Want to Upgrade a Dell...

I have a Dell 4300S series pc I acquired in late 2001. Yeah. I know. A Dell.

I've recently purchased a nice, custom built computer for myself, though, after realizing how much of a pain it is to replace dell parts - I don't want to keep having to go through a nightmare just to upgrade my system.

BUT I do want to upgrade this POS *once*, so I can give the monster to my dad, who is ... well... somewhat technologically in the stoneage. (he hasn't replaced any of his PCs since 1996, and hasn't had them upgraded since 1998. His PC in his room still runs windows 1998, and nearly crashes every time you try to turn the thing on, just from loading the icons on the desktop!)

So... I've ordered two 512 RAM cards for this thing, and want to upgrade the USB ports from 1.1 to 2.0 ... but was told I'd have to replace the whole motherboard to do this! sonuva..... :mad

So .... below are the specs of the PC as it stands. Please please help if you can. I'm only a semi-geek, so please use layman's terms whenever possible - I've replaced quite a few parts in this hunk-o-junk before, but never something this technical before.

Base: Dimension 4300S Series, Pentium 4 processor at 1.6GHz
Memory: 2x256 RAM (soon to be upgraded to 512, once my shipments get in)
Video Card: 16MB ATI Rage Ultra Graphics Card
Hard Drive: Seagate 200GB
Floppy: 3.5
Network Card: 10/100 PCI Fast Ethernet NIC
Modem: 56K PCI Data Fax Modem for Windows
CD/DVD Drive: Samsung DVD-Rom/CD-RW SM 352B

As you can see, Dell is exceedingly unhelpful in the description of anything besides the bare basics... And I'm at a loss.

Any help in locating items that would be compatible with this particular POS Dell would be very very welcomed. Preferrably something inexpensive. I probably screwed myself over in getting the RAM though - replacing the motherboard would most likely null and void any RAM purchased, no?

Or were they lying to me, and maybe I don't have to replace the motherboard?

 

If you have a spare PCI slot, you can install something like this
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1215759
and have 4 USB 2 ports in the back of the computer.

When you open the case to install the RAM chips, you'll note that one slot is used by your modem, another slot is used by your NIC.

 

"Video Card: 16MB ATI Rage Ultra Graphics Card"

Had to chuckle at that!

If you want a computer to crash, that will do it (unless he still uses stoneage programs).

At minimum, buy a cheap graphics card. Nearly anything you buy now will have 128mb minimum. Make sure you have PCIE, AGP, or PCI slot to put it in. Remove the old graphics card when you upgrade. AGP is better than PCI and PCIE is better than AGP. Likely only find PCI on an old computer or if it is really old, it won't even have a PCI slot.

The computer can't be too old if it has USB.

To upgrade to USB2.0, you will need a PCI plugin card assuming you have a PCI slot to plug it in. But USB1.0 is OK as is.

And you don't have to shop at DELL. I like NewEgg.com for prices and wide selection. PCmall is where I buy my refurbished computers - like new but were returns or some other reason they call them refurbished. All these places have wide selections of what you need, and new graphics cards are very popular.

 

Don't be too sure about that! I had an old Packard Bell purchased in 1998 from Walmart that had 2 USB ports! Of course, USB wasn't supported in windows 95 (yup that's what was installed on it) but there was a driver, probably from MS. I downloaded it, installed it, upgraded eventually to 98SE and those ports worked.

 

The computer is a 2001 computer. And despite the obvious inability to run much of the more recent programs that have been released, I can tell you that it ran Photoshop CS2 without any problem. But most full-screen games did freeze it often enough to be somewhat of a nuisance (talking those $10 card games you buy in Staples). Still, my dad doesn't run much besides tax software, which still runs on his 1996 hunk-o-junk. I figure if it can run on THAT prehistoric piece of soon-to-be-paperweight, my old computer as it stands would be a vast improvement, and would run anything my dad wanted to run.

Still, I want to give him something better, so I'll look for a better graphics card for the PC, and if I find one cheap, I'll get it. Mind, compatibility issues are also a worry to me. Any Dell with that "S" tacked on the end of it is a slim-line PC... which limits PCI slots, and always has me worried that something just isn't going to *fit* in the thing.

On a brighter note, the RAM came in the mail today, so I'm going to pop those suckers in tomorrow and see how much of an improvement they provide.

Pretty much the only things my dad uses the computer for at this point are excel spreadsheets, tax software, and making his own greeting/birthday/holiday cards (he finds them more meaningful, which I'll go along with. ^_^). My mother is planning on getting him an iPod soon, though - they go on quite a few trips, and the plane rides are rather boring. I know that iTunes works perfectly on that computer as it stands, though! So all should be well.

Any other hints, tips, etc... would be VERY welcome, and thanks everyone for your ideas and help! I'm hoping that the computer I give my father ends up being something he'll be able to use for a while... and since he has that 1996 computer (with its last upgrade being in 1998 with a larger hard drive and a RAM upgrade), I have a feeling this one will last him at least four more years. ^_^

Thanks again!