Personal computing discussed

Moderators: renee, JustAnEngineer

 
enclavet
Gerbil In Training
Topic Author
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri Aug 17, 2012 12:04 am

What can I salvage from this Dell?

Fri Aug 17, 2012 6:51 pm

Currently on a Dell and wishing to upgrade under $800 CDN for gaming possibly 3D animation.

So far it looks like I'll only be able to re-use the i7 920 and the 8g of ram.
Don't know quite what to do with the radeon 4300/4500 that came with it.

Would I be able to fit a GTX670 or GTX680 on that motherboard?
Will my 37cm x 17cm x 40cm case fit it?
I can't really tell what sort of motherboard it is so I included a photo.
http://i49.tinypic.com/opd534.jpg

Would it also be in my best interest to upgrade the ram? it looks to be 8g split among 6 units.. from what I gathered it isn't as fast as having two 4g units.

Please and thank you for all those who took the time to read this thread.
 
JohnC
Gerbil Jedi
Posts: 1924
Joined: Fri Jan 28, 2011 2:08 pm
Location: NY/NJ/FL

Re: What can I salvage from this Dell?

Fri Aug 17, 2012 7:08 pm

Well, you can possibly re-use case fan :wink: As for video card - keep it somewhere safe (like put it in the anti-static bag from your future video card), for "diagnostic" purposes (since you already know that this card is working).
Gifter of Nvidia Titans and countless Twitch donation extraordinaire, nothing makes me more happy in life than randomly helping random people
 
enclavet
Gerbil In Training
Topic Author
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri Aug 17, 2012 12:04 am

Re: What can I salvage from this Dell?

Fri Aug 17, 2012 7:12 pm

JohnC wrote:
Well, you can possibly re-use case fan :wink: As for video card - keep it somewhere safe (like put it in the anti-static bag from your future video card), for "diagnostic" purposes (since you already know that this card is working).

I know eh?
Trust me I did not run any of my friend's homes shouting " DUDE I GOT A DELL "

But could I re-use the motherboard?
 
JohnC
Gerbil Jedi
Posts: 1924
Joined: Fri Jan 28, 2011 2:08 pm
Location: NY/NJ/FL

Re: What can I salvage from this Dell?

Fri Aug 17, 2012 7:25 pm

Probably yes, but not sure why would you want to - it looks like there's only a couple of 1x PCIe slots left to use, the slot with the video card in it has unknown speed, the SATA ports have unknown speed (SATA3? SATA6?), there's probably no built-in USB 3.0, the motherboard's connectors for front panel might not be "standard", the BIOS settings are probably very limited, etc.
Gifter of Nvidia Titans and countless Twitch donation extraordinaire, nothing makes me more happy in life than randomly helping random people
 
jtenorj
Gerbil
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon Jun 11, 2012 5:45 pm

Re: What can I salvage from this Dell?

Fri Aug 17, 2012 7:38 pm

looks like a micro atx case and mobo so the board is like about 9.6in x 9.6in and the gtx 680 is at least 10.5 in so it is probably a no go in
your case by the looks of it. the standard reference gtx 670 is about 9.5in long and might fit but there are ones with longer pcb/cooler. the
reference pcb on the gtx 670 is less than 7in though with the cooler and blower fan going past the end by several inches. there may be
models that are shorter. to be on the safe side you might consider a zotac 660ti on amazon for 300 and free shipping. dual fan and only 7.5in
in length. should overclock pretty well and get you near or above 670 performance, maybe even close to gtx 680. what about your PSU? how
many watts total and amps on the 12v rail? does it have 2 pcie 6 pin connectors for a beefy graphics card? due to this being a dell, it may have
a proprietary psu and mobo that are not compatible with others by way of special pinning on the atx 24pin connector. the cpu cooler looks
kinda beefy and your mobo is x58 chipset but if it is a proprietary dell mobo you overclocking options may be limited. the smallish heatsink
on the chipset seems like a bad sign and overclocking your cpu to make sure you don't bottleneck your new GPU may be a good idea.
 
enclavet
Gerbil In Training
Topic Author
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri Aug 17, 2012 12:04 am

Re: What can I salvage from this Dell?

Fri Aug 17, 2012 7:57 pm

Do I need to open up my case again ..? :cry:

I'm slightly confused jtenorj, is there a chance the i7 won't work on a new motherboard?

I'm willing to get a new case + mobo for a new GPU.

The review on the 660ti sounds pretty tempting but I'd like to know if it'd be usable for 3 screen gaming or 3d animation?
 
jtenorj
Gerbil
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon Jun 11, 2012 5:45 pm

Re: What can I salvage from this Dell?

Sat Aug 18, 2012 1:40 am

sorry, meant to ask what resolution you wanted to run games at. since you are shooting for a gtx 670 or 680 and possible upgrades if need be
topping out at 800 spent you already have 3 panels or budgeted them separate. guessing also your setup will be 3x 1920x1080/1200? it seems
to me that for games you want about 1GB of frame buffer per 2 megapixels of screen res. galaxy makes a dual fan 66oti with 3GB of memory.
well reviewed at [H]. it is ten inches long so you need to measure and see if case has enough space.

maybe a new case for you? hard to tell from your pic if it will fit from just a glance. while you have it open take a look at the label on the
power supply for the total sustained wattage(psu rating) and the number of amps on the various rails(3.3v, 5v, 12v). 12 volt amperage is
one of the most important specs for a modern power supply in regards to supporting a midrange or higher GPU. Your mobo should be fine,
unless it is forever tied to your PSU and the PSU is either underpowered or is lacking in pcie connectors. you can buy molex to pcie adapters,
but you need 2 molex to one pcie and each card needs 2 pcie. or maybe you can mix and match(one pcie native to supply, one adapter on
2 molex connectors. you could also look at a larger atx mid tower if you need more physical space in your enclosure. can get good case for
decent price depending on your taste in looks and features. that would open up the possibilities of hd7970 ghz ed., hd7970 and hd7950 in
a similar price range.

so looking inside, what brand/model psu and mobo do you have? do you know the model of the tower cooler and fan on your cpu?

also personally I am not sure how to address the 3d animation aspect of you needs but imagine any of these cards is fine.
 
jtenorj
Gerbil
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon Jun 11, 2012 5:45 pm

Re: What can I salvage from this Dell?

Sat Aug 18, 2012 3:18 am

forgot a few things...

First your original post said you couldn't make out the mobo visually... oops. try going into your bios on boot. may have more info. you will
be spending time in there anyway if you overclock that i7. since it is an i7 920 that means your mobo has to have the intel x58 enthusiast
chipset and even though it is only a micro atx form factor board with just one pcie x16 physical/electrical slot, given the generation of
hardware it can be nothing else but an honest to goodness pcie 2.0 x16 slot with the full 8GB/s bidirectional bandwidth. fine for a while yet
for a single GPU, even the somewhat more powerful ones you are considering. now if it is a dell custom board with a dell custom power
supply and inadequate power for a hungrier GPU than your hd4350/4550 and some overclocking of the i7 you may have problems. also, over-
clocking the i7 may not be required depending on the games you run and the settings you run them at. some games are more cpu limited
like rts and bf3 multiplayer but all games tend to become more gpu limited when you crank up the res(like you will) or settings as high as
they will go in a game or even with additional quality enhancements enabled in the graphics driver. If you want to run 3 panels on one gpu
you may have to dial back your settings a little to play at native res or be required to drop to a lower non native res for acceptable frame-
rates. there is that whole micro-stuttering thing with multi-gpu setups that is hard to quantify subjectively but has been well analyzed by
techreport in the last 9/10 months since beginning to look at frame times "inside the second". while kepler based GPUs seem to experience
the uneven picket fence syndrome less than southern island cards in multi-gpu setups, at least in reviews written before the latest drivers
became available, it probably varies from game to game. I might reccommend a hd7970 to overclock or a hd7970 ghz ed. because on the
whole you should get more performance for the price compared to gtx670/680 running a single card without the hassles of mulit-gpu.

also since that i7 920 has a triple channel memory controller i would think a amount of memory in GBx3 would be best performance in
3 to six slots. come to think of it dell was pushing more even amounts of memory with this line of cpu making me think this board could
be a dell custom job. and to echo another poster's thoughts on the connectivity of your current mobo, more than likely all of your sata
ports are 3gbps/300MBps(8/10encoding) and your usb slots version 2.0 in nature. probably no big deal for a while yet.

Might suggest new mobo and PSU too if need be but since your copy of windows is likely oem you wouldn't be able to move it to your new
mobo since an oem license is tied to the first mobo it's installed on. so if you need new case, new psu, new mobo, and a new os license
on top of the new gpu you may not be able to afford a card to game at the multi-monitor res and settings you want.

msi x58 cf/sli sata6gb/usb3 full atx mobo less than 200
ms windows 7 home premium 64 bit oem more than 110.
decent 500w plus psu 60+. corsair maybe?
case... mid tower but cool? quiet? less than 40?. so many options to pick thru
also your cooler looks like 3 heatpipe and a smallish fan. cooler upgrade? cooler master hyper 212 40+? (if overclocking i7 920).
galaxy gtx660ti 3gb or hd7950 for 350-ish.

all this puts you right around the 800 mark based on using the egg.ca as a source for pricing.
you may find cheaper(free shipping with another like amazon.ca or ncix).

oh, and what kind of memory do you have? mind pulling out a stick and documenting the label for us? may let us know of potential
overclockability and compatability with a new mobo.
 
enclavet
Gerbil In Training
Topic Author
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri Aug 17, 2012 12:04 am

Re: What can I salvage from this Dell?

Sat Aug 18, 2012 11:06 pm

Thanks for the educating read jetnorj!

Ram looks to be pairs of 2gb and 1gb pc3 from samsung.
They read 2gb 2Rx8 PC3 - 8500 -07-00-B0,1GB 1Rx8 PC3 - 8500U - 07 - 10 - A0
PSU 330W, doesn't look to be modular.

I'm scrapping the 3 monitors fantasy ... maybe just stick to two.

Couldn't navigate with confidence to find out the make of the mobo sorry.. :oops:

This will be my first build and it looks like having an older gen i7 leaves me with fewer motherboard choices in the LGA1366 flavour.

In my few days of watching newegg videos and lurking forums I've come up with this.

$199.99CDN after $50 rebate until 9/31Asus Motherboard
Should I jump on this one? Other motherboards seem a bit expensive compared to this.

$121.99CDN after $40 rebate until 9/31Temjin TJ04B-EW
Love the looks of this case unless there is something horrible a newcomer like me can't spot. Perhaps only two front usb ports won't be enough? but I suppose thats what the motherboard provides?
Last edited by enclavet on Sat Aug 18, 2012 11:27 pm, edited 2 times in total.
 
enclavet
Gerbil In Training
Topic Author
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri Aug 17, 2012 12:04 am

Re: What can I salvage from this Dell?

Sat Aug 18, 2012 11:19 pm

summary of my situation:

Salvaging core i7 920 (don't wish to spend more money on a new processor but would like recommendations on after market coolers)

New motherboard
(see last post)

8 gb PC/DDR? Dell ram (willing to replace based on recommendations)

Wish to run GTX 660ti as prices of the 680s are absurd to me .
(Unsure of whether or not to get 3GB EVGA or GALAXY flavour. Does the extra gp increase noticeable performance to a newbie?)


Would like a PSU that will work with the Temjin TJ04B-EW case (see last post)
Suggestions on supplemental fans to put in aforementioned case.

Thanks for reading!


first build excitement woo hoo!
 
JustAnEngineer
Gerbil God
Posts: 19673
Joined: Sat Jan 26, 2002 7:00 pm
Location: The Heart of Dixie

Re: What can I salvage from this Dell?

Sun Aug 19, 2012 6:52 am

Why wouldn't you just transplant your working system into a larger case and then upgrade the graphics card?
· R7-5800X, Liquid Freezer II 280, RoG Strix X570-E, 64GiB PC4-28800, Suprim Liquid RTX4090, 2TB SX8200Pro +4TB S860 +NAS, Define 7 Compact, Super Flower SF-1000F14TP, S3220DGF +32UD99, FC900R OE, DeathAdder2
 
enclavet
Gerbil In Training
Topic Author
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri Aug 17, 2012 12:04 am

Re: What can I salvage from this Dell?

Sun Aug 19, 2012 4:09 pm

That would be great if I could!
Just need some reassurance.. I just need any ATX format case and the motherboard should fit?
 
JustAnEngineer
Gerbil God
Posts: 19673
Joined: Sat Jan 26, 2002 7:00 pm
Location: The Heart of Dixie

Re: What can I salvage from this Dell?

Sun Aug 19, 2012 8:16 pm

Worst-case, you might have some trouble moving the I/O cover plate at the back or hooking up the front panel connections. I'm sure that you'd end up with a workable solution.
· R7-5800X, Liquid Freezer II 280, RoG Strix X570-E, 64GiB PC4-28800, Suprim Liquid RTX4090, 2TB SX8200Pro +4TB S860 +NAS, Define 7 Compact, Super Flower SF-1000F14TP, S3220DGF +32UD99, FC900R OE, DeathAdder2
 
Flying Fox
Gerbil God
Posts: 25690
Joined: Mon May 24, 2004 2:19 am
Contact:

Re: What can I salvage from this Dell?

Mon Aug 20, 2012 12:53 am

Hold on a minute here.

Please reopen the case and take better pictures. The Arc is an adequate phone (I looked at your EXIF info ;)) but you need to take some macro shots with specific parts.

It is actually more difficult to find a 330W PSU. I find it hard to believe that Dell will ship such a low output PSU for their i7 lineup. It should be at least 400W, but the unit is probably not trustworthy anyways.

Are you trying to spend all of the $800? What montior(s) do you have now? Perhaps you need to buy your 2nd monitor?

The memory is likely in (2+1+1)x2 configuration so while not balanced size/stick-wise all 3 channels are used.

Assuming your bottom-most output slot can be opened (too much detail lost there), I would say at a minimum you just need to replace the PSU and the video card.

But yes, if you really want to spend more money, go nuts. :)
The Model M is not for the faint of heart. You either like them or hate them.

Gerbils unite! Fold for UnitedGerbilNation, team 2630.
 
cjcerny
Gerbil First Class
Posts: 191
Joined: Thu Aug 26, 2010 2:58 pm

Re: What can I salvage from this Dell?

Mon Aug 20, 2012 6:44 am

IMO, I don't think this rig is old enough to try to do all the updating you are proposing. It is still quite capable. Why don't you try just adding a SSD and updating the video card to something that doesn't need external power, like a HD7750 first and then see if you are happy with the results?
 
DPete27
Grand Gerbil Poohbah
Posts: 3776
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2011 12:50 pm
Location: Wisconsin, USA

Re: What can I salvage from this Dell?

Mon Aug 20, 2012 9:04 am

Why spend more than you have to?
1) Measure the available graphics card space inside your current Dell case. That way you know how long of a graphics card you can fit in there. Then, buy a 660Ti that fits those length limitations. As others have said, the overclocked 660Ti comes close to stock 670 performance and is by no means a slouch.
2) You'll also need a ~500W PSU to run your new higher-powered rig. Corsair and SeaSonic are very reliable PSU makers. Keep in mind, if you're in the market for a Silverstone Tremjin TJ08 case, the max PSU length is ~160mm. There are PSU's that are "extra long" that will obstruct the 5.25" drive bay spaces. You'll want 90 degree sata and power connectors for anything you put in the 5.25" drive bays regardless. A modular PSU is good, but not "required." The TJ08 has a good amount of space behind the motherboard tray to tuck away cables.

If everything works out for you (which I can't see why it wouldn't), then you're done right there. If you want to further upgrade:

The Silverstone Tremjin case is a microATX case, that means you can't use that ATX ASUS mobo you linked earlier. ASUS is the best mobo manufacturer if you require the best UEFI (BIOS) and fan controls. (I doubt this is important to you since you're coming from a Dell...but who knows.) If those things are not as important, ASUS, AsRock, MSI, and Gigabyte are all good manufacturers. Get a board that has all the funcionality that you want. If you pick out a couple that suit your needs, I'm sure the TR gerbils can recommend one.

PS. Your i7-920 has a triple channel memory controller. Therefore, most "decent" 1366 motherboards will have 6 memory slots. The memory slots in your picture are covered up with cables, but it sounds like you have 2 x 2GB and 1 x 1GB? = 5GB total? Not sure that will run as true triple channel? I thought you needed 3 sticks of the same capacity and speed, but I don't have much expertise in 1366/2011 socket configs. Perhaps someone else can comment on this matter.
Main: i5-3570K, ASRock Z77 Pro4-M, MSI RX480 8G, 500GB Crucial BX100, 2 TB Samsung EcoGreen F4, 16GB 1600MHz G.Skill @1.25V, EVGA 550-G2, Silverstone PS07B
HTPC: A8-5600K, MSI FM2-A75IA-E53, 4TB Seagate SSHD, 8GB 1866MHz G.Skill, Crosley D-25 Case Mod
 
Scrotos
Graphmaster Gerbil
Posts: 1109
Joined: Tue Oct 02, 2007 12:57 pm
Location: Denver, CO.

Re: What can I salvage from this Dell?

Mon Aug 20, 2012 9:08 am

What model Dell is this? That'd make it easier for people to look up and see the tech specs on it. Plus we can see what the capabilities of the motherboard are and if they changed with a BIOS update (like the Inspiron 410 which saw max RAM raise from 4 GB to 8 GB on a BIOS update). I assume with that CPU you have an XPS 9000 series or something.

Dell PSUs seem to be under-rated for the power they put out, though that can also be model-dependent. I got a pair of i7-2600 Dell systems with a GTX 460 (overclocked) and a Radeon 6870 in each, no worries on the power.

Gaming and maybe 3D modeling stuff. Just update the PSU and dump some more RAM in, I'd say. An SSD would make everything snappy but I don't know that it'd raise your gaming fps nor do I think it'd help anything in rendering a 3D model or animation--that's not really disk I/O limited, is it?
 
enclavet
Gerbil In Training
Topic Author
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri Aug 17, 2012 12:04 am

Re: What can I salvage from this Dell?

Mon Aug 20, 2012 5:11 pm

Thanks for helping gents!

Here is some really bad computer hardware porn.

Motherboard Ports estimate 9.5 x 9.5in
RAM closeup 1
RAM closeup 2
RAM slots
GPU
PSU closeup
Case bottom
Case back
Case back closeup

After some serious learning on my part, I'm ready to spend the cash monay.

Theoretical build list:

Re-using Dell unknown LGA1366 socket motherboard
Re-using core i7 920 @2.67ghz
Re-using 8GB stock RAM will replace if it'll hold the rest of the rig back

Want to use a GTX 660ti
EVGA GTX 660ti$329.99 CDN
Suggested by C.C retail employee
" EVGA is the best. " You would think he'd have followed with more reasons as to why they were the best... oh well.

Corsair Gaming series 700w 80plus$109.88 CDN on clearance
Suggested by C.C retail employee
Will I be able to pop this into a future rig providing it ... provided enough power?

Budget Choice Case
Antec P280$99 CDN on sale
Great reviews on this case.
Like the looks and enjoy the idea of wire management grommets and dust filters. Price is right and they have it at my local store.

Unsure if the $50 increase is worth it but we all like nice things choice
Corsair Obsidian 550D$151.17 CDN w shipping&tax
Fractal Designs Define R4$151.17 CDN w shipping&tax

Although I wouldn't be able to use the USB 3.0 ports but adapters allow them to become USB 2.0 correct?

Monitor Dilemma
So as of right now I'm on an old Sony display from ... hell must be older than 2008.
Scrapping three monitor gaming idea for now.
Would like some suggestions from you guys on a monitor ranging from 22"-23 for gaming.

I've found these:
Dell 23" U2312hm$299.99 now $199 until tomorrow night

ASUS VS239H-P 23"$212.79 CDN without shipping

ASUS VS248H-P 24" $246.49 without shipping

Leaning towards the Dell 23" but it has a 8ms response time compared to Asus' 23" at 5ms and Asus 24" at 2ms!

We're almost there!





The philosophy for this upgrade is to allow me to play some current games properly, run some animation/rendering programs without breaking the bank.
Also looking to pop in a SSD but unsure of support with my Dell custom motherboard

Thanks for the help guys!

*edited for format and updated monitor choices
Last edited by enclavet on Mon Aug 20, 2012 9:33 pm, edited 6 times in total.
 
enclavet
Gerbil In Training
Topic Author
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri Aug 17, 2012 12:04 am

Re: What can I salvage from this Dell?

Mon Aug 20, 2012 5:13 pm

Dell lists the model as Studio XPS 435
...the case does not match at all.

Also all prices are on Canada computers because I live near a retail location of theirs.

Would like to save on shipping and handling but if there are insane deals... I would be a fool not to take part.
 
DPete27
Grand Gerbil Poohbah
Posts: 3776
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2011 12:50 pm
Location: Wisconsin, USA

Re: What can I salvage from this Dell?

Tue Aug 21, 2012 8:11 am

I would go with the ASUS VS239H-P as it has an IPS display and 5ms response time which is the lowest you're going to get from an IPS panel. The 248H-P model has a TN panel which won't have nearly as good of picture quality, but it does have a 2ms response rate...I doubt you'd notice the difference between that and the 5ms response on the 239H-P even with them sitting side by side.

Using a Power Supply Calculator for your specs, I came out with 480W required (using a GTX 670, the 660Ti wasn't up yet). Power supply calculators typically take the actual power draw and double it for the recommended wattage since power supplies hit peak efficiency at around 50% load. If you had a Kill-A-Watt unit, the power draw at the wall of your new system should read roughly 250W under 90% load. If you're really nervous about it, grab the 600W unit and save $20.

Check out the MSI 660Ti for $310, Tech Report and Tomshardware have found it to be a VERY good and quiet card.
Main: i5-3570K, ASRock Z77 Pro4-M, MSI RX480 8G, 500GB Crucial BX100, 2 TB Samsung EcoGreen F4, 16GB 1600MHz G.Skill @1.25V, EVGA 550-G2, Silverstone PS07B
HTPC: A8-5600K, MSI FM2-A75IA-E53, 4TB Seagate SSHD, 8GB 1866MHz G.Skill, Crosley D-25 Case Mod
 
Scrotos
Graphmaster Gerbil
Posts: 1109
Joined: Tue Oct 02, 2007 12:57 pm
Location: Denver, CO.

Re: What can I salvage from this Dell?

Tue Aug 21, 2012 9:53 am

So you have a Studio XPS 435MT. It looks like the Studio XPS 435T was later renamed to the Studio XPS 9000 but I think that's a different case/mobo.

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/s ... /index.htm (matches your mobo layout)
http://www.redplanettrading.com/Dell-R8 ... re-i7.html (more info on the mobo, X58+ ICH10, mATX form factor)

SSDs will just look like regular SATA hard drives; you shouldn't have to worry about the motherboard recognizing them. The case looks similar in layout to the XPS 8300 I have.

Personally I'd get rid of the 1 GB RAM sticks and replace them with 2 GB ones. I don't think you'll be overclocking either the CPU or RAM with this motherboard so you might as well get a bit more of it. I didn't see you getting anymore? It won't help with gaming but it probably will with 3D apps.
Last edited by Scrotos on Wed Aug 22, 2012 8:38 am, edited 1 time in total.
 
jtenorj
Gerbil
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon Jun 11, 2012 5:45 pm

Re: What can I salvage from this Dell?

Tue Aug 21, 2012 11:10 pm

you can salvage your i7 920, case fan, optical drive and HDD.
ditch the rest due to my previously stated reasons as well as
your dell case may not fit an atx or eps standard power supply.
those pin changes in the 24pin connector on dell psu and mobo
break compatability with industry standard parts(a new psu or
mobo attached to your old psu or mobo will fry whole system).
ram wont let you oc cpu to remove bottleneck from new gpu.
keep your old radeon for backup.

try these parts on for size...(at the "egg", canada version)

PSU:corsair cx500 v2 61.99+5.99s&h(67.98) - 10usd rebate
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.as ... 6817139027

MOBO: msi x58 179.99+12.99s&h(192.98)
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.as ... 6813130294

OS: ms win 7 sp1 64bit oem 104.99+6.99s&h(111.98)
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.as ... 6832116986

1080p GPU:
SAPPHIRE HD7870 GHz 2GB 244.99 after 15 rebate+11.49s&h(257.48)
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.as ... 6814102981

possible future 3x1080p GPU:2 options

HIS ice Q radeon HD7950 319.99+12.24s&h(332.23)
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.as ... 6814161407

galaxy geforce 660ti 3GB 339.99+11.49s&h(351.48)
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.as ... 6814162119

HSF: 2 options(evo 24.9-82.9CFM,9-36db;+ 21.2-76.8CFM,13-32db)
evo's fan a little more airflow and noise, plus' fan is the opposite.

cooler master hyper 212 evo 34.99+7.49s&h(42.48)
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.as ... 6835103099

cooler master hyper 212+ 34.99+7.49s&h(42.48)
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.as ... 6835103065

RAM: 2 options(crucial 1.5v, corsair 1.65v, both CL9)
crucial no reviews, corsair over 200 with 4/5 eggs, big discount

Crucial Ballistix sport(3x2GB)DDR3 1600 42.99+9.99s&p(52.98)
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.as ... 6820148547

CORSAIR XMS3(3x2GB)DDR3 1600 43.99+9.99s&h(53.98)
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.as ... 6820145222

CASE:Rosewill R218-P-BK Black Steel ATX Mid 29.99+5.99s&h(35.98)
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.as ... 6811147073

(drop air duct,12cm fan to front intake,old fan rear exhaust.)

total under 750 canadian after S&H and rebates w/hd7870

sorry cant help with screen, thought u had 1 or more @1080p.

this setup is well under your initial budget of 800 canadian.
 
jtenorj
Gerbil
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon Jun 11, 2012 5:45 pm

Re: What can I salvage from this Dell?

Tue Aug 21, 2012 11:25 pm

oh, you can probably keep the fan off your processor heatsink and sata cables as well.

you could even butcher your old power supply for the fan inside. if you can, try for
positive air pressure in your case(a little more intake than exhaust). if you put filters
(like coffee filters) in front of your intake fans you should keep your case dust free.
dust is a big contributor to pc component overheating and early demise.
 
Flying Fox
Gerbil God
Posts: 25690
Joined: Mon May 24, 2004 2:19 am
Contact:

Re: What can I salvage from this Dell?

Tue Aug 21, 2012 11:31 pm

jtenorj wrote:
ditch the rest due to my previously stated reasons

All 3 RAM channels are used. So they are not "rounded" numbers but the difference is not going to show in practice unless you benchmark things.

jtenorj wrote:
your dell case may not fit an atx or eps standard power supply.
those pin changes in the 24pin connector on dell psu and mobo
break compatability with industry standard parts(a new psu or
mobo attached to your old psu or mobo will fry whole system).

The infamous Dell PSU with different pinouts should be a thing of the past. That was like the P4 days and before. AFAIK Dell is using standard PSUs nowadays.

jtenorj wrote:
ram wont let you oc cpu to remove bottleneck from new gpu.

We are talking an i7-920 here, not the Core 2 Duo E6300. I seriously doubt there is much bottle neck there. Besides, CPU overclocking on the Intel side means you should be getting the K's anyways.

I really don't think the OP has to spend most of the stated $800 budget. And I think he needs some of that for the 2nd monitor too?
The Model M is not for the faint of heart. You either like them or hate them.

Gerbils unite! Fold for UnitedGerbilNation, team 2630.
 
JustAnEngineer
Gerbil God
Posts: 19673
Joined: Sat Jan 26, 2002 7:00 pm
Location: The Heart of Dixie

Re: What can I salvage from this Dell?

Wed Aug 22, 2012 12:39 am

How about some of these pieces?

$0 Existing Core i7-920 LGA1366 processor and HSF
$0 Existing Dell X58 LGA1366 micro-ATX motherboard with one PCIe x16 slot and three PCIe x1 slots
$0 Existing 4x2 GiB DDR3 memory
$310 EVGA GeForce GTX660Ti 2GB
or $330 Asus TI-DC2O-2GD5 GeForce GTX660Ti 2GB
or $350 -20MIR Gigabyte GV-R795WF3-3GD Radeon HD7950 3GB
$235 256 GB Samsung 830 SSD
or $135 128 GB Samsung 830 SSD w/ desktop kit
$0 Existing hard-drive
$0 Existing optical drive
$35 Antec Three Hundred ATX case
$86 -10MIR Antec EarthWatts EA-650
or $80 SeaSonic SS-600ET
or $69 Enermax EPR625AWT II
$30 Windows 8 (upgrade)
· R7-5800X, Liquid Freezer II 280, RoG Strix X570-E, 64GiB PC4-28800, Suprim Liquid RTX4090, 2TB SX8200Pro +4TB S860 +NAS, Define 7 Compact, Super Flower SF-1000F14TP, S3220DGF +32UD99, FC900R OE, DeathAdder2
 
jtenorj
Gerbil
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon Jun 11, 2012 5:45 pm

Re: What can I salvage from this Dell?

Wed Aug 22, 2012 12:50 am

oops, I miscalculated that total...

257.48 Sapphire hd7870 2GB
42.48 cooler master hyper 212(evo or +)
299.96 (300)

111.98 ms win 7 home prem. 64bit oem
57.98 corsair cx500 v2 80+ 500w eps/atx
169.96 (170)

192.98 msi x58 3way crossfire/sli
35.98 Rosewill black steel atx mid tower
228.96 (229)

ram 53 or 54(crucial 53, corsair xms3 54)

752 or 753 total. So a little more than 750,
but still under 800 by a lot.

in response to flying fox...

if the op has an i7 920 with a newer stepping, they may be able to push the base clock
of 133 to 200 with the fancy new mobo, ddr3 1600, hyper 212 and corsair cx500, not
with the 360w delta psu, dell mobo, lesser HSF and ddr3 1066. that would bring it from
2.66ghz(20x133) to 4ghz(20x200), making it perform close to a i7k running 4ghz.

the old x58 and p55 mobos used base clock tinkering to OC most of that era's i5s/i7s.
only since sandy/ivy is the base clock locked down on p67/z68/z77 so that your only
hope of a decent oc is to buy a more expensive k series cpu.

OP's PSU is a delta electronics model dps-360fb-1 a(rev:01) 360 watt max unit w/2 12v
rails(12VA 15A, 12VB 16A) so 180w and 192w individually but 300w of 12v max combined.
All the cards i suggested(7870 2GB,gtx660ti 3GB, and 7950) might use as much as 225w
alone when overclocking, which is performance left on the table if not attempted(though
they likely would reach their limits long before using that much power). the i7 920 is
supposed to be a 130w part but the i7 975x uses essentially the same die and has the
same tdp but comes with a 25x multiplier by default(25% faster). I imagine the i7 920
may use less power(105w?) so a 50% oc would boost tdp to over 150w, not to mention
the exponential increase any need needed voltage bump would incur. If the OP ops for
sli or crossfire in the future even an i7 at 4ghz may be a bottleneck in some cases.

btw suggested corsair cx500 has a single 12v rail w/34A(408w). that should be fine for
any (1) of these cards and an oc i7 920. However, a future multi gpu setup w/this level
of card would require a maybe a few hundred watts more oomph.

finally, the original few posts focused on using 800 canadian to uprgrade gpu first
(from hd4350/4550),possibly ram and mobo, and for the gpu maybe game w/3 screens.
there was initially no mention of getting even 1 new screen(let alone three) so it was
reasonable to assume he already had the screen(s) or budgeted them separately.

justanengineer...

windows 8 wtf!(not to be mean or anything, but seriously?)

To the original poster....

So how about how much do you want to spend ON EVERYTHING IN TOTAL(near term)?
 
jtenorj
Gerbil
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon Jun 11, 2012 5:45 pm

Re: What can I salvage from this Dell?

Wed Aug 22, 2012 3:29 am

"I'm scrapping the 3 monitors fantasy ... MAYBE just stick to two."
(emphasis added by me)

if you get the suggested mobo you can add screens and another card.
not sure sli/crossfire is the best way to go though. for future-proofing
(and to not exceed suggest PSU's capabilities) you might want to go
with the 3GB Galaxy 660ti or a 7950 and overclock. the 7950 would
likely be better due to having about 100GB/s more bandwidth and 33%
more rops. these will raise budget over 800, though(not including LCD).

Someone mentioned your ram being a possible bottleneck to rendering
performance. If you are concerned about that, then you definitely want
to oc that i7 920. you can do it (with suggested mobo and ram). for
heavy rendering loads, I wonder if it would be at all advantageous to
you to double up on memory(3x2GB to 3x4 or 2x3x2). mo money tho.

those cases are nice, but at about three to four times the cost? save
money by modding a cheaper case. maybe you just want to work on
2-3 screens and game on one(those bezels in the middle of my field
of vision would drive me nuts). if that is the case, any dx11 radeon
or gk104 based card will handle that. if that is what you want, then
consider hd7870 2GB for long term 1080p performance.

does the 3d animation/rendering software in question use cpu, gpu,
or both! the review on tom's of 660ti covered a number of programs
that use gpu compute(open cl) which gcn based cards are beasts at.
nvidia did win a few tho. maybe check it out?

catalyst 12.7 beta baby! Yeah!

echoing DPete27, " why spend more than you have to?" suggestions:

cut up coffee filters for dust filters, sand sharp edges, use zip ties
and empty optical bays for cable management. reuse all you old
fans where ever possible. noticed you linked at least one case with
a side window to show off your kit. not sure you really want to
show off your dell mobo. you could mod the rosewill with a window,
but do you have a dremel and some plexiglass/acrylic or a friend
who could help you? an inexpensive, self modded case could be
pretty sweet next to a pricier one. actually, you linked a lot of
cases designed with quiet running in mind. can either show off your
kit or keep it quiet... don't think you can do both at once though.
you could add your own brand of sound dampening to the rosewill.
it is a decent looking,understated case outside to start. not like the
ones you linked but you could spruce up the outside some, too.

about your current PSU... scrotos owns 2 dell i7 2600(no k?) dell
systems(one with gtx460 oc( w/800+ core/1600+ shader and no
overvolt has fps like gtx470 but w/ only 175w power use) and one
with 6870(151w). that is all fine and dandy on a similar psu
to yours, but wont cut it for oc i7 920 and oc suggested cards
(save an oc 7750, but it has much too low performance for the
res and settings you want"proper gaming at 1080p"). actually, the
corsair cx500 should do well for now and in the future(even if
later on down the road you get the most power hungry single gpu
card and much faster, much lower wattage cpu). if you run your
i7 920 at 4ghz which with raised clock alone might increase tdp
to 150+watts, the up to 10% voltage increase(go no farther) it
may take to get there would further increase your power use

example: 104w stock to 156w @4ghz no overvolt(unlikely) or
4ghz w/10% overvolt being 188w( stock voltage of 100% squared
versus 110% voltage squared, multiplying linear wattage bump
from clock increase times 1.21 or add 156 and 32=188).
104w derived from 80% of i7 965x at 130w.(20x133 vs 25x133).

since the gs500(which is related to the cx500 but has various
higher end features so costs more and is out of stock/dis-
continued on the egg.ca right now) can power a load greater
that its rated wattage, I would imagine an i7 920 with this
kind of power usage and a gpu at under 200w should be well
within the limits of the cx500. not to mention that the system
never really pulls anywhere near that all at once or a newer
300w max tdp single gpu(lLOWER) and something like a 77w ivy
(or lower with better tim inside) +50% oc at 115-139w(again,
whole system not useing anywhere near the combined max power
under even a heavy usage pattern). see gs500 at hardwaresecrets

sorry if this got long and a bit disjointed . it's late here(tired...).
 
DPete27
Grand Gerbil Poohbah
Posts: 3776
Joined: Wed Jan 26, 2011 12:50 pm
Location: Wisconsin, USA

Re: What can I salvage from this Dell?

Wed Aug 22, 2012 8:37 am

While I agree that fan filters are very helpful, I would NOT suggest coffee filters as a DIY alternative. They are too dense and don't let enough air through, so your fans will be starved of air = be really loud and probably die quickly.
1) You don't need case fans if you are aware of the inevitable dust build-up inside your case and regularly blow the dust out. The frequency of this maintenance depends on your location. Back in college, I had to blow the dust out of my computer monthly and it was nasty. I now only have to do it 3 times a year on my negative pressure rig and once a year on my filtered positive pressure Silverstone PSO7B just for good measure.

2) Proper dust filters are cheap and I'm sure if you search around, you can find some of that material in a big sheet that you can cut however you want. Newegg.ca even has fan filter/grills that are probably the easiest solution if you've got space in front of the fan like on a side-panel.
Main: i5-3570K, ASRock Z77 Pro4-M, MSI RX480 8G, 500GB Crucial BX100, 2 TB Samsung EcoGreen F4, 16GB 1600MHz G.Skill @1.25V, EVGA 550-G2, Silverstone PS07B
HTPC: A8-5600K, MSI FM2-A75IA-E53, 4TB Seagate SSHD, 8GB 1866MHz G.Skill, Crosley D-25 Case Mod
 
Scrotos
Graphmaster Gerbil
Posts: 1109
Joined: Tue Oct 02, 2007 12:57 pm
Location: Denver, CO.

Re: What can I salvage from this Dell?

Wed Aug 22, 2012 8:48 am

re: moving the existing motherboard to a new case, I found this: http://en.community.dell.com/support-fo ... 86354.aspx

About 2/3rds of the way down, this is relevant info:

This particular Dell board is a standard size MicroATX, so just make sure the case you buy will accept that size. A good quality case comes with screw-in stand offs so you can fit a full size ATX board or a MicroATX, whichever.

TBH, the I/O shield was just a hack up, when you remove the motherboard out of your existing case you will find the I/O panel is attached to the case but there is a "gasket" which comes away readily and you can use this as a template- simply cut out the ports that you need and use. As I said I made one from an old DVD case, lay the gasket on the plastic and cut away with a craft knife and drill holes for the sound connections. There will be a load of swarf which is a pain to remove fully!

Go to Dell support and look at the manual - there is a diagram of the motherboard in question detailing all of the board's connections- either print or copy for future reference.

The front panel connectors were a bit of a fiddle, the case I got came with tiny 2 pin connectors for the power, reset and HD LED and they all have to go onto the motherboard connector which was simply a "plug" which has all of them built in. I got them the wrong way round at first but after carefully swapping them about everything fired up. Reset button doesnt work though as I don't think there was one on the original Dell case anyway, but no big deal.
 
MrJP
Gerbil Elite
Posts: 836
Joined: Wed Nov 20, 2002 5:04 pm
Location: Surrey, UK

Re: What can I salvage from this Dell?

Wed Aug 22, 2012 8:51 am

Why so much focus on overclocking in some repsonses? The OP's coming from a Dell and taking a first few steps towards custom building. I'd say you should focus on a few essential changes initially to get acceptable gaming performance, then take stock and decide if more is required to go further.

1. Monitor. 23""-24" with IPS panel if possible. Looks like you've already found some reasonable choices. Don't worry about the quoted pixel response times, but look up reviews and try to find any reports of high input lag. That's a far worse problem for a gaming PC in my experience. It would be nice to get 1920x1200 rather than 1920x1080, but that takes you to the top end of the market.
2. GPU. A 660Ti looks like a good choice to keep a single 1920x1080 monitor well fed with pixels for the foreseeable future. The 7950 or 7870 are possible alternative choices, but being able to get 660s with 7.5" long PCBs is a significant advantage in this case.
3. PSU. In theory the current PSU is just about powerful enough to drop in a 660, but I think this would be a bit risky since it's probably not brilliant quality and a few years past it's best. Additionally I doubt it has the two PCIe connectors required for a 660Ti and using Molex adapters gets messy, particularly when you can't be certain which plugs are running from which rail of the PSU. A basic 500W PSU from a good brand (Seasonic, Corsair, Enermax, or Antec are good starting points) will be comfortably sufficient.
4. Case. Only necessary if the PSU or GPU don't fit (doesn't look like you'll have a problem from the photos, but difficult to be 100% certain), otherwise stick with the Dell box for now. If you decide you do need (or would just like) a new case, go with something that can take a full ATX motherboard unless you really need the system to fit somewhere tight. This will give you a lot more options for future upgrades. I like Antec and Corsair cases, but things like looks are a matter of personal taste.

I'd leave any thought of motherboard or RAM upgrades for sometime in the future. Otherwise you'll be replacing everything except the CPU and locking yourself into an obsolete platform in the process. A stock i7 920 is still some time away from being a significant bottleneck, so I'd wait and go for the whole platform change after another CPU generation or two. That way the other bits you buy now (GPU, PSU, case) can be carried over to the new build and you won't be wasting anything.

The other advantage of this approach is that you can carry on with your current Windows license, saving a bit more cash, though I'd recommend reinstalling Windows in any case just to get a fresh start, and if you're going to do this then picking up an SSD with any spare budget would greatly improve the feel and responsiveness of your PC in day-to-day use. Doing all of this will extend your PC's life by another couple of years and be a lot less grief than replacing almost everything.
i7-6700K ~ Asus Z170I Pro Gaming ~ 16GB Corsair DDR4-2400 ~ Radeon R9 Nano
Noctua NHU9S ~ Corsair Obsidian 250D ~ Corsair RM650X ~ Crucial MX100 512GB
SMSL M3 ~ Sennheiser HD555 ~ Logitech G500S/G910/G29 ~ LG 34UC79G

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest
GZIP: On