What to do with a Dell Dimension 4600

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16 Aug 2005
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My mate's Dell Dimension 4600 has just died. The power light just flashes orange when it's booted up. I tried:

i) replacing the PSU
ii) replacing the motherboard battery (cures some Dell apparently)
iii) unplugging the CPU fan (ditto)

It's still dead, leading me to be fairly certain it's the motherboard.

I think my choices next are:

a) get another board of the same chipset and try to transfer it in. This model of Dell does use standard matx boards, and a standard atx PSU fits. The big problem with this option is the case connectors for switches and leds are non-standard and this would take a bit of sorting out.

b) upgrade him. New case, new CPU, new memory, and a new PCI-E graphics card. Transfer in hard drive, optical drive.

The machine is for web/office use, and he plays one game - Pro Evo Soccer.

A quick shopping list - keeping the budget low brings me to:

Coolermaster case £35
Intel Core2Duo 2.4 Ghz E4600 £70
2x1Gb RAM £35
GB Gainward 8600GT Bliss £70ish
AbitIP35-E board £62

Total cost: around £270.

Graphics card is probably not a good choice, I'm well out of touch.

Can anyone think of a better way to go, either cheaper or a better spec for the same kind of money?
 
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The Dell will probably have a OEM copy of whichever flavour of Windows it is running hence if you are changing the motherboard then it is likely you will need to also budget for a new copy of Windows to remain legal on top of the hardware.
 
Thanks all.

The OS will be an issue, I'll have to get him a new copy.

I didn't know there were slightly older spec processors like that available, that looks like a good option.

Is that kind of processor going to work in a latest board designed for the latest Core2Duo processors? It looks like it would do.
 
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