Need an odd computer cable

[jonmulzer]

Yes, it is wonderful to be free from choice. So much better to have all of your hardware and software dictated to you.

That is both good and bad. Mixed bag as it were. They get to control drivers much more stringently and therefore their hardware, to borrow one of their horrible catchphrases, just works. On the other hand it really kills diversity. And diversity is what drives the gamer crowd but if you are a gamer you are not buying a mac.

Mac is missing one major price point. They don't have a normal desktop for the average Joe. You can pick up an iMac (Their capitalization scheme for all their products is obnoxious, every English speaking person outside of their offices capitalizes the first letter. Do they do that to every word in corporate emails??) but then all the hardware is built-in and the only thing you could possibly change is the memory and hard drive. A Mac mini is a laptop in disguise and even less upgradeable. The Mac Pro is all server/workstation grade hardware and before they ship it to you they send out Home Equity Loan papers. They need a desktop with a separate tower that the starting price is less than the median income for a South American country.

For $2800 I should get two 24" displays. That is sans monitor and shipping, and, and, and.......

[phrog]

Just out of curiosity, if you are building a new computer from scratch, don't you have to buy a full version of Windows XP or Vista even if you are using parts from the old computer? I am about to replace a mothervoard for a friend and if I read Microsoft's site correctly, I have to use the same brand and model of motherboard or buy a full version of the OS. Can anyone comment if this is correct? This may apply to jonmulzer also. Thanks.
Richard

[jonmulzer]

Most of the time it applies, but sometimes you can call MS and their department that deals with this will ok the install. It works 3/4 of the time I would say. I don't have to worry about that though, but you can try your luck.

[phrog]

Most of the time it applies, but sometimes you can call MS and their department that deals with this will ok the install. It works 3/4 of the time I would say. I don't have to worry about that though, but you can try your luck.

Thanks Jon, that was info I needed.
Richard

[Alex Franke]

Hey Jon -- a have a friend here that says he'll pull the PS from the next Dell machine that comes in for surplus -- he's assuming your machine is a tower (I guess as opposed to a laptop). When I get it I'll let you know and we can figure out if it's compatible. Then I can send it off to you if it is.

[LinuxRandal]

Hey Jon -- a have a friend here that says he'll pull the PS from the next Dell machine that comes in for surplus -- he's assuming your machine is a tower (I guess as opposed to a laptop).

Tower as opposed to a desktop (they still have those), or ultrasmall (mini tower, mini desktop, thin) pc.

Reusing the OS, may depend on what you have in the way of the OS. Many Dells, shipped with a non full OS (had only the drivers neccessary, may be missing other motherboard drivers needed), while others had the full, OEM install.
That said, I have never heard anyone turned down, who said this was a new install due to a dead motherboard. It is still installed on only one pc then.

[jonmulzer]

Hey Jon -- a have a friend here that says he'll pull the PS from the next Dell machine that comes in for surplus -- he's assuming your machine is a tower (I guess as opposed to a laptop). When I get it I'll let you know and we can figure out if it's compatible. Then I can send it off to you if it is.

Tower. Dimension 5100 and it says the power supply is a 305w model. If it is not convenient to come across a power supply do not go out of your way. I may just take a 24 pin power supply and re-pin it. I am pretty sure I still have molex tools. It makes for tedious work though. Next on the list is researching memory compatibility. It only has 2x256mb of DDR2 400. When she ordered it she ordered a pretty low-end machine. It crawled with Media Center installed. I gave her a spare P4 2.0ghz 1gig RAM machine to use for right now and she says it is a lot faster. It is a machine I rescued from the dumpster at a previous job. There was not a thing wrong with it. Odd what some places just throw away.

[JSUPreston]

As far a memory goes, I've been very successful with my all the Dell machines at the house using Kingston or Crucial. Heck, I even got some no name stuff off the 'Bay a couple of years back that I put into a Dimension B110 with no problem.

I have always built my own systems, but I bought a Dell Inspiron 531 after Christmas from the refurb outlet. After bumping up the RAM, video, PS, and upgrading from Vista to XP , I ended up with a killer machine for a little over $500.

BTW: Here's the answer to your power supply question: http://support.dell.com/support/edoc....htm#wp1055968
Hope it helps.

[dkerfoot]

Dell has long used a mixture of proprietary and standard power supplies, depending on the model. It is purely an attempt to sell replacement parts for 2-4x their value. Same thing with the little circuit card they mount in the case front, rather than the standard motherboard connections for the on/off switch and LEDs.

There are some adapters out there and some reasonably priced direct replacements. Or, as you say, you can just re-pin the thing. If memory serves, they just swap two pins.