Upgrade Vostro 2000

alowe

1. What is your budget? €500/600 max

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? Streaming, possible 3D programs, work from home, use by kids, Probable programming not sure what language yet.

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? Yes

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? Have Vostro 200 can use all parts from it, including chassis, powersupply. Will need to get ssd though.

5. Do you need a monitor? No

5a. If yes, what size do you need. [19'/20'/22'/24'/etc.]

5b. If no, what resolution is your current monitor and do you plan to upgrade in the near future? 1920x1080 basic dell - vga cable only. Need hdmi outlet for tv, and vga for monitor please.

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? bluetooth Mouse, Wireless Card

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? No

8. How can you pay? [Bank Transfer/Credit Card/Laser]

9. When are you purchasing? asap

alowe

So ive figured out that there is obviously no upgrading of the vostro (was hoping I could perhaps use the case or power supply, but happy to not.). So for a new build.... I took this from a different thread (the father son building a game PC)
-
https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/vpBLvW

Its minus the monitor that the user wanted. Is this good for streaming movies from pc to our tv via hdmi cable? and also does it have a vga port for my monitor? I'm happy to spend an extra €100 if its worthwhile to improve, or is this spec overkill? Its unlikely that any actual PC games will be played on it, but it will be used for learning solidworks. I do want to add more SATA drives that I have to it for storage of photos, videos, etc, so presume they will be compatible? Also, does this have wifi / bluetooth compatibility or do I need to purchase a card for that?

My other alternative is to buy a dell in the outlet store (which may be better for me in the long run, although I did build a PC with parts recommended her over 7 years ago, and its still going strong).

The dell pc is - Intel Core 9th Generation i5-9400 Processor (6 Core, Up to 4.10GHz, 9MB Cache, 65W)
Windows 10 Home, 8GB (1x8GB) 2666MHz DDR4 UDIMM Non-ECC, 1TB 3.5inch SATA Hard Drive (7200 RPM), 256GB PCIe M.2 NVMe Class 35 Solid State Drive, 8x DVD+/-RW, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 4GB GDDR5, Dell Wireless 1707 Card (802.11BGN + Bluetooth 4.0, 2.4 GHz)

Many thanks for pointing me in the right direction...... :-)

K.O.Kiki

Forgot about this thread.

Please note that for your above build, the Ryzen 3100 does not have integrated graphics.
Something like this should work:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Alpine AM4 CPU Cooler (£11.61 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: ASRock B550M-HDV Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard (£79.48 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory (£54.98 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: ADATA XPG SX6000 Pro 512 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive (£58.23 @ CCL Computers)
Case: GameMax Kamikaze PRO MicroATX Mini Tower Case (£59.99 @ CCL Computers)
Power Supply: be quiet! Pure Power 11 300 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (£42.95 @ Amazon UK)
Custom: AMD Ryzen 3 Pro 4350G (£162.00)
Total: £469.24
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-09-11 17:22 BST+0100

CPU found on Elara - they also have the 6core/12thread Ryzen 5 4650G Pro for an extra 77eur.
Can also step-up motherboard to MSI B550M Pro-VDH WIFI if you want integrated Bluetooth/Wi-Fi.

Samuel T. Cogley

I think you could tone down the case a bit to save a few quid.
This Fenvi card has done me for wifi and bluetooth

Where would one source that APU? Would the included cooler be as good as the Alpine?

alowe

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Alpine AM4 CPU Cooler (£11.61 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: ASRock B550M-HDV Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard (£79.48 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory (£54.98 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: ADATA XPG SX6000 Pro 512 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive (£58.23 @ CCL Computers)
Case: GameMax Kamikaze PRO MicroATX Mini Tower Case (£59.99 @ CCL Computers)
Power Supply: be quiet! Pure Power 11 300 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (£42.95 @ Amazon UK)
Custom: AMD Ryzen 3 Pro 4350G (£162.00)
Total: £469.24
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-09-11 17:22 BST+0100

CPU found on Elara - they also have the 6core/12thread Ryzen 5 4650G Pro for an extra 77eur.
Can also step-up motherboard to MSI B550M Pro-VDH WIFI if you want integrated Bluetooth/Wi-Fi.

Thanks for this .... so if I can keep the vostro going for a couple of weeks, the above might come down in price? Probably a silly question - but any ideas on a rough amount???

I'll go for the better CPU, but stick with same motherboard, and just get a card. I actually don't need wifi as will have a lan, and it needs to be where it is due to hdmi cable to tv. But I do want bluetooth :-)

Thanks a million for the guidance. This look a lot better value than the dell.

K.O.Kiki

Samuel T. Cogley wrote: »

I think you could tone down the case a bit to save a few quid.
This Fenvi card has done me for wifi and bluetooth

Where would one source that APU? Would the included cooler be as good as the Alpine?

I found it via Google on Elara - https://www.elara.ie/productdetail.aspx?productcode=ECE5782361

I don't think it comes with a cooler as it's an OEM part so added the Arctic which should be good enough - though for 20GBP the Arctic Freezer 13X would be even better.

alowe wrote: »

Thanks for this .... so if I can keep the vostro going for a couple of weeks, the above might come down in price? Probably a silly question - but any ideas on a rough amount???

I'll go for the better CPU, but stick with same motherboard, and just get a card. I actually don't need wifi as will have a lan, and it needs to be where it is due to hdmi cable to tv. But I do want bluetooth :-)

Thanks a million for the guidance. This look a lot better value than the dell.

They won't come down in price as the 4000G series only released in July.

alowe

So going to finally bite the bullet today.... some of the items weren't available from amazon, so would someone mind confirming these items will all work nicely together? My main question would be the power supply - I couldn't get any bequiet pure power ones. I've also added a 2tb sata for storage of videos, pictures, etc.


Seagate 2 TB BarraCuda 3.5 Inch Internal Hard Drive (7200 RPM, 256 MB Cache, SATA 6 Gb/s, Up to 220 MB/s, Model: ST2000DM008) £55.58
be quiet! System Power 9 400W CM, modular, 80 PLUS Bronze, power supply £49.99
ADATA XPG SX6000 Pro 512GB M.2 Gaming Solid State Drive (SSD), black £62.99
GameMax Kamikaze Pro ARGB PC Gaming Case, MATX, 4 x 120mm Dual-Ring Halo ARGB Fans Included, ARGB Hub, Integrated Fan Controller, Full Tempered Glass Side Panel Included, Water-Cooling Ready | Black £59.99
MSI B550M PRO-VDH WIFI Motherboard mATX, AM4, DDR4, M.2, LAN, Wi-FI, USB 3.2 Gen1, Front Type-C, HDMI, DisplayPort, AMD RYZEN 3000 3rd Generation £109.99
Corsair CMK16GX4M2B3200C16 Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4 3200 MHz C16 XMP 2.0 High Performance Desktop Memory Kit, Black £54.99
ARCTIC Freezer i13x - 200 Watt Multicompatible Low Noise CPU Cooler for AMD and Intel Sockets with pre-applied MX-4 High Performance Thermal Compound £24.99
AMD Ryzen 5 Pro 4650G - 3.7 GHz - 6-core - 12 threads - 8 MB cache - Socket AM4 - OEM €253.35

I've gone over my budget, but looks like a good machine to me that should last a bit.....

Thanks again for the help :-)

Samuel T. Cogley

500w Seasonic Unit - Non modular so you'll have to do a bit of cable management.

alowe

Samuel T. Cogley wrote: »

500w Seasonic Unit - Non modular so you'll have to do a bit of cable management.

Great thanks - and everything else good to go :-)

alowe

So when I goto buy, the power supply is oos, and i'm not sure what other one to get? Also, the memory isn't available for a week after the rest of the components.

Is there anything wrong with this memory?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-CMK16GX4M2D3000C16-Vengeance-Performance-Desktop/dp/B07B2Y1N8B/ref=pd_sbs_147_3/262-5830942-6777655?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B07B2Y1N8B&pd_rd_r=46225c24-7273-4e2f-8277-13f646ef7db0&pd_rd_w=5tHoj&pd_rd_wg=10qDU&pf_rd_p=ab0f8dce-7f41-4f1b-a486-fa30b5d29eaa&pf_rd_r=TGXRRH5S1Y1HZKZ9AXQ4&psc=1&refRID=TGXRRH5S1Y1HZKZ9AXQ4

And any other suggestions for power supply? Can even buy all elara as i'm getting the chip there...

many thanks again... Everything else apart from above should be here next wednesday :-)

Samuel T. Cogley

The memory is slower so I wouldn't be a fan. Ryzen likes fast memory. This kit is the one I have (two of for 32GB) and I think it works well. I'm not sure if it's on the list for your motherboard with that CPU though so I'd buy from Amazon as they have great returns if it won't run at the faster speeds.

Bequiet Unit but it's pricy. Might be worth waiting on some other opinions.

alowe

Samuel T. Cogley wrote: »

The memory is slower so I wouldn't be a fan. Ryzen likes fast memory. This kit is the one I have (two of for 32GB) and I think it works well. I'm not sure if it's on the list for your motherboard with that CPU though so I'd buy from Amazon as they have great returns if it won't run at the faster speeds.

Bequiet Unit but it's pricy. Might be worth waiting on some other opinions.

Just checked it on pc part picker and its there, so going to get that before it disappears! thanks.

Samuel T. Cogley

PSUs are a bugger to get at the moment.

alowe

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-CP-9020095-UK-VS350-Power-Supply/dp/B009X1KGXS/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=corsair+vs350&qid=1600442008&sr=8-1

Is available and can get to me next week! Its the one I have on my current build from 7 years ago.... and pcpartspicker says its compatible - so I take it its a runner????

Samuel T. Cogley

The PSU Tier List suggests those are dangerous.

Samuel T. Cogley

Newer version that would be the not great, not terrible meme.

alowe

PURE POWER 11 400W 80PLUS GOLD POWER SUPPLY (BN292)
This one is available on Elara for €65, not a million miles off the original priced one. Better than the cosair?

alowe

alowe wrote: »

PURE POWER 11 400W 80PLUS GOLD POWER SUPPLY (BN292)
This one is available on Elara for €65, not a million miles off the original priced one. Better than the cosair?

Scrap thats - there's an extra €10 nearly on delivery so it'd be €75 :-(

alowe

Right i'm done .... got the original psu from a different supplier on amazon - but still supplied by amazon.

Thank you so much for your help - now the fun of building next weekend fingers crossed :-)

alowe

So as I don't destroy my new pc ... could I have a bit of advice please. I have the cpu in place - i'm looking to put the cooler on. On the youtube installation, it shows firstly screws I don't have - the screws I have, which are nearly identical, are described as the intel mounting set on the side of the box. It also shows an intel steel backplate. I checked amazon, and it does say its compatible with amd... when I connect as per my initial youtube video, I screw in either side of the cooler - but i'm wondering, how close should it go to the cpu? Should it touch? Should I have thermal paste if it touches?

Ah ... I'm just looking at the side of the box - it says socket compatibility Intel 1200,115x. But it definately says on amazon amd.... help!

alowe

Pics

BloodBath

Just follow the instructions.

The thermal paste is already pre applied to the base of the cooler.

There's an installation video here too.

It should be reasonably tight on the cpu without putting too much pressure on it.

alowe

BloodBath wrote: »

Just follow the instructions.

The thermal paste is already pre applied to the base of the cooler.

There's an installation video here too.

It should be reasonably tight on the cpu without putting too much pressure on it.

Ok, so its allowed touch the cpu. I saw that video, but one issue is that the screws it shows with a line on them isn't what came - my ones, while look same size, don't have that line to indicate up or down - and when screwed in, they're loose. There's enough thread to keep in place, but they wobble. Also, when I screw in the heatsink, there are springs covering the screw, which leads me to wonder do I tighten as much as possible, or leave them with a bit of give. I'll give it a go later this morning....

Question - if the heatsink is touching the cpu too much, or not enough - what damage can be done?

alowe

Ok think I've figured my fear. This is the base plate at the back of the motherboard. It is loose - so when I connect the heatsink or screws, it doesn't lock in place - so the heatsink can be against the CPU, but when I lift the motherboard the backplate can come away. I've put the fan on, but it can definitely move or rather rock slightly, and is not tight in place. Is this ok? The thermal paste is transferring now too.

Samuel T. Cogley

It should be a pretty snug fit with significant pressure on the CPU. It's difficult to quantify in text.

accensi0n

What did you mean when you said you found out that there's no upgrading of the vostro?
Is it a dell vostro 200 mini tower?
That's what I currently have and use it for streaming and playing lower spec games. Have done a bunch of upgrades over the years and disn't need a new PSU.

Probably better off putting something newer together regardless though.

BloodBath

alowe wrote: »

Ok think I've figured my fear. This is the base plate at the back of the motherboard. It is loose - so when I connect the heatsink or screws, it doesn't lock in place - so the heatsink can be against the CPU, but when I lift the motherboard the backplate can come away. I've put the fan on, but it can definitely move or rather rock slightly, and is not tight in place. Is this ok? The thermal paste is transferring now too.

It shouldn't be loose at all once you have the screws in. Did you make sure you used the right screws. Sometimes the coolers have different ones for Intel or AMD.

The cooler should be tight on the cpu with no give as well. The springs should help stop you overtightening them.

Poor contact will give higher temperatures, really poor contact could lead to the cpu throttling lowering performance from overheating.

Too much pressure could damage something but you would really have to crank it to do that.

K.O.Kiki

I installed the same cooler on my friend's new machine the other night.

Just hold the motherboard vertically & push the backplate in, so that the cooler's screws can reach the bracket's holes.

Then alternate screwing each side by half a turn (i.e. don't over-tighten 1 side before doing the other).

alowe

Firstly - thank you for all your help. Honestly, I didn't think this was going to take me so long ... last build I did was 7 years ago, but it felt a lot easier!

Ok, so I connected up as much as could - got the case sorted - successfully managed to figure out where the leads go (haven't worked out where to put my sata hard drive, but thats a side issue!). I have connected the fan - firstly, I reckon I had the actual fan the wrong direction, so turned it around - have the actual fan on the same side as the ram. Part of the thermal paste has obviously now transferred between the two. When I put the case on its side though, the back bracket for that fan is loose at the top. There were only one set of screws to use, I didn't use the black backplate it came with, as this was for an intel chip (and to be honest, couldn't figure out where it would go anyway.)

Should I take it apart, and really ensure that the heatsink is snug to the cpu? Even though no power has been switched on, do I need to get some thermal paste - clean whats there and reput on? If I leave as is, maybe it is right ... and if I turned on, could I check that cpu throttling as you said above? Or is this not worth the risk with my nice €250 chip!

alowe

Did I get sent the wrong cooler? On Amazon it was for amd and intel - my box only says Intel, and screws only fit perfectly on the intel base plate!

If I return, get the proper one....should I clean the thermal paste off cpu and could someone recommend a paste?

Samuel T. Cogley

That certainly looks like it might be Intel only.

Edit Yep that one is Intel Only its the A13 X which is AMD.

I take it the CPU didn't come with a cooler?

Samuel T. Cogley

Return it, use some rubbing (small amount) alcohol to clean off the thermnal paste. The new one will come with thermal paste applied.

alowe

Yip, got onto amazon, and got refund. However .... its 2-4 weeks for a new one to be dispatched! So, on the hunt for a different cooler please?

No, cpu didn't come with cooler - this is probably why my previous install years ago was easier, as it was literally a click and push :-)

Samuel T. Cogley

alowe wrote: »

Yip, got onto amazon, and got refund. However .... its 2-4 weeks for a new one to be dispatched! So, on the hunt for a different cooler please?

No, cpu didn't come with cooler - this is probably why my previous install years ago was easier, as it was literally a click and push :-)

If you're anywhere near Dublin 5 or Harcourt St I think I've a stock AMD cooler if you want it.

alowe

Samuel T. Cogley wrote: »

If you're anywhere near Dublin 5 or Harcourt St I think I've a stock AMD cooler if you want it.

Thanks, but I don't mind waiting for one.

So question again ... choice of Arctic Freezer A13 X (which is supposedly compatible with amd) - arrive next week,

Or Arctic Freezer 34 (arrive week after)
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07MFVG2BY/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?smid=A17AS5ETPMZ9A1&psc=1

What is the benefit of one over the other in realistic terms if not overclocking. Will the cheaper one do just as good a job for the next few years and not risk any issues?

Samuel T. Cogley

alowe wrote: »

Thanks, but I don't mind waiting for one.

So question again ... choice of Arctic Freezer A13 X (which is supposedly compatible with amd) - arrive next week,

Or Arctic Freezer 34 (arrive week after)
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07MFVG2BY/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?smid=A17AS5ETPMZ9A1&psc=1

What is the benefit of one over the other in realistic terms if not overclocking. Will the cheaper one do just as good a job for the next few years and not risk any issues?

I think the a13x is just the AMD one of the one you have so should be grand.

alowe

Ok scratch below - got monitor working, but its very tempermental ... it keeps restarting (goes to no signal, then goes back and shows me the motherboard). Do I need to flash a bios? Everytime I touch something, the screen goes then back (it is properly screwed in). I have mouse and keyboard in, and usb with windows on it.

Any help ... again ... greatly appreciated :-)

"So I got my new fan, and have it installed. Connected up all i could, turned on, and got fans and lights .... but nothing to monitor. I couldn't find anywhere for the power vga cable? (does it need this, as i'll be using the onboard graphics). As I don't have a CD drive, do I need something to install the drivers that came on a cd with the motherboard? I had my usb stick with windows, but obviously nothing.

Where do I go from here please???? Do I need an external cd drive? (and me doth thinks if anyone is close, I think i'd happily pass over this to finish :-( )"

Samuel T. Cogley

The cables from the PSU for GPUs don't need to be connected inside as you're using onboard graphics.

Don't worry about the CD you'll be able to download the drivers once you have windows installed from a USB key.

Are you getting any lights on the motherboard? Usually they have diagnostic lights.

alowe

Samuel T. Cogley wrote: »

The cables from the PSU for GPUs don't need to be connected inside as you're using onboard graphics.

Don't worry about the CD you'll be able to download the drivers once you have windows installed from a USB key.

Are you getting any lights on the motherboard? Usually they have diagnostic lights.

Have managed to progress to windows is actually installing. There was an awful lot of restarting though - which i'd never encountered before. It seems like it I breathed in the direction of the pc, it restarted. Hopefully after window installs, it'll be a bit more stable. At least it recognises the cpu, ram and ssd! (haven't put in anything else yet...)

Thank you, and will update when no doubt I encounter the next problem!

alowe

Ok ... Could there be an issue with the power supply? Its a BeQuiet 300W. I am using my own plug for it, as it only came with a european one. While trying to install windows, it is constantly restarting.... Which is now leading me to believe, something up with the power :-(

Samuel T. Cogley

Could be, 300W is a pretty weak PSU but then the machine shouldn't be pulling that much power with no discrete GPU.

Windows does restart a bit when installing but not every couple of minutes or so.

In answer to the question it could possibly be a power problem More likely a faulty PSU than underpowered though.

alowe

I'm going to take out the PSU from my working pc and see if that helps.

When I turn it on, goto the bios/system screen - don't touch anything - it restarts after about 10 seconds. Its very frustrating, as I can't do anything ... it gets so far, then restarts. Fingers crossed its the psu.

I'm assuming the cpu is fine with this motherboard (a possible reason from googling) - but seeing as that cost me the most chunk of money, really don't want to change it. Its temp is staying at 35degrees Celsius, which I presume is ok.....

Samuel T. Cogley

35C idle is fine. They can get upwards of 80C under load.

alowe

I've changed power supplies - was looking good for a while, but then no :-(

I took out the ssd, and now using a sata hd, still no joy.

I'm at a loss.....

Samuel T. Cogley

Could possibly be a short, any issues with getting it all built?

All the fans are spinning I take it? CPU cooler is snugly mounted?

alowe

Yip fans working, lights showing. Only thing left is to change out the ram for a different one.

Build was fine, apart from the cpu cooler, but snug and not moving now. I didn't turn on till all in place. Solid power supply - although was into plug board (but so was monitor, and plug board works perfect).

Tired now so giving it a break - will disconnect and start again. I did watch a lot of yourtubes to make sure I plugged the right cables into the right places.

Is there a chance the CPU isn't compatible with the motherboard? Although all shows up correct and good on system screen

bobbyy gee

I would not upgrade vostro what is it 2013 machine I would also up your budget
I would build new
New everything as dell a nd hp make upgrading hard try this I don't know if it works

https://www.neverware.com/

Samuel T. Cogley

alowe wrote: »

Yip fans working, lights showing. Only thing left is to change out the ram for a different one.

Build was fine, apart from the cpu cooler, but snug and not moving now. I didn't turn on till all in place. Solid power supply - although was into plug board (but so was monitor, and plug board works perfect).

Tired now so giving it a break - will disconnect and start again. I did watch a lot of yourtubes to make sure I plugged the right cables into the right places.

Is there a chance the CPU isn't compatible with the motherboard? Although all shows up correct and good on system screen

I'd be very suprised if it showed up and then caused random restarts. My next port of call would be removing one of the RAM sticks or changing them out if that's an option.

alowe

So this is where i've goto this evening --- still no joy.
(1) Completely disassembled, and updated the bios using the bios button. Reconnected, and the bios has updated.
(2) Changed the hard drive - no joy
(3) Changed the ram (which I finally found one the same - although I only have 4gb) - same.
(4) then I thought maybe its something shorting in the case - so took out everything - so now all I have is a motherboard, cpu with fan on top, power supply to motherboard, and cpu power - vga monitor plugged in and keyboard, and then ended up having to put in the power little lead, as don't have a power button on the board.... and still no. It randomly restarts.

In the bios menu, when I try to go into hardware monitor, it restarts before I can click on anything in there ....

Where do I go from here? Anything to help my sanity is greatly appreciated.....

Squidgy Black

Might be worth reseating the cpu and making sure there's no bent pins etc

alowe

Squidgy Black wrote: »

Might be worth reseating the cpu and making sure there's no bent pins etc

Did that. Took it off for flashing the bios via the button.

I'm thinking the motherboard might be flawed looking at other sites.....so may go for a return and see if that fixes it.