I've never even really looked at Dell, so I haven't got the faintest idea which are desktops or which are laptops.

Are Dells a pita to upgrade?

Are the parts all proprietary or does it not matter which brands of HDDs [for example] one can install?

What is a Dell series 3000?

Thanks

Yep, Dell no longer uses names to distinguish the two. An "Inspiron" used to be a laptop, but now it can be either.
Dell Home:

• Desktops (Inspiron, Studio, Studio XPS, Alienware)
• Laptops (Mini, Inspiron, Studio, Studio XPS, Alienware, Adamo)

Dell Small Business:

• Desktops (Optiplex, Vostro, Precision, Inspiron, Studio, Studio XPS)
• Laptops (Latitude, Vostro, Precision, Inspiron, Studio, Studio XPS, Mini, Alienware, Adamo)

No, they upgrade about as easily as any other computer.
There used to be a "Dell Dimension 3000". Not sure what else you might mean.

Thanks

All Dells have a sticker on them that tells the model number.

The easiest way to find out specifically what you have is to go to the Dell technical support site. Under the hardware section, they'll have a automated browser tool you can use to analyze the system and its current components. Or, you can use the Service Tag (it will be on a label somewhere on the system) - key this in on the website and it'll pull up the hardware - including what originally came on the system and what upgrades are available through Dell (not that I would normally buy add-ons through them, though).

Dell motherboards tend to be proprietary in that Dell uses non-standard cases. On some older Dells, the ATX power supplies are non-standard (have to use an adapter to use a standard ATX power supply on those systems). Dell does tend to use pretty good quality power supplies, but they are sometimes on the small side for higher-end video cards. Otherwise, memory, hard drives, and other components are industry standard specs.

The Dimension 3000, B110 and 1100 (all relatively the same computer) used to be my favorite system. I bought and sold dozens of them. I have many clients with these systems that are 7 years old and still run very well.....after a hard drive replacement and additional RAM to handle the requirements of newer programs.

If you get one of these I recommend taking the side and front panels off (very easy to do) and clean out all the dust. Lots of dust can accumulate behind the front panel. I also recommend cleaning the dust from the fans, rear vent and power supply. Take it outside with a can of compressed air. If the front panel is full of dust you can run it under water to clean it. It's just plastic. Of course, make sure it's completely dry before putting it back on

Thanks for the advice everyone

I drag all of my computers outside 2-3 times a year to dust them, always amazed at the amount that accumulates inside. Probably should be done more frequently but it's such a pita. Learned long ago to use at least 6 cans of air and rotate them as they start to freeze. Worst is when I forget to do it in early fall and end up freezing my fingers off blasting away in winter. You cannot clean a computer with heavy gloves on.

The best thing I've found for blowing out a computer is a cheapo air compressor with an air nozzle - it will make very short work removing the dust from virtually any computer. You just always want to make sure to empty the air tank after each use to let out any water accumulation that may have settled in the tank or to use a water filter on the air hose.

The only thing you really have to watch out for is to be careful not to break off a fan blade - you can easily get them turning so fast that if you accidentally stop them they'll shatter. I did it once on a Dimension E510 by accident and the fan literally exploded all over the inside of the computer.

I decided to take a chance & bought the used Dell, but won't touch it until after I blow a super thick layer of dust out of it tomorrow.

I've always used AMD, I'm in the dark about Intel. I looked up the service tag at the Dell site & it said the CPU is:
Processor,80546,2.8,1M,Pentium4 Prescott Dt,533,E0

I'm guessing it's a Pentium 4, a Prescott core (?) and runs at 2.8Ghz? I'm clueless what the rest of that line means. Can anyone please clue me in on what the rest of that line means?

Thanks

Sounds like you have most of it right. Pentium 4 2.8 MHZ 1MB cache (which does make it a prescott core chip), 533MHZ front side bus, probably stepping E0.

All this data is about the CPU. It should at least support hyperthreading in the BIOS, which helps with performance a little.

Was the system a Dimension 3000 based upon the service tag?

Yes, a Dimension 3000, shipped 3/8/2005.

The previous owner [a non-geek kid] had installed a 2nd stick of 512mb memory to bring it up to 1g. He also had installed some kind of gaming video card, but I'll know more once I dust it & attach a monitor,etc.

Depending upon what it is going to be used for, 1GB of memory may be plenty with WinXP. If you decide to upgrade, you'll need to get PC2700 or PC3200 modules (184 pin DDR modules in DIMM format) - it only has two memory slots, so you'll have to replace both modules if you want to get to the max memory supported of 2GB.

If you have any problems installing a more modern hard drive, you might want to look at what BIOS is installed as it is probably way out of date.

Prescott CPUs tended to run hot, and Dell used a special proprietary CPU cover shroud that served as a heat tube to route the hot air outside the back of the case. If the CPU has a shroud, make sure to open the hood up (it unclips and folds open) and check the heatsink to make sure it is not filled up with dust.

Here is a link to the service documentation:

Dimension 3000 Systems Service Manual

Thank you!!!

IIRC, those 2.8GHz P4's were actually fairly quiet machines. Should be pretty nice, as long as that gaming video card doesn't have a loud fan.

Yeah, they aren't very noisy. However, due to age and dust, the fans can get a bit loud. There are really only 2 fans (unless someone added an additional fan or two afterwards). There's one case fan on the back and a fan in the power supply.

I have one 3000 that I use as a test system. Case fan is shot and sounds like a moped when started, but quiets down after 5 minutes of running. I've been too lazy to replace it

Since there is an aftermarket video card installed, see if the seller still have the CD with the drivers. Otherwise, there is the manufacturer and 3rd parties web sites that usually have the software to download. Updating the OS and finding video drivers for the card could mean going back to the onboard chip or buying a cheap more modern video card.

After an aggravating night thinking I was hosed by a kid & bought a doorstop, I discovered it was pebcac. Duh! I had plugged my monitor into the motherboard instead of the installed graphic card.



Just had to clean off the contextual tool snappy ads, search assistant mysidesearch, & loudmo contextual ad assistant malware, and a bunch of downloaded music & video files.



After more than 15 years of AMD only, I'm shocked at how quietly Intel runs, I can barely hear it.

The kid installed an ATI Radeon Visiontek x1300 256mb video card, which is overkill for my needs so I certainly got my money's worth. I love craigslist.


Thank you all for your assistance.

I strongly recommend reinstalling Windows. YGPM

Will do.