# Dell Studio Slim Motherboard Question



## tod22 (May 26, 2011)

Hello,
just to preface this I am very much inexperienced when it comes to these things so the question may be stupid.

I recently came into posession of a Dell Studio Slim desktop whose processor (Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200) is very much superior to the one I have installed in my current computer (Intel 2 Duo 6400). However, the video card I currently have is better (albeit only somewhat) than the one in the Slim (Geforce 9600 GT vs. ATI Radeon 3450 HD) but due to the nature of the Slim case and its weak power (250 W vs 400 W needed for the 9600) I cannot install my video card. 

So my question is would it be possible to mount the Slim motherboard and processor into another case and hook it up to a more powerful PSU? 

Any help would be grealy appreciated, thank you in advance.


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## JMPC (Jan 15, 2011)

It depends on the motherboard and the connections on the motherboard. Sometimes Dell uses a proprietary system that may not work well with a different case but often they just use a regular motherboard which would be moved.

Try and find the model/brand off of the motherboard. It's usually printed in white somewhere near the memory slots.


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## tod22 (May 26, 2011)

Thank you very much for your swift response.
I think that the motherboard is an Intel G 45.


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## JMPC (Jan 15, 2011)

See if you can find a model number. G45 is the chipset used on the motherboard but there should be a model number like: DG45ID or DG45FC.


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## tod22 (May 26, 2011)

The computer is currently at my dad's so I will post the model number tomorrow.


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## JMPC (Jan 15, 2011)

While you're there, take a look at the power connections and the front panel connections. Typically those are where you could see some issues putting the motherboard into another case.


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## magnethead (Mar 18, 2006)

I would just put the Q8200 in your tower, TBH.


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## tod22 (May 26, 2011)

I found the model, it's an IPIEL RN2. In response to magnethead, of course I could but I really like the idea of building my own PC (even if it is of old parts).


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## JMPC (Jan 15, 2011)

That appears to be a standard mATX motherboard and should fit fine in another case that supports mATX form factor. It's hard to see the front panel connections so you may want to verify that they're standard before transferring the motherboard to a new case.


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## tod22 (May 26, 2011)

That is the only thing that concerns me, looking at it I wasn't able to find the standard connections. If I were to buy a new motherboard, would you have any suggestions as to a particular model that supports Intel Core 2 Quad in the 50-100 euro range?


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## JMPC (Jan 15, 2011)

What online shop do you typically buy parts from? I'm not certain which parts you'd have access to vs. what we have in the US.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

That's as close to a standard ATX board Dell has ever used, the only issue may be the read case I/O shield but the front panel connectors should be easy to work out.


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## tod22 (May 26, 2011)

Thank you for the schema wrench, I will look again for the LED and power switch front panel connectors (the ones I couldn't find the first time). As for motherboard choices in case I have to buy a new one I have stopped on either the Gygabyte GA-P41T-D3 or Asus P5G41T-M which I am planning to fit into a Cooler Mater HAF 922 case.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Both of those are DDR3 boards the 540s should be a DDR2, so you would need new ram.

What board are you currently running?


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## tod22 (May 26, 2011)

Im using a Dell Dimension 9200 with its original board so I would imagine it also has DDR2 ram. Is there anything specific I should look for when buying ram or will any DDR3 2GB module do the job ? I will probably install two of them, would like to have 4 GB in total. Right now I'm either thinking of buying two of the following :Corsair 2GB 1333MHZ DDR3 240PIN DIMM ECC 128MX8 CM72DD2G1333 | LASystems 
or simply a package deal: Corsair CMZ4GX3M2A1600C9 CMZ4GX3M2A1600C9 | LASystems.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

From the Gigabyte page> GIGABYTE - Motherboard - Socket 775 - GA-P41T-D3 (rev. 1.3)

Click on Memory Support, DDR3 1066 is the standard, 1333 on a few modules in over clocked the rest are down clocked to 1066.

Corsair does not list either board in the configuration utility>  Corsair  ,  Crucial  , OCZ


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## tod22 (May 26, 2011)

I see. I looked up the Asus board qualified vendor list and found compatible memory for the Asus mobo. Thank you very much for your help, since this is my first build I was pretty much clueless regarding a lot of this stuff.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Good to hear you worked it out, let us know how it goes


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## tod22 (May 26, 2011)

Follow up:

I decided to go with simply moving the dell motherboard into my new case which went fine. However, upon starting the computer it will not even show the startup BIOS screen. Since I don't have access to a grounding wrist strap I relied on touching my case which I did meticulously. Whilst trying to troubleshoot my problem I came across a number of articles about computer building which specifically said that the metal touched on the case has to be unpainted and my case is painted completely black. My question is could I, because of improper grounding, have delivered strong enough static discharges to damage my motherboard to a degree where it will not even boot? 

PS: A big thank you to all who helped me as well as pretty much everyone on this forum, without all that info I doubt I would have even dared to open my computer in the first place.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Probably not, more likely there is a standoff out of place, misaligned, or missing.
Pull the board back out and do a bench test> Bench Test


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## tod22 (May 26, 2011)

Thanks wrench, will do (most likely tomorrow since it's night here).


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## tod22 (May 26, 2011)

Ok, so I took the motherboard out of the case and before doing the bench test I decided to try booting it with its own power supply which worked just fine. The PSU I got for my new case is a Corsair TX 650 W V2. Is it possible that the CPU power cable is not working (i did bend and twist it a little when routing it around the back of my case but nothing overly forceful). The CPU fan is working with the Corsair PSU (don't know if it gets its power from the 4-pin CPU cable or the 24 pin motherboard cable).


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## tod22 (May 26, 2011)

Forgot to add that I ruled out any shorts by testing it with the Corsair outside the box. But it's not the PSU, I just hooked it up to another old computer (also a DELL) and it boots up just fine. So essentially I have a number of working components that will not work when put together.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

So if I'm reading that correctly it boots and posts to the Bios screen when using the original Power Supply, but not with the Corsair 650tx which does work in another PC?

Make sure that the 4 pin your using is the correct half of the 4+4 CPU power plug and that it's fully seated in the motherboard socket, same for the 24 pin connector.


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## tod22 (May 26, 2011)

Twenty-four pin connector is firmly seated and have tried switching the 4 pin connectors as well. My only guess is that the DELL power supply connectors might indeed be proprietary.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

No I've changed too many of them, on the older Pentium II/III motherboards that were the connectors fit but were wired different and smoke emanated from the board when a standard supply was used, on the newer XPS models(Gen 4, 5, 6 and 700's) there is a standard wired 24 pin connector and the second CPU connector is 10 pins.

There is only one side of the 4 pin that fits and locks in correctly. 

Have you tried using the integrated video?


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## tod22 (May 26, 2011)

Unfortunately the on-board video only has a VGA (i think that's what it's called, the blue one) output and I have no such cable nor an adapter handy. Also, i tried the motherboard with an old DELL psu as well and then it posted normally. 

Anyway, I came across an old thread where someone was having the same problem and they don't seem to have found a solution so I guess I will just go ahead and buy new parts :grin: 

Thank you very much for your continuous support.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Give me a link to the thread you found.


Try touching(AKA shorting) the green wire in the 24 pin to a black(there's one right next to the green) with a short piece of wire to see if it will start up.


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## tod22 (May 26, 2011)

Here is the thread, although not a dell motherboard the problem is similar: Mother board wont power up. PSU is Fine. Motherboard is also fine. - General-Motherboard - Motherboards-Memory 

As for the shorting, I would rather not attempt that just yet (it seems like a big jump from taking parts in and out to shorting cables on the PSU). And this whole thing gives me a nice excuse to dip into my savings and get a proper upgrade :grin:

Thanks again for all the help ray:


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

I remember one we had here(I think it was a HP) awhile back that was acting the same way, it would start fine with the stock 250w, but not with a 650w corsair, 600w ocz, or a 620w Antec. If we jumped the PS_on green to black it started and booted, the conclusion was the board was not drawing enough power at start up to activate the PSU we add a case fan hooked directly to the PSU and it started normally but was too loud.


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