# Dell Dimension 4550 Upgrades



## Chidwad (Dec 5, 2009)

I have a Dell Dimension 4550 and am looking to futher upgrade it to suite my gaming/computing needs. I know that this is a very old platform to be putting money into, however I already have some money into this computer and would like to work with what I have at this point. I am looking to purchase a motherboard, cpu, and a hard drive that would be compatible with the upgrades I have already. I would like to be able to run WoW, CSS and other games smoothly. I do not need a very large hard drive, 100 gigs would be enough for me. My budget is slightly limited but I will entertain all suggestions. I am hoping to spend less that 200$.

My System: http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dim4550/specs.htm#1103158

*Specs Currently:*

Stock Motherboard
Stock CPU 2.0 Ghz

*2 GB of DDR2 Ram (Kingston 1GB 3200 x2)*
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...&cm_re=1G_KINGSTON_RAM-_-20-141-307-_-Product

*Geforce 7600gs Video Card *
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...143069&Tpk=VGA BFG 7600GS 512MB BFGR76512GSOC

*450W PSU*
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...22&cm_re=ROSEWILL_450W-_-17-182-022-_-Product


Thank you for any and all help that you can give me!


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Changing the Mobo will also require different RAM, a PCI-E GPU and you would certainly need to replace the Rosewill PSU. PSU. 
OEM cases mounting points do not always accept aftermarket Mobo's.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Those are not standard ATX boards close but the mounting and I/O shield are Dell proprietary designs a retail board will not fit without extensive modification, far better to spend $40-50 on a decent case.
Any newer motherboard will not run DDR ram or a AGP card but rather DDR2 or DDR3 and PCIe video cards. 
And forget the Rosewill PSU you lucky it still runs the current setup.


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## Chidwad (Dec 5, 2009)

So from what I am hearing there are no Mobo's that will fit in my current case. would it be possible to just upgrade the processor? From what I have read it can be upgraded up to 3.02 ghz, though I may be mistaken. 

"And forget the Rosewill PSU you lucky it still runs the current setup."

Also could you please elaborate on this? Why is the PSU not sufficient for my current setup? Could you suggest a better one for what I am currently running?

And as far as a new hard drive, are there certain specifications I need to look for when purchasing one for my system? 

Thanks again for your help.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Rosewill PSU's are VERY low quality. OEM PC's use Mobo's made for them and can be very difficult to determine what CPU's they will accept. Best advice is to contact Dell and ask what CPU's you can use.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

For the hard drive> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...0014 50001306 1035907789&name=Western Digital
But newer boards have sata controlers and a single IDE controller meant for optical drive use.

The Rosewill PSU is very low quality and most have unstable voltage when loaded which is bad for ram and video cards, the 478 northwood and 4x AGP are not too power demanding but I would not move that supply forward to a socket 775/ PCIe setup.

For the CPU you'll be looking for a used 478 pin Northwood 533 FSB I would think a 2.8 would be easier to find then the 3.06ghz but with either you will not see a big difference in performance, only an small step up. XP SP2 & SP3 have really raised the overhead on the system, I have an old 2.6 system we use for a single program with a printer hooked up no antivirus software and no internet connection and XP SP1 on 256 of ram it runs almost 2x times faster then it's almost twin with a 2.8 P4 1 gig of ram and SP3 and antivirus software with a internet connection on the same software.


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## Chidwad (Dec 5, 2009)

Thank you both for all the great info. I think for the time being I will continue using this power supply until I am ready for a new computer/mobo. It seems that any large upgrades will require more money than I am willing to spend at the moment. 

I managed to find this CPU on ebay. I believe this is what I am looking for?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Intel-P4-3-06-3...59QQcmdZViewItemQQptZCPUs?hash=item56372fcb3f

Also, would someone with a basic knowledge of computers and installing parts be able to install the processor on my own? Do you have any tips or suggestions on how to do this? 

In conclusion, with the amount of ram, new hard drive, power supply, video card, and the CPU I listed above, would my system be adequate to run most games and general programs smoothly? Could you give me a feel for how my system would run overall? Thanks again, you guys have been very prompt and helpfull with this.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Yes that's the one, you will need to flash the bios to the latest available from the Dell site before removing the current CPU, it is not very difficult to do getting to the CPU in a Dell is half the battle and you will need to clean off the old thermal paste/pad from the bottom of the heatsink with the highest percentage alcohol(90%) you can find at the local drug store. I use a coffee filter saturated with it to wipe it off. Replace it with new thermal paste> http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_silver_instructions.htm
Paste 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100007&cm_re=AS5-_-35-100-007-_-Product

CPU specs
http://www.cpu-world.com/sspec/SL/SL6S5.html


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Same CPU for $45 from a reputable online dealer: Put a tick in the "Standard 30 Days Warranty" box to proceed to the next page. The next page will give you a $4 discount making it $41.
http://www.starmicro.net/detail.aspx?ID=121


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