Dell Dimension E521 Information

[psaam0001]

Well, I have procured a second hand desktop to refurbish for F@H use.... (it was free).

So, I need a little bit of information to help me plan on CPU & memory upgrades. As I have not dusted it out enough to power it up. This is what I know so far:

Current RAM: 2x512MB of DDR2 533
CPU: Athlon X2 (I''m guessing single-core; I'll pull the CPU and check the socket)
PSU: < 400w (I'll upgrade this for sure).

I may be able to run a GT 1030 or better on it. Though anything beyond a GTX 16xx series/RTX 3060ti might be pressing my luck w/CPU bottleneck.

Your advice will be welcome.

Paul

[toTOW]

Be careful, Dell doesn't use any standard components (motherboard, PSU, case, ...) ...

[psaam0001]

Be careful, Dell doesn't use any standard components (motherboard, PSU, case, ...) ...

I know I will not be able to replace the MB or the case (I think it is a BTX form factor like MB).

I'll have more time to look at everything on one of my next days off.

Paul

[Vester]

The owner's manual

The AMD Athlon X2 was AMD's first dual core processor. On the positive side, it is a 64bit processor. You will need much more RAM to run Windows 10 or recent versions of Linux distos. Frankly, I've tossed better computers into dumpsters. It isn't worth your time or money.

[BobWilliams757]

It might have potential. They made those with a wide variety of hardware, and though the cases are often strange to say the least, many had decent components. I purchased a pre-built system for my daughter at one point, and while doing some research on memory upgrades found the board was one commonly used by Dell as well. It was fairly rock solid and a decent board.

Let us know what you find when you dig into it. I might have some hardware I could donate if the board will handle it.

[psaam0001]

The owner's manual

The AMD Athlon X2 was AMD's first dual core processor. On the positive side, it is a 64bit processor. You will need much more RAM to run Windows 10 or recent versions of Linux distos. Frankly, I've tossed better computers into dumpsters. It isn't worth your time or money.

This one is definitely getting Fedora Linux... Windows 10 is not an option due to the RAM/CPU requirements. And Windows 11 has that fTPM requirement.

Paul

[psaam0001]

It might have potential. They made those with a wide variety of hardware, and though the cases are often strange to say the least, many had decent components. I purchased a pre-built system for my daughter at one point, and while doing some research on memory upgrades found the board was one commonly used by Dell as well. It was fairly rock solid and a decent board.

Let us know what you find when you dig into it. I might have some hardware I could donate if the board will handle it.

It may be a week or two before I mess w/it. Just too many things going on right now schedule wise.

Paul

[psaam0001]

Well, I did some initial tear-down and cleaning (what a mess w/the dust).

I can only use a single-slot x16 length graphics card, because it is a BTX-like form factor MB (curse you Dell). So my EVGA GT 1030 that I bought for the now retired/recycled PowerEdge T105 is going into it.

In regards to the CPU, I'm not going to push my luck w/a processor upgrade. 2 FAH slots will be fine for this system. Though, a new cooling device is on the list.

Memory is available from NEMIX RAM, for about $30.00 (4x2GB DDR2-800).

Paul

[BobWilliams757]

Paul,

I've got a couple of 4 GB sticks of Corsair DDR2-800. If they don't give you heat sink clearance issues I'd be glad to give them to you. If you have the AM2+ socket board, I've also got a Kuma 7750 BE processor if that is an upgrade over what you have now. You can use them on the regular socket but lose the FSB speed increase.

Let me know if you want either.

Decent aftermarket coolers can be had for cheap and helped temps a lot on those older CPU's.

[psaam0001]

It's just the AM2 (no "+") socket. I'll move the Noctua NH-D9L cooler from my Ryzen 9 3950x system, when I upgrade to the larger NH-D15S.

I'll get in touch w/you via PM on that memory, as I may try to find a couple of used/reconditioned Socket LGA 775 MB's for CPU's that are sitting on my spare parts shelf. Those have low priority at the moment though.

Paul

[BobWilliams757]

It's just the AM2 (no "+") socket. I'll move the Noctua NH-D9L cooler from my Ryzen 9 3950x system, when I upgrade to the larger NH-D15S.

I'll get in touch w/you via PM on that memory, as I may try to find a couple of used/reconditioned Socket LGA 775 MB's for CPU's that are sitting on my spare parts shelf. Those have low priority at the moment though.

Paul

No problem. I'm in the same boat with stuff on the shelf vs priority and time, so I get it. I will let you have first shot at it before I attempt to let it go anywhere else. This is low on my "get rid of" list because it's small and easy to keep.

[psaam0001]

It's just the AM2 (no "+") socket. I'll move the Noctua NH-D9L cooler from my Ryzen 9 3950x system, when I upgrade to the larger NH-D15S.

I'll get in touch w/you via PM on that memory, as I may try to find a couple of used/reconditioned Socket LGA 775 MB's for CPU's that are sitting on my spare parts shelf. Those have low priority at the moment though.

Paul

No problem. I'm in the same boat with stuff on the shelf vs priority and time, so I get it. I will let you have first shot at it before I attempt to let it go anywhere else. This is low on my "get rid of" list because it's small and easy to keep.

Even finding reconditioned MB's for those LGA 775 processors may not be worth it. I might just upgrade a friends system with that 4-core CPU, and scrap the 2 2-core CPU's. Save the $$ for a new folding rig once I see markdowns on new Socket AM4 or LGA 1200 CPU's & MB's. After all, I need everything else that goes w/it.

Paul

[BobWilliams757]

I hear you. I keep old stuff just for such reasons. Since you can rarely sell it for much it's sometimes easier to keep around for strange project and such.

I thought you had a dual core AMD in that system?