Dell Dimension 2300 project, first time mod.

This is lookin' soo good ..

I wish you'd go ahead and mod the hell out of that case.

You can't stop now :p
 
Dude! You got a dell!

Ok, I had to do it. Your pc looks like its coming along rather nicely. And BTW, that one guy that said -5v and 5v makes 5v is nuts. It makes 10v as you suspected. I would reccommend getting a fan controller for your floppy bay. Are your side panels blowing air out of the case? Don't do that, have it blow into the case, and have the rear suck it out! And also foxconn pretty much makes every usb connector ever used in the world, including the ones on Compaq mobos, MSI mobos, Foxconn mobos (well duh) ,USB Hubs, etc.
 
atom said:
Dude! You got a dell!

Ok, I had to do it. Your pc looks like its coming along rather nicely. And BTW, that one guy that said -5v and 5v makes 5v is nuts. It makes 10v as you suspected. I would reccommend getting a fan controller for your floppy bay. Are your side panels blowing air out of the case? Don't do that, have it blow into the case, and have the rear suck it out! And also foxconn pretty much makes every usb connector ever used in the world, including the ones on Compaq mobos, MSI mobos, Foxconn mobos (well duh) ,USB Hubs, etc.
Click to expand...

I've thought about a fan controller, maybe sometime... My side fan is blowing in, at the cpu, so it's ok. The back fans are blowing out, and the front fan is pulling in. I think that's all right.

Thanks for all the complements everyone. It runs cool now. It used to idle at 40-44C, now it idles at 25-30C OC'ed. And about 40C load. I'm running at 2.4ghz now(133fsb), was at 2.61, but I kept getting bsods even though it'd pass p95 for hours. Maybe since I repair installed my oem windows(dell), it's screwed up and the bsods are from windows being messed up.
 
Well part 2 is basically finished. Here's the final product.
finished.jpg


I may eventually paint the whole thing black, so check back in a few months.
 
Well, now I've started phase 3, which is painting the whole case. It didn't look too bad with the side panel slightly mismatched, but I did get quite a few scrates on the other side while working on it, so I decided to paint the whole thing flat black. I've sanded and primed the top and the rest of the side that has the side panel in. Hopefully the end result looks good. Any suggestions?
 
altec said:
You didn't take the parts out. :eek:
Click to expand...

Did I break the unofficial modders code by doing that. lol
Well, it's done, and it still works. The only thing is the paint still doesn't match the side panel exactly, even though it's the same brand and color of paint(same color code too). The case itself is more flat, while the side it semi-glossy. Should I just gloss coat the rest of the case, or gloss coat everything, or let it alone. Any thoughts?
 
Silversierra said:
Did I break the unofficial modders code by doing that. lol
Well, it's done, and it still works. The only thing is the paint still doesn't match the side panel exactly, even though it's the same brand and color of paint(same color code too). The case itself is more flat, while the side it semi-glossy. Should I just gloss coat the rest of the case, or gloss coat everything, or let it alone. Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

Wait for it to cure and then make your decision. That's probably why it looks glossy.
 
I would have worried about overspray, but I guess you have balls kid. My parents have that same model and I've sleeved up the wires and it is very clean looking inside.
 
What you should do after it cures is paint it ... get metalcast ground coat .. it's sparkly silver .. gut out nice shapes out of paper .. stick on the case .. paint it silver .. and then clear coat it with like 10 light coats .. That thing should make anyone love it ..

A nice design would be either the Dell sign or a spiral ...
 
Ok, here's the dried final product. Sorry about the blurry pics. As you can see, the case it self still doesn't match the side panel. Why can't paint be the same when it says it's the same thing? :(

sideview.jpg

finishedpainting.jpg


What did you mean by a dell sign or spiral, I'm not understanding what you're saying. Do you want me to paint dell signs on it in silver paint? Ugh! I'm trying to de-dellify it, so that's out. Now it doesn't say dell anywhere, except the win xp sticker code thing.
 
Looking good, but IMO you should do something to the front, and then maybe paint the whole thing at the same time to make sure you get the right colour.
 
Silversierra said:
Ok, here's the dried final product. Sorry about the blurry pics. As you can see, the case it self still doesn't match the side panel. Why can't paint be the same when it says it's the same thing? :(

What did you mean by a dell sign or spiral, I'm not understanding what you're saying. Do you want me to paint dell signs on it in silver paint? Ugh! I'm trying to de-dellify it, so that's out. Now it doesn't say dell anywhere, except the win xp sticker code thing.
Click to expand...

I meant just using a silver paint paint over it ... doesn't matter what you paint just some type of design .. or just leave it black ..

Looks good though. Don't know about the different blacks though .. did you shake the can well ?
 
Lol, yeah, I shook the can for a long time. I think gloss coating it will help it match. I guess I'll paint it sometime with the gloss.
 
Fantastic job! I love it.Looks beutiful!
I've been trying to get my buddy to mod his 2300 for 2 years.Best I could do was get him to install a pci slot blower lol.
 
aquaragia said:
Fantastic job! I love it.Looks beutiful!
I've been trying to get my buddy to mod his 2300 for 2 years.Best I could do was get him to install a pci slot blower lol.
Click to expand...

Maybe you can refer him to the thread and show him the results. :)
 
you did a really good job modding this dell, props for moving getting a motherboard into a propietory case which can be hard. we've got pretty much have the same cases except some differences in the side panel. nice mod man.
 
The system has been running well so far. I had to disconnect the front fan because I think it's internal fan controller went haywire. It will speed up/slow down whenever, and it makes a lot of noise on high speed. I guess I'll replace it, I can't tell if it's 90mm or 92mm.(2mm isn't much difference).

I have a 2.4ghz prescott 533fsb no ht cpu coming today for this rig. I'm hoping it's a good oc'er.
http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=NjAz
The 533fsb gives my pc3200 ram oc'ing headroom.
 
Hinokagutsuchi said:
Hello, gentlemen.
Click to expand...
What a worthless post. Was that just to increase your postcount?

Anyway... on to the real stuff...

Only some Dell mobos/PSU's are proprietary. Most of their systems I've seen in the last 1-2 years have been standard. I know for sure some of the socket 370 systems used PSUs with different pinouts for their "ATX" mobo power connectors.

I like how you moved the hdd. Your cuts looks pretty clean. The airflow is surely improved with your mods.

Your silver duct looked pretty sweet. Did you get to keep it after installing the new HSF?

It's overall a nice mod, perhaps a bit understated though. I think you go for the side window, put that duct in there, and hide/tidy any cabling.

Overall, good clean looking results.
 
i got a few questions for Silversierra

i myself have a dell 4600 and i pretty sure that the case is simillar so i was wondering if you had any problems installing the gigabyte motherboard. and did you also change the PSU?

because myself i want to replace the mobo so i saw this thread and i wanted to know if i can

thanks
 
swatX said:
i got a few questions for Silversierra

i myself have a dell 4600 and i pretty sure that the case is simillar so i was wondering if you had any problems installing the gigabyte motherboard. and did you also change the PSU?

because myself i want to replace the mobo so i saw this thread and i wanted to know if i can

thanks
Click to expand...
The psu is easy to change, I put in a Thermaltake PurePower 420w in my 4600. I don't know about the mobo though.
 
the mobo is really tricky on any Dell system because all their mounting positions etc are propietory are irregular to mobo standards.
 
beginnermodder213 said:
the mobo is really tricky on any Dell system because all their mounting positions etc are propietory are irregular to mobo standards.
Click to expand...


yea but i wonder how Silversierra did it. any info would be appreciated
 
Wow, I did not know that he put in a new mobo! From the way it sounds, a micro atx board was exactly the same as the dell mobo! :D I will have to look at this myself!
 
Hello all again.

Yeah, I just got a standard matx board and replaced the dell board, it fit perfect. I replaced the psu(but you wouldn't have to) with an antec sl350 psu.
The only problem was the front usb connector was proprietary, so I removed it, put mesh in it's place and made the case have more airflow:).

The asus p4s800mx would work, I got the gigabyte 8IG1000MK, because it has oc'ing options(the board has pci/agp lock, fsb adjustment, ram adjustment, but no voltage adjustment)(I wasn't sure about the asus), and it has 4 memory slots(nice for expansion).
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128222

I no longer have the "duct" it didn't fit over the aftermarket cooler.

Man, I see why people say prescott is hot, the new cpu I got runs hot. It's at 55C load, and 45C idle, that's about 5-10C hotter than my northwood oc'ed. I got my 2.4 prescott to 2.7ghz stable, too bad, I was hoping for 3ghz, but still it's an ok cpu.
 
Silversierra said:
The system has been running well so far. I had to disconnect the front fan because I think it's internal fan controller went haywire. It will speed up/slow down whenever, and it makes a lot of noise on high speed. I guess I'll replace it, I can't tell if it's 90mm or 92mm.(2mm isn't much difference).

I have a 2.4ghz prescott 533fsb no ht cpu coming today for this rig. I'm hoping it's a good oc'er.
http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=NjAz
The 533fsb gives my pc3200 ram oc'ing headroom.
Click to expand...


all 90/92mm fans are the same. IDK why the hell people refer to them differantly though.
 
Silversierra said:
Hello all again.

Yeah, I just got a standard matx board and replaced the dell board, it fit perfect. I replaced the psu(but you wouldn't have to) with an antec sl350 psu.
The only problem was the front usb connector was proprietary, so I removed it, put mesh in it's place and made the case have more airflow:).

The asus p4s800mx would work, I got the gigabyte 8IG1000MK, because it has oc'ing options(the board has pci/agp lock, fsb adjustment, ram adjustment, but no voltage adjustment)(I wasn't sure about the asus), and it has 4 memory slots(nice for expansion).
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128222

I no longer have the "duct" it didn't fit over the aftermarket cooler.

Man, I see why people say prescott is hot, the new cpu I got runs hot. It's at 55C load, and 45C idle, that's about 5-10C hotter than my northwood oc'ed. I got my 2.4 prescott to 2.7ghz stable, too bad, I was hoping for 3ghz, but still it's an ok cpu.
Click to expand...

how much did it cost you for the parts excluding the CPU
 
Hmm. Price?
Ok I got the gigabyte mobo, about $85
I got 3 $8 fans, so $24
I got 3 round cables, $20
Leadtek a6200td card, $105

Total $234

I also had previously replaced the psu with an antec sl350($50 list), that came with my 1650b case.
I had the 2x256mb of ram already (list $45)
I got the new cpu for $120.

Total + previous $449
Shew, didn't realize I'd spent that much. Oh well, it's a decent computer now.

Here's a pic for you of my new cpu oc'ed, my 6200 unlocked, and it passing prime 95.
 
Speaking of the 6200, I'm having issues with it. It suddenly has started running very hot(ever since the new cpu install). It idles at 70C and load temps go above 100C, which is scary.

What can I do? I must have dislodged the heatsink while working on installing the cpu, I don't know what else could have caused it. It formerly ran hot, but only about 55C load, which is reasonable, but still a little hot.

I have already tried "relocking" it to a 6200(instead of 8 pipes, 4 pipes), and running the clocks back to stock but it still idles really hot. I noticed it also gets artifacts when it gets above 100C, which I'm hoping to not do again. :(.

Do I need a new cooler, or just reapply the hsf?

Also, my 6200 wouldn't oc much, only to about 350 core, and 600 memory(550 stock mem. on leadtek). A real "banshee" huh?

Any help greatly appreciated. I'm glad I had a high temp alarm, or I mightn't have noticed the high temps.
 
Yes, my 6200 has a fan. And yes the fan is spinning to answer your next question.

I took the card out, looked at the hsf, and don't see anything wrong. It's on very tight, and appears to have a thermal pad under it, definitely no air space from what I can see. The heatsink it springloaded with strong springs and seems to have a good bit of pressure, I don't think anything else could make a gpu heat problem besides the hsf, could it?

I haven't checked the gpu temp since I got it, which was when it was cooler outside, maybe it just runs hot?
 
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