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I've got a Dell Dimension 8200, P4 2.0 GHz, 256 Mb PC800 RDRAM. I'd like to
upgrade the RAM to at least 512 Mb. Curious about the opinion of the group
as to whether it would make sense to simply buy more RDRAM or get a new
motherboard that takes DDR and buy the less expensive DDR? I'm hoping to
get the most performance for the buck but am also thinking a new motherboard
might give me more flexibility for future upgrades, overclocking, USB 2.0,
etc. Any thoughts? Also, if I did purchase a new motherboard, any
cost-effective recommendations? I am a "typical" user (internet, personal
finance, the occasional 3D game but nothing extremely demanding).

Thanks in advance.

You want to be careful with the new MoBo plan since many Dells use a
proprietary power supply.

JC wrote:
>
> I've got a Dell Dimension 8200, P4 2.0 GHz, 256 Mb PC800 RDRAM. I'd like to
> upgrade the RAM to at least 512 Mb. Curious about the opinion of the group
> as to whether it would make sense to simply buy more RDRAM or get a new
> motherboard that takes DDR and buy the less expensive DDR? I'm hoping to
> get the most performance for the buck but am also thinking a new motherboard
> might give me more flexibility for future upgrades, overclocking, USB 2.0,
> etc. Any thoughts? Also, if I did purchase a new motherboard, any
> cost-effective recommendations? I am a "typical" user (internet, personal
> finance, the occasional 3D game but nothing extremely demanding).
>
> Thanks in advance.

JC wrote:
> I've got a Dell Dimension 8200, P4 2.0 GHz, 256 Mb PC800 RDRAM. I'd
> like to upgrade the RAM to at least 512 Mb. Curious about the
> opinion of the group as to whether it would make sense to simply buy
> more RDRAM or get a new motherboard that takes DDR and buy the less
> expensive DDR? I'm hoping to get the most performance for the buck
> but am also thinking a new motherboard might give me more flexibility
> for future upgrades, overclocking, USB 2.0, etc. Any thoughts?
> Also, if I did purchase a new motherboard, any cost-effective
> recommendations? I am a "typical" user (internet, personal finance,
> the occasional 3D game but nothing extremely demanding).
>
> Thanks in advance.

I would go for the RAM, just remember that you hava to buy RDRAM in
pairs for them to work.

--
Night_Seer

"Wizard" <> wrote in message
news:...
> You want to be careful with the new MoBo plan since many Dells use a
> proprietary power supply.
>

Thanks for the tip. That had never entered my mind. Is there any easy way
I could tell if the power supply is not compatible with most motherboards?
Is it the connector that is different or does it go beyond that?

Thanks again

> JC wrote:
> >
> > I've got a Dell Dimension 8200, P4 2.0 GHz, 256 Mb PC800 RDRAM. I'd
like to
> > upgrade the RAM to at least 512 Mb. Curious about the opinion of the
group
> > as to whether it would make sense to simply buy more RDRAM or get a new
> > motherboard that takes DDR and buy the less expensive DDR?

Hello,
I have been in kind of the same posistion you are. My specs on my Dell 8200
were very close to yours. However, I wanted to transfer everything in the
dell over to a new case but in order to do that I needed a new case, psu
(came with case), ddr ram (love it), a cpu fan/heatsink, and of course a new
motherboard. I bought all of this with tax for about 300 bucks. Now if you
buy a new motherboard I don't think it will fit in the dell case at all.
Unless there is a way dell can send you a new motherboard thatt is
compatable with their psu and one that supports ddr ram. My friend and I put
the motherboard into the case and I installted all the drives, the processor
from the dell, and all the pci cards I needed and it works better than the
dell. In my opinion rdram is very expensive and I will never go back to it
or I will never buy another dell desktop. You could go with just buying
the rd ram and save you a bunch of hassle but if you do want ddr ram a lot
then you might have to buy a bunch of new hardware in order for it to be
compatiable. Not sure if this helps but good luck.

-aliasnexus0

"JC" <> wrote in message
news:rVPpb.8376$ ink.net...
> I've got a Dell Dimension 8200, P4 2.0 GHz, 256 Mb PC800 RDRAM. I'd like
to
> upgrade the RAM to at least 512 Mb. Curious about the opinion of the
group
> as to whether it would make sense to simply buy more RDRAM or get a new
> motherboard that takes DDR and buy the less expensive DDR? I'm hoping to
> get the most performance for the buck but am also thinking a new
motherboard
> might give me more flexibility for future upgrades, overclocking, USB 2.0,
> etc. Any thoughts? Also, if I did purchase a new motherboard, any
> cost-effective recommendations? I am a "typical" user (internet, personal
> finance, the occasional 3D game but nothing extremely demanding).
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
>
>

The connector is wired diffrently, but will still *fit* a regular ATX board.
That is the problem. Some people have ended up frying their boards because
of it. Basically, you'll need to compare the Dell power connector pinouts
against a regular ATX power supply's pinouts, or a diagram of one to be
sure.


...
"JC" <> wrote in message
news:Q0Qpb.8409$ ink.net...
> "Wizard" <> wrote in message
> news:...
> > You want to be careful with the new MoBo plan since many Dells use a
> > proprietary power supply.
> >
>
> Thanks for the tip. That had never entered my mind. Is there any easy
way
> I could tell if the power supply is not compatible with most motherboards?
> Is it the connector that is different or does it go beyond that?
>
> Thanks again
>
> > JC wrote:
> > >
> > > I've got a Dell Dimension 8200, P4 2.0 GHz, 256 Mb PC800 RDRAM. I'd
> like to
> > > upgrade the RAM to at least 512 Mb. Curious about the opinion of the
> group
> > > as to whether it would make sense to simply buy more RDRAM or get a
new
> > > motherboard that takes DDR and buy the less expensive DDR?
>
>