If you don't mind I would like to pick your collective computing brains.I was given this little Dell PC and would like to use it for the kids basic online games and for me to try new software, that I would not normally use as I tend to stick to the same thing and never try anything new.
I have spent the day researching this particular Dell machine and from what I can gather, I can at least upgrade it to 2GB ram....if I can find it !
The next thing I was looking into, is seeing if I could bump the up graphics card?, to at least support the online game minecraft.The power supply is limited at 160w if the Spec's are correct on the dell website and I am reading them correctly. I do like how easy it is to lift the lid on this machine and see what's inside.
I have a very limited understanding of hardware and how it all goes together...this is me getting my feet wet in the whole upgrade build your own computer path!
Thanks for any help and any interesting forthcoming conversations.
If you don't mind I would like to pick your collective computing brains.I was given this little Dell PC and would like to use it for the kids basic online games and for me to try new software, that I would not normally use as I tend to stick to the same thing and never try anything new.
I have spent the day researching this particular Dell machine and from what I can gather, I can at least upgrade it to 2GB ram....if I can find it !
The next thing I was looking into, is seeing if I could bump the up graphics card?, to at least support the online game minecraft.The power supply is limited at 160w if the Spec's are correct on the dell website and I am reading them correctly. I do like how easy it is to lift the lid on this machine and see what's inside.
I have a very limited understanding of hardware and how it all goes together...this is me getting my feet wet in the whole upgrade build your own computer path!
Thanks for any help and any interesting forthcoming conversations.
I've always used Crucial for RAM and if you use their Wizard to detect the machine you have you get a warranty that the RAM supplied will work and a lifetime replacement warranty on it.
and I gather some models use an integrated video chip on the motherboard and some use a PCI card .... but << kids basic online games >> could be pretty intensive video memory users and so I rather doubt that it would be up to their standards <g>
I have looked already on youtube in regards to Dell and its Power supply for this model,that was an interesting learning curve...on how Dell designs(ed) their computers. The power supply really does not worry me, I am not trying to make a monster machine only work within its present limits and stretch it as far as it can reasonable go...
Hugh, that ram is $15 dollars cheaper than what I have seen so far...thanks.My only question is the Specs say DDR2 533ghz or DDR2 400ghz will the 500Ghz that you have linked to be ok to use? This is where my hardware understanding fails as I always think you have to use the exact items.
I have allowed the kids to try certain online games that they like and they appear to run ok...youtube lags a bit..is that because of the video card or the proceessing power?
My gx280 is the SFF, it has the Intel 4,1.8ghz and only a 20GB hard drive ...it seems this computer just has the basics inside ...which may limit me somewhat.I assume I have 1 PCI slot and 1 PCIe slot x16 available to use. The video is intergrated intel extreme graphics or PCI express x16 DVI video card...how do I know which one it is that I have installed?
Crucial prices are usually attractive -- they belong the the largest US manufacturer of the raw chips ....
There should be no problem with the 500Ghz RAM especially since Crucial offer it for that computer since running fast RAM on a slower system just uses the slower speed.
That should speed up anything that is hard drive dependent apart from giving you extra drive space!
<< The video is intergrated intel extreme graphics or PCI express x16 DVI video card...how do I know which one it is that I have installed? >>
If you have the integrated graphics it is a chip on the motherboard; if you have a video card it is a PC card with an edge connector that plugs into one of those PCI slots and usually has a connector on a metal strip that fits into a hole in the back panel of the case. BUT Dell may do it differently -- check out the User Guide on the case at
which identifies the VGA connector as 10 for an integrated chip and says if you have a video card then that should be covered.
If you look at the SystemBoard layout you can see the two long slots 10 & 11 which a video card can use and their connectors would be those rectangles 4 on the Back View.
But since you say it has a video card you must have the monitor plugged in and it should be obvious!
Here's a link to a very useful little utility called Speccy that tells you a lot about the details of a system. I suggest installing the free version -- I find it very useful.
But since you say it has a video card you must have the monitor plugged in and it should be obvious!
Thanks Hugh,
I can say it is not so obvious to the noob when dealing with hardware.. but I am learning. The 2 slots (10 and 11) are free so I can say there is no card.
The SSD drive that you linked to is very nice, but I do not think it will fit into the space of my case if it is 2.5inch in height instead of the reccommended 1 inch Drive...it is fairly tight in there...however if I removed the floppy drive it may create some extra room? There are 4 versions of this Dell GX280 the link may show the small desktop computer(?)
I have done some searching and I can still find a 40GB WD Protege 400EB HD that will fit into this case...it was manufactured a year later than my current WD Protege 200EB HD.
Can I post up images in this section? I can take some photos of the GX280 I have so you know what I am dealing with.
Ok I am officially embarrassed,after all my research and asking the questions. I sat and watched the Dell boot up and lo and behold it is a GX260 NOT GX280 as I first thought.I thought this by looking at the small writing around the start up button. I will put this down to my poor eye sight (I am going longsighted) and I was not able to differentiate the 6 from the 8...I am so sorry for this confusion...now a few things make sense, when I have seen slight differences between my SFF and other 280s...mine was a 260..DUH!
That 1 inch is not the width of the drive but the thickness. The SSD drive Crucial suggest is the size of a Laptop drive which is 2.5in width and it comes with brackets so you can fit it into a standard desktop hard drive slot which is normally 3.5 in wide. But I'd forget about that for the moment especially since I should have looked and seen that it was a SATA connection that you can'te use! Naughty Crucial ....
You would be using an internal slot not the ones for the floppy or CD drive.
You have to make sure that you get an IDE/EIDE drive and not the SATA kind that is now the most common. I bought the wrong kind for a laptop a while ago and had to exchange it.
I have found Best Buy online to be a surprisingly good source for hard drives but I just checked and there was nothing useful there in the IDE group but NewEgg have a WD 80 GB and a D 160 at the same $90 ! With free shipping ....
I will check out the ins and outs of this GX260more, before I make any more decisions on upgrading the interal parts...last night the fanfailed while my son was playing a game and the computer shut down. Mind you the temperatures here were 30+ and very high humidity. I have a fan facing the back end of the case today to keep it cooler.
I do appreciate your thoughts and advice...I won't give up trying to learn about upgrading etc it may just not be with this GX260.
<< I have a fan facing the back end of the case today to keep it cooler. >>
That might be wrong since most computers are arranged to blow hot air out the back of the computer so you would be fighting it.
The fan #9 shown inside the computer looks as if it is the one mounted on the CPU and is critically important -- I would not run the PC unless it is running. It is good that it shut down the computer automaticlly. What is the status now? Is it running again? Maybe it was telling you that his gaming was stressing the system too much ....
BTW That Speccy program I mentioned can sometimes tell you about internal temperatures of critical components although it could depend on the way the motherboard was specified.
That Speccy program is brilliant but I don't see any temp readings in it...lots of other interesting stuff!,Sadly it looks like the fan has blown as the PC keeps shutting down. It gives you an F1 option or F2 a set up option at start up...not sure what it wants to set up.....I will be googling the issue tomorrow.
The pc cost nothing so its no great loss (annoying maybe) and I can still learn a few things from this experience.
What Speccy shows is dependent on what is available and so if the motherboard does not feed out temperatures then it would not show them and given the nature of the PC ....
Sorry abut the Fan -- you can see it's not turning? They are usually cemented onto the CPU with a silver loaded paste so you might be able to replace it with something that would work although the inside view in the docs seems to show the fan housing is made to push the air outside the case.
I think I have two issues, the system clock battery needs replacing and the fan does not appear to be working.I will grab a battery and pop that in and then work out what to do with the fan....I can't really tell if it is turning but I assume when there is a fan failure alert it means it is not working.
There was no air coming out,I ended up killing the power supply to the machine so this project is sadly over for the moment...I am too embarrassed to say what I did.
but I am learning. The 2 slots (10 and 11) are free so I can say there is no card.
Ok I am officially embarrassed,after all my research and asking the questions. I sat and watched the Dell boot up and lo and behold it is a GX260 NOT GX280 as I first thought.I thought this by looking at the small writing around the start up button. I will put this down to my poor eye sight (I am going longsighted) and I was not able to differentiate the 6 from the 8...I am so sorry for this confusion...now a few things make sense, when I have seen slight differences between my SFF and other 280s...mine was a 260..DUH!