. Since you don't do photoshopping seriously, moving to 8gb or 16gb would probably be overkill, and it will avoid the risk of the chance of 4gb sticks not working in the system. 4gb is also more than enough for browsing.
 
Thanks for all the help guys. I've been pretty busy the past few days with a new job but I'm finally getting round to jumping online and checking out my thread.

So yeah, from what you've been saying, it sounds like I'm best hanging tight until I've got a little more cash in the bank before moving along with any real serious upgrades. I do intend on upgrading my machine later down the line but I guess that'll just have to wait for the mean time.

Thanks for the monitor Orcvader. I'm going to hunt around and see if I can possibly pick up a second monitor that's identical to the one that I own just now. If I'm out of luck (which I've got a feeling I will be) I might just move along and order the one in the link you provided. If it's height adjustable then it ain't too bad after all.

One last thing before I finally leave you guys alone, looking at my current system, what would you consider upgrading in the near future if I intend on playing games again on my PC? I'm a little out of touch with regards to hardware these days (as you might have already noticed) so I thought you lot were the best people to be asking.

As always, thanks for taking the time out to respond to my thread. It really is much appreciated! :D
 
Honestly, I would dump the whole thing and buy a completely new PC instead. We could reuse the hard drives are optical drive though, but everything else will need to be replaced if you're considering gaming. Saving up about £600 should get you a good system when you're ready to take the jump.
 
Ouch! In all honesty though, I really did have a feeling you might of said something along those lines. Dell sure likes putting things in place to make your life that little bit more difficult such as that pesky BTX mobo.

Right, well on that note, I'll probably pick the monitor you recommend and begin saving the pennies. I'm glad £600 can get you a fairly decent machine these days. God... how I remember the old days of £1000+ gaming rigs.

Thanks for the help dude, I can't thank you enough!
 
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