Help with updating motherboard


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Old 03-03-09, 12:51 PM
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Help with updating motherboard

Hi, I have a Dell Dimension 4600 Desktop computer, and I've updated everything possible in this thing, except for the motherboard. I am looking to get a better motherboard that is still compatible with all I have added onto my computer, but I dont know where to start. Does anyone know how i can upgrade the motherboard/processor, without needing to buy any new parts due to compatibility reasons, or which motherboard/processor i should go for?
 
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Old 03-03-09, 01:45 PM
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Motherboard

You should have done the motherboard first. Can you upgrade the processor without changing the motherboard?
 
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Old 03-03-09, 02:05 PM
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im not sure if the motherboard is capable of having an upgraded processor or not, and is the processor the only thing on the motherboard that is necessary to upgrade cpu performance? if the processor is upgradable i may just replace that but i dont know, and a new motherboard is always a nice addition if there is an easy replacement for the one i have.
 
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Old 03-03-09, 02:20 PM
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I had a Dell 8300, but everything in it has been replaced with aftermarket besides the OEM CPU.

A aftermarket motherboard will not go into your Dell case either.
 
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Old 03-03-09, 02:21 PM
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these are the features of the motherboard if it helps at all. i am basically trying to upgrade the processor or both, while keeping at least the same features for the video and sound cards, RAM, and capability to have the same type of connections for 2 hard disks and 2 disk drives etc etc...

Form Factor microATX (9.60 inches by 8.20 inches [233.68 millimeters by 208.28 millimeters])
Processor

* Support for an Intel® Pentium® 4 processor in a mPGA478 socket with a 533/800 MHz system bus
* Hyper-Threading Technology Support

Memory

* Four 184-pin DDR SDRAM DIMM sockets - Dual Channel
* Support for DDR 400, DDR 333, and DDR 266
* Support for up to 4 GB of system memory

Chipset Intel® 865PE Chipset
I/O Control LPC Bus I/O controller
Audio 5.1 Surround Sound Audio subsystem for AC '97 processing using the Realtek ALC202A codec
Video Universal 0.8/1.5 V AGP 3.0 connector supporting 1x, 4x, and 8x AGP cards or an AGP Digital Display (ADD) card
Peripheral Interfaces

* Six USB 2.0 ports
* One serial port
* One parallel port
* One 10/100 network port
* Two Serial ATA IDE interfaces
* Two Parallel ATA IDE interfaces with UDMA 33, ATA-66/100 support
* One diskette drive interface
* PS/2 keyboard and mouse ports

Expansion Capabilities Three PCI bus add-in card connectors (SMBus routed to PCI bus connector 2)
 
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Old 03-03-09, 02:27 PM
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basically i guess what im trying to do now is upgrade my processor to as much greater than a pentium 4 as possible, and the casing is not the issue, i just want the functional parts to fit together. if i need a new motherboard or a casing ill just get one, but does anyone know if the current dell dimension 4600 motherboard is able to handle a better processor, or even if it is, would a new motherboard with a better processor give me better performance than my current motherboard with the same processor?
 
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Old 03-03-09, 03:20 PM
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You need to look for 478 pin processors (rare these days because it's really old). I think the only one still available is the 3.0 P4.

I would look into a new motherboard/cpu combo.

Look at Newgg

Newegg.com - Motherboard CPU Combo, Motherboard / CPU Set, Motherboard Processor Bundle, Motherboard VGA Combo
 
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Old 03-03-09, 03:41 PM
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do you know of a newer motherboard that supports my RAM and hard drives and everything else that i have, so i would be able to upgrade the processor in it?
 
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Old 03-03-09, 04:01 PM
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Your RAM will be outdated as well, but the harddrives, video cards, etc will work with a new mobo/cpu.
 
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Old 03-03-09, 04:26 PM
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thanks OKC youve helped a lot. im glad that all i would need would be new RAM to do this besides the processor,motherboard, and maybe a case. thanks.
 
 

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