Ok. Here is my sob story...

I bought a Dell. Yea, I know. Anyway I bought the XPS 600. P4 3.2 gig. I worked pretty well for a couple years, but it recently started to show its age.

Being that I am still learning about computers (more and more each day, and trying to absorb as much as I can), I figured that I could do an effective upgrade by doing the following things
1. I went from 2 to 8gigs of RAM. I know its more than I need but it was a good price from Crucial, so wth.
2. I went from XP 32 to Vista 64.
3. I bought a evga Geforce 9800 GTX.

I figured this would work well, but soon discovered that my game that I was playing was only getting about 14 FPS.
Come to find out I am bottlenecked.. imagine my surprise...
So I figure out that Im going to need a new Processor and because the XPS Motherboard is a piece of crap, a new motherboard as well..
Here is an inside view of the case
http://support.dell.com/support/ed [...] #wp1052309

I really like the shape of the XPS case though and I do not know if the case itself is will my case accept an ATX Board? Im already getting dirty looks from the wife for spending what I have, and If I can avoid spending another 100 dollars on top of the 600+ Ive spent already it would make my life a little easier.

Also, any suggestions about a motherboard and processor? I was leaning toward
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813127030
and
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115037

Thanks in advance.. I appreciate your advice.
(And I realize im a clueless noob)

Im suprised that the PSU in the XPS dell is keeping your 9800GTX afloat, usually dell will put the absolute minimum PSU for the rig possible to save money.

Mobo if you trying to save money you should look at something like this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6813128059

As for the case i think youll find the mobo isnt screwed in like a conventional board would be and more than likely the case wont support a normal ATX board, further more the power, reset buttons and front USB on dells are usually a proprietry connector that will cause you more problems. I think you should be looking for a cheap case as well.

Something like this will offer you a nice case along with more than likely a better PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811129037

However, may need to check if the length of the 9800gtx will be an issue in it

although the link for the dell site isnt working. Most XPS machines run the fantasticly pointless BTX form factor... If your CPU is vertically central and towards the front of the case you have BTX. If you have CPU at the bottom and gfx at the top (looking in from the right hand side of the case) you have an upside down ATX. If your looking in from the left hand side and the cpu is at the top and gfx at the bottom you have standard ATX. For either of the last 2 it is a standard ATX board. In the upside down configuration they just mount the motherboard on the other side of the case upside down. this gives the heat from the gfx card somewhere to go to and generally provides a good cooling advantage..


Although dell can be a pain in the ass, these are the 3 usual configurations.

As for your components, the Abit board is fantastic and i would favour it over the gigabyte as it has cooled VRMs.

CPU is awesome, I would also suggest the freezer 7 pro cooler... its cheap and its great for overclocking.

The case (antec sonata) that has been mentioned comes with a very good psu and is a great price. However in the XPS machines you might find Dell have given you a nice PSU (they usually do in the higher models) I would recommend posting the information from the side of it (amperage on each rail). That way we can have a look and pass judgement..

As for the wife, can you afford some scented candles and bath salts?? Give them to her, send her for a nice relaxing bath and play your games whilst shes doing it... hell you might even get something in return, but don't get your hopes up

I have a Dell XPS 600 (now a newer 630) and while a standard motherboard should fit, it will be a lot of hastle getting it out with their crappy cpu fan and if you replace the motherboard you're gonna have a hell of a time getting the front led lights to change color (or even work). I would look around and try to find a new case and if the psu in the new case was junky use the xps case psu.

Don't forget to budget for a new operating system. At least, your original XP will not work as it will be tied to your original mobo.

He's got a 650 watt 42 amp psu, a little lite on the +12v by today's standards, but still enough power..

hey mammal, I'm in the exact same boat as you. I have an xps 600 with a cruddy mobo/cpu. If what they say is true then it's an xps 600 with an atx design....my mobo is in the upper left and the gfx card is below it. I found this mobo in a newegg add the other day and was trying to get the same answer as you are...will the dang thing fit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] _-13127049
If it does then its a smoking deal and would prolly be nice with the E8400. I'm snagging up a 8800gt to replace my ati 1900xtx and hopping these 3 "minor" upgrades are all just plug and play. Well heres wishing goodluck to both of us. O btw which game are you referring to getting 14 fps?

Same scenario as the above folks and a XPS 600, with a minor difference. My mobo is fried lol.

So i'm looking for a replacement trying frantically to figure out if the PSU is proprietary.
I've got 2 power connections on the DELL motherboard (24pin and 10pin)

I'm not seeing motherboards out there with a 10pin power connection. So if this one is ignored then is the 24pin power connection standard? and will it work on a regular ATX motherboard.

I'm also not seeing any slots for the front panel board to be connected for the power button and leds to function. Will these need to be replaced?

hopefully someone has an answer lol

Hey guys. I know I'm 6 months past this thread but I have the same problem... a dead xps600 mobo or processor. Can I ask what mobo anyone has used (and loves) with the XPS case? Or what mobo/case/processor/ps combo you switched to that you. Thanks.