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[thebigdintx]

i had the same computer (dell dimension 3000) and i upgraded to the dimension 4600 motherboard to gain an AGP slot so i can squeeze a little more life out of it. all the other parts from the dimension 3000 fit on the 4600's motherboard so i was able to reuse the CPU and RAM and the 4600 MB fits in the 3000's case. now i have the innards of a 4600 listed below in my sig inside my 3000's case. a cheap upgrade..MB was like $100 on ebay, and then i put a nvidia 7600GS in it for cheap too.

 

[collibr]

alrighty nice, you're the person I need increadibly bad!!!!, that's what I want to do, if you could just tell me the parts and the steps you did

 

[ace777]

i had a friend with a 3000 and we used this and upgraded him:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138079

 

[thebigdintx]

just buy the 4600 motherboard off ebay, and a tube of thermal paste if it doesn't come with one (artic silver 5 from newegg maybe, about $6). take your processer (and heatsink) and ram out of the 3000's motherboard, and put them in the 4600 board. (clean the old past off the CPU with some isopropal alcohol, and apply new paste as shown on the artic silver 5 website...about a grain of rice size drop in middle of top of processor, put the heatsink back on it), hook everything back up like it was on the 3000 board, and then you have an agp slot to use.

 

[collibr]

alrighty, thanks so much...

 

[thebigdintx]

i had a friend with a 3000 and we used this and upgraded him:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138079

i would have liked to go with something like that board to pass agp and go right to pci -e (even though i would have had to buy new ram also), but i was under the impression that the dell case wouldn't fit standard micro atx boards like that one, and only the propiatory board (the dimension 4600 one) would fit in the dimension 3000's case. did that board you listed fit in your friend's case alright without any modification?

 

[ace777]

i need to verify buy yes only problem i knw off was the switvch to turn ut on doesnt fit it because it a lot longer than the first one to we let it hand down.

 

[collibr]

real quick, can there be a lot of damage if i mess this process up on my computer?

 

[thebigdintx]

also, a reinstall of the operating system is usually required when changing motherboards. if i remember right, i upgraded to a new larger hard drive when i put the new motherboard in, and i did a fresh install of windows vista on it....had xp before the new motherboard. it's pretty easy, but you do have to be careful when you handle the processor so you don't bend the pins on it. and keep yourself grounded when working inside the case by touching the metal case frequently and before touching any components.