Dell Dimension 5150 Desktop 3.8 GHz CPU and Memory upgrade Part #1

[LamboBoy09]

I have a Dimension 5100 and im thinking of putting a different cpu cooler (heatsink and fan combo) Any Recomendations if any?

[Yungmarkz]

@31pockets can i do this on a dell dimension 5100 ??

[MACA001able]

can anyone help me plez i need to find a video driver and audio driver and usb driver 4 a dimension 5150 windows xp i updated the copy of it and can find any the drivers

[31pockets]

@MACA001able I just added a link for you at the very bottom of the description for the Dell Dimension 5150 drivers.

[MACA001able]

@31pockets thxs man ur a legend :)

[31pockets]

@MACA001able lol, you're welcome. :)

[mrdudej]

How can I verify if my dimension 5150 meets the requirements(motherboard, processor and bios) stated in the description?

[ForNoReason1000]

why the heck do people even buy dells, my PC cost under $600 2Gb ram, 3.0Ghz Dual core,Nvidia Ge-Force 7025. now these may suck, but Ive seen many dells, with even worse specs with nearly double the price. they all screw up, the rate of blue screens of death on windows is sad. i haven't seen one stable dell, some better than my specs, but none with good stability. if your going to buy a dell, you'd want to upgrade it, upgrade all the mother board's and hard rives etc. i learn from experience. :D

[TheNewbpowner123]

What kind of ram should i get? The stock ram is ddr2 400... Should i get ddr2 800?

And, do you think a HIS 4670 1gb videocard will work?

[31pockets]

@TheNewbpowner123 I use the case stock DDR2 4gigs in one of the 5150 and the other I upgraded to a little better brand of DDR2 and cant see the different s, I haven't put a new video card in yet but when I do it will be at least 1 gig next time in that one!

[8xlaxx]

Oh,... I did notice that the fan kicks on quite a bit with Windows 7 installed on the 5150. Not sure how yours performs but I feel the CPU is really working hard at times (100%),...especially when I download Microsoft updates and the service pack 1 for Windows 7. It was like a jet wash!

[8xlaxx]

While working on the 5150, I crashed my 8250 loading Windows 7 on it,... DO NOT LOAD WINDOWS 7 on a Dell 8250! I had 1 GB RAMBUS on it and it did load Windows, but some of the hardware would not work (speakers and internet connection). Replaced the HDD on the 8250 to 160GB and ran a clean XP install with SP3,... works great now. I like how you have and are using the older Dells still. Makes me believe that they are still serviceable. Thanks again for your video!

[31pockets]

@8xlaxx Thanks, in this 5150 video I'm running XP pro but also upgraded to windows 7 and it works great for testing HD videos on youtube, I did have some trouble with the G Force video card so I'm running on the factory card till I find one i like for now?

[8xlaxx]

@31pockets Hey. I was told that the GForce 512MB 6200 AGP should work on the 5150. They go for $45 on Amazon. I would like to take advantage of using Windows 7 Aero. What are your thoughts? Thx.

[8xlaxx]

Thank you for video! I did exactly what you said. Installed the 3.8 Ghz CPU and increased the RAM 4GB. I installed Windows 7. The 5150 had an unmountable boot volume error, so the HDD was toast. I bought a 1TB HDD & got a clean setup. Very pleased with your insight. All I need now is a video card, I guess? There was nothing else inside the desktop, so would a AGP 128MB card be OK? What other things should I look to do on this machine. It works SUPERB now!

[TheplanBpill23]

I hate that my trusty dell dimensions 4400 can't go any higher than I can get it. socket 478 seems like it went out of date the moment it was sold. There are no dual cores for that socket. I might as well save up for a top of the line costume made computer.

[31pockets]

@TheplanBpill23 dual cores are all outdated at this time and some of the quads are working their way out with the new six core PC's coming into play! I would like to get a 6 core but afford one now, for the last 9 months I have been working with the quad mods and at least the get the job done. If you pick up a new PC make sure it's a true quad core an i7 or Q series and NOT a dual core i5 stepping quad! thanks

[TheRealEricTrujillo]

I wonder if Van Halen has seen this...

[Coilaman]

Hi Mr. 31 Pockets,

I really enjoy your videos and I have a question. My sister has a Dell Dimension 5100. Does that motherboard support Pentium D 945, 3.4GHz processor. Please let me know. It's important for me.

Thank you.

[31pockets]

@Coilaman Hello and thanks, the PC in this video has had a lot of research done before this video was made, a Dell 5100 would need research done also for component upgrades first, I'm not sure on the 3.4GHz? so I hope this helps.

[in1fuckenworld]

im running a pentium d dual core 3.00 should i put in the 3.8 or should i keep it the same

[31pockets]

@in1fuckenworld, The answer is no! your 3.0GHz. dual core is already faster than the 3.8GHz., the 3.8GHz is to speed up an older single core PC. I only used the 5150 PC in the beginning to edit 720p videos for youtube

[in1fuckenworld]

@31pockets thx man i was wanting to kno also if i should up grade my psu to a 1000W in stead of a stock 500w

bacause i have extra fans running and a more powerful video card 4 my gaming

[31pockets]

@in1fuckenworld The D series 3.0GHz. dual core is way to outdated for a 1000 watt power supply! those CPU's were some of the first dual core products made and I would just have fun using it the way it is for now.

The quad core PC's are already becoming outdated with the newer 6 core units working into play for gaming now, so the used quad's are starting to get less expensive.

So I would just hold a little for now because the games keep getting more recourse hungry on the PC!

[in1fuckenworld]

@31pockets well i was running a p4 single core with a 1000 watt and i checked i can up grade this one with a bios update to put a 4 core in

[31pockets]

@in1fuckenworld I hope that works out, I like to watch PC videos so try and put it in video!

[31pockets]

@in1fuckenworld I changed my Dell XPS 400 dual core over to a quad core in the summer but, I had to put in a motherboard out of an XPS 430 with a Q8300 2.5GHz CPU.

It worked out kind of good because 400 & 430 board have the same mounting holes but the lower case cooling fan, CD drive and the on/off switch have different plugs, so I had to pick up a few things from eBay and newegg.

[31pockets]

@in1fuckenworld I have a D series 3.6GHz. dual core CPU in my Dell XPS 400 now with 4 gigs of DDR2 ram along with 512 Gforce video card and if I click on any one of my newer videos at the drag strip or on any of the hot rod 1080p uploads, the XPS 400 just can't play them smooth when you set the quality to 1080p even though it's built to the max limited, a larger power supply would not help.

[31pockets]

@in1fuckenworld Now if I use any of the quad core PC's I have here, they can play the 1080p animation in the video just like there on TV crystal clear. and I can't even think about tiring to play a game with any of the single core or dual core PC's any more, I just won the bid on a broken Dell XPS 430 quad core on eBay 2 days ago and we are going to try and put the repair in video after the first of the year if everything goes OK

[Handlez362]

What type of ram is compatible with 5150?

[nelizmastr]

you couldve put a dualcore socket 775 in there. socket 775 reached from P4 to Core2Quad.

[31pockets]

@nelizmastr I did try to run a 2.8GHz. D series out of my Dell xps400 witch is a very low level 775 socket dual core CPU that mite have worked but, the 5150 would not power up after the change and I had to switch it back. Thanks for your comment.

[JustPino23]

@nelizmastr

Nope! There isnt a proper BIOS for the 5150 that's supporting C2D or quads!

[ollie19651]

Very interesting! I just did the identical cpu upgrade on my Dimension 5000. It worked like a charm and the machine started right up. But the problem is that now the cpu fan is running at a much higher rpm level which is pretty annoying! I used arctic silver thermal paste between cpu and heat sink.

Could it be that the 3.8GHz is running at a higher temperature level triggering the fan to rev higher? Or could something be wrong with the cpu? What was your experience with the 5150? Thanks

[31pockets]

@ollie19651 The cooling fan turns on more often on mine also, to help this problem I installed a video card and four gigs of ram with 64bit windows 7, the fan will still turn on when you defrag or watch some hi level videos, but runs great for standard PC work now.

[31pockets]

@ollie19651 Thanks for the comments, I like using the 5150 but, all of the main PC's I use now for youtube editting are Dell XPS 430 Quad cores with Q9650 Intel giant 3.0Ghz x 4 CPU's using 6 gigs of ram. The 3.8Ghz 5150 was a low cost way of putting videos up on youtube in 720p HD, no other single core PC can do this, and thats what the video is about? cooling fan problem or not...

The 3.0Ghz single core CPU will just crash no matter how much ram you install, it's just to slow for HD.....

[31pockets]

@ollie19651 I picked up a water cooling kit to install on it but have not had the time to work on the 3.8Ghz or make a video update yet, I'm laid off a short time in winter each year and thats when I get into longer projects. To night the 3.8 is runnig great while sending this coment, hope this helps... thanks 31pockets

[ollie19651]

@31pockets Just put the 3.0 back in... My suspicion is that after having checked the contact pattern of the heat sink with the cpu, I believe it is too poor to dissipate the heat as required for the 3.8 while it is still ok for the 3.0. This being mitigated by high fan rpm and eventually thermal throttling which seems to accurately describe the symptoms I experience. In fact my machine appears to run smoother and faster than with the 3.8 right now . p.s. I appreciate your videos

[SidneyXda]

I have a Dell E521 ..yours is 5150 ,  i guess these are more a less the same in set up huh? i want to upgrade the CPU, RAM, graphics card..and oh the power supply ..lol

god i havent done this before ..but i have a rough idea. hopefully it will work out for me :)

[31pockets]

@SidneyXda I did a little checking and the Dell E521 generally have a AMD CPU and mother board so it looks like your out of luck for a simple upgrade, the best thing to do is check the blogs and do more research