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Okay so heres the story. I got this PC from Dell about close to two years ago. It is running a P4 2.4Ghz CPU. Now I cant find out or just dont know these things= The FSB of my CPU (i think it may just be 133?), the type of motherboard it is since its from Dell theres no Manual.

Now heres the main problem I have. Since this current motherboard uses RDRam or Rambus memory and I had upgraded that recently to 1GB from 512MB, are there new Motherboards that still support PC800 Rambus memory and if so, will these new motherboards support my current Processor? (dont know the FSB remember..)

Ive done some googling but if anyone knows anything that would also help.



---NoMaD---

Well to find out your Mobo specs, and all the goods on the processor download Sisoft Sandra.
It will give you plenty of good stuff about your rig.
I cant say I know about a NEW motherboard thats running RDram, But i doubt it.


here is the link to Sandra..



http://www.sisoftware.net/

Yeah I knew/know about Sandra. Not sure if I knew it will tell me the model of my Mobo though, could be wrong. The mobo is Intel based but has Dell's Bios on it so that sucks. I know Abit and Asus make boards for RDRam, im just not sure if they are up to date with the other technologies, since RDRam HAS been labled as an Intel "mishap". But since I got my RDRam already it would be nice to have an updated mobo you know what I mean.

Dell does not use standard ATX mobos. They're made by some manufacturer like Asus or Abit BUT they are custome designed. For one thing the PSU connector is NOT standard. Plug a standard ATX mobo into a Dell PSU and you will fry it (needless to say NEVER replace a Dell PSU with a standard ATX). They do make adapters to convert a standard PSU to the Dell connector.

RDRam is dead dude - forget about using it in a modern mobo. Ram is not all that expensive anymore - heck I just sold a 512Mb stick of DDR PC2700 for $55. You can find it new for $80.

That RDRam is worth some money if you sell it off on Ebay or the forums, though. That ram is hard to find and it's expensive.

Dell's are great systems, but I wouldn't try to install a standard mobo in their case - it's not worth it. Best to sell the rig and the memory and use that to buy the parts to build something new.

A 2.4 Ghz system is no slouch today. Not top of the line anymore, but plenty of system, unless you have onboard video.

Hmmm interesting, so you are saying that if I buy a new, lets say 550W, Power Supply it wont work with my Mobo or something? I never heard that one before. Yet I also havent bought a new one either.

Also I was just wondering if the mobo companies (Abit Asus etc.) have made a new mobo which uses PC800 Rambus within like the last year or so. I think that they should have kept making some for at least some time instead of just about "forcing" consumers to go DDR or SDram. Just cause the companies didnt want to use Rambus cause of its price range, doesnt necessarily mean the consumers dont want it either. Be heck ill stop my rant now

Don't know if this is the info you are looking for or not.

The latest Intel motherboard chipset to support RAMBUS is the I-850/I-850E. Asus makes the P4T533-C motherboard using this chipset. It supports a P4 CPU using either a 133 MHz FSB or 100 MHz FSB. From what I can determine, the last BIOS update for this motherboard was 3-25-03. For the price of the motherboard you can check New Egg or Mwave. For comparison against the latest P4 motherboards I'm sure you can find a review of motherboards using the I-850/850E chipsets and motherboards using the I-875 chipset on Firing Squad, HardOCP, or Anand's.

I have no idea if this motherboard will fit in a Dell case or is compatible with the Dell power supply. If FP says they will not, I'd believe him. He knows his PCs.

MAC

Okay thats all good and dandy. Few things to know = My Dell hardware is no longer in a Dell case, I moved all the stuff out into an ATX form case. Second thing I want to know is this stuff about my Power SUpply that came with my Dell. Are you saying that it wont work with other motherboards, and are you also saying that if I buy a new Power SUpply the new one wont work with my existing motherboard that came out of the Dell?

---Nomad----

Originally posted by Nomad
Okay thats all good and dandy. Few things to know = My Dell hardware is no longer in a Dell case, I moved all the stuff out into an ATX form case. Second thing I want to know is this stuff about my Power SUpply that came with my Dell. Are you saying that it wont work with other motherboards, and are you also saying that if I buy a new Power SUpply the new one wont work with my existing motherboard that came out of the Dell?

---Nomad----

That is what he's saying.. It's proprietary..

Laman's terms damnit! I cant use my Dell PSU on any other mobo's and I cant use antyhing else besides my dell PSU on my Dell mobo? Is that the answer?

Originally posted by Nomad
Laman's terms damnit! I cant use my Dell PSU on any other mobo's and I cant use antyhing else besides my dell PSU on my Dell mobo? Is that the answer?

yup

But they sell an adapter so that I can use other PSU's on my Dell mobo? Or they sell adapters for my Dell PSU to work with other mobos?

Info: http://63.240.93.134/articles/upgrade3_01_01.asp

If you currently own or are considering purchasing a desktop system from Dell you will definitely want to pay attention to this section. There is a potential booby-trap waiting to nail the unsuspecting Dell owner who decides to upgrade either the motherboard or power supply in their system. This hidden trap can cause the destruction of the motherboard, power supply or both! OK, now that I have your attention, read on...

PSU Adapter (allows you to use a standard ATX PSU on a Dell mobo which doesn't help you out in your particular situation (I don't think anyone makes an adapter to allow a Dell PSU to work on a standard ATX mobo). You'll need to replace the PSU: http://www.endpcnoise.com/cgi-bin/e/dellconverter.html

Since you already have it in an ATX case then just go buy yourself a standard ATX 2.1 PSU for your new mobo.

If the Dell mobo fits in a standard ATX case then I'd sell the mobo, PSU & memory on the trade forum here. Get what you can for it (although, as I said before, I think you'd get more money by selling most of the RAM on Ebay though).

Or you can keep most of the RAM for a new system, but I think you're shooting yourself in the foot trying to find a new mobo using RDRam. You're better off selling it on EBay and getting a mobo that uses standard DDR.

No brainer. 512Mb of used RDRam is selling on EBay for the same price as NEW 512Mb DDR PC2700 is selling for from mailorder sites. RDRam is so rare that even Crucial.com doesn't sell it, so anyone who needs some is pretty desperate for it.

I've got clients with early P4 Gateway systems that use RDRam and when they ask me about upgrading memory I tell them to think about replacing the computer.

Samsung sell it still, and I think Kingston too.... not sure though. Also that link you gave me to the connector, it shows to connectors. One bing one small. The big one is the connector which is connected to my PSU right now as we speak (the Dell PSU). Now in the screenie it shows this other smaller connector which connects to the mobo. Well my mobo doesnt have that little connection on it I dont think.

I've converted Dell's to use "off the shelf" motherboards, but it is time consuming.

Here is a link to convert the cables to use non-dell motherboards . You can use this to connect power and reset buttons, but I really suggest you buy a new power supply. Dell power supplies are wired differently.

OMG this adapter thingy is for using my DELL PSU on an ATX mobo isnt it? My problem would be using an ATX on my Dell mobo.... Or am im all goofed up once again?