Upgrading a Dimension 9150/XPS 400

This is so old that nothing you can do will not help much. If you really want to try, max out the RAM and install Win 8.1, or 7 if you can find it. Both will get free upgrades to Win 10 this summer. Performance would not be very good; my D9100 works, but I would never use it as my primary. However, a lot of decent desktops can be had for $500 or less on sale or through Dell Outlet. They would bury the 9150.

I was wondering if anyone could help me with finding the absolute best hardware upgrades for this computer that are supported.

An SSD boot drive will supercharge its performance, but I don't think those work well with Vista. You'd want to upgrade to a newer version of Windows. And, a new budget video card will offer better graphics performance over a new low-end PC. As a plus, both these upgrades could be moved over to a new PC you might buy in the future (apart from an all-in-one).

You may also be able to update the CPU with something more forceful (with a used product from eBay); do you know which CPU is currently installed?

The 9150 won't be a gaming rig, but it can be made into something quite usable for everyday chores.

Thanks for your help.

1. Do you have any recommendations to an ssd that would work with this system?

2. I found a graphics card here: http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-PCI-E-Graphics-01G-P3-1302-LR/dp/B0049MPQA4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1431052254&sr=8-1&keywords=pci+graphics+card

Do you think that it would be compatible and better yet is there one that could be better than this?

3. My processor is a Pentium D 820 dual core @2.8ghz. I found that the highest Pentium D processor is a Pentium D 965 Extreme Edition as well as a Pentium D 960. Would those be compatible?

(I also have a 375w psu if that makes any difference.)

Thank you for your time.

I was worried that the system wouldn't be able to handle windows 7 or higher because it's so old. It says it's made for xp and is vista capable. I'd rather not spend too much money at the moment, which is why I will just stick to a few hardware upgrades. Thanks for your suggestion.

Do you have any recommendations to an ssd that would work with this system?

Dell recommends Samsungs, like this 120gb 850 EVO, and that's my preference, too, although there are cheaper ones (like the Kingstons. You'll also need an adapter bracket; I recommend the SDP08, and a SATA data cable.

I found a graphics card here:

That's an old design (six years or seven years old) with anemic performance. This is my favorite budget card, the Sapphire 6450. It's a good choice for HD video and light gaming, and supports up to three monitors.

My processor is a Pentium D 820 dual core @2.8ghz. I found that the highest Pentium D processor is a Pentium D 965 Extreme Edition as well as a Pentium D 960. Would those be compatible?

The 960 is compatible, but the 945 can be had for under $10 used on eBay.

With these mods, your 9150 would be much speedier. However, unless you upgrade the OS, I don't recommend an SSD. FYI factory-sealed Windows 8 Pro upgrades can be bought on eBay for reasonable sums. They qualify for a free upgrade to Windows 8.1, and, in the summer, a free upgrade to Windows 10.

Its better to buy a second hand exbusiness system such as an OptiPlex 780 or 760 that come with a Windows 7 OEM license that will be eligible for the free upgrade to Windows 10. This will be as cheap as buying a Windows 7 license directly and will be better hardware in general. If you put a SSD in these then they will perform even better.

The only difference between this and a precision 380 is that the 380 has PS2 keyboard and mouse ports.

Best CPU is pentium D 960 when you get the copper heatsink. Because the Ram is no longer made and is getting expensive I would not recommend directly upgrading this system but rather getting a precision 380 on ebay that already has windows 7 installed.

That way you can get Ram and pentium D and windows 7 for less than buying parts and assembling.

Windows 7 or 8  home is $100

Windows 7 or 8 Pro is $200

Pentium D 900 series is required if you want to use 64 bit windows 8 or 10.

These can be had for less than $10 in some cases.

 If you take the time to Get Windows 7 or higher already on the system you will save $100 to $500 vs upgrading your existing system.

Buying a 380 also means you can move the hard drive and ram from your old system into the new system and or have backup hardware.

Adding a Geforce 740 or 750 TI video card will make it a gamer system and that card can be moved to a newer machine later on.

If you are looking for an upgrade that will last 5 years or more then you should consider getting a used Precision T3500 that uses DDR3.

These are sold used with windows 7 for under $400.

Windows 7 or 8 Pro is $200

Windows 8 Pro Upgrade for $80 including shipping.

OptiPlex 745 with Pentium D for $90 including shipping. This machine can be updated to a (used) Core 2 Duo E6300 Conroe for a few dollars.

That listing is the exception not the rule. I got my 8.1 pro upgrade back when it was $38.  If they want that they should buy it immediately because there will not be any in the future.

There are always one or two available on eBay. And it qualifies for a free upgrade to Windows 8.1, and in the summer, a free upgrade to Windows 10.

Meanwhile, Newegg is offering the OptiPlex 745 SFF with Pentium D for $90, postpaid, with a Windows 7 Home Premium licence. Of course, it will need a graphics card, and is equipped with an old, slow hard drive.

That listing is the exception not the rule. I got my 8.1 pro upgrade back when it was $38.  If they want that they should buy it immediately because there will not be any in the future.

WINDOWS 8.0 is depricated and the Purple box 8.1 home and Blue Box 8.1 pro are the available everywhere retail options.

After Oct 31 2015 8.x may be gone forever as well being replaced by Windows 10.

Pentium D 915's are very cheap as is the copper heatsink.  The ram and windows license are the expensive parts.  You update the bios to latest then change the CPU and replace the thermal paste.  The Dual core pentium D is an improvement.  The 960 being the best improvement because it also allows VT-x

If someone wants to go to the full 8 gigs of DDR2 then I would recommend upgrading to at least a Precision T3500 as they are under $400 now.  I consider Pro windows to be $200 and 8 Gigs of DDR2 to be around $200 and not as fast as DDR3 -1600 also with the precision you get a power supply that works with 150W cards and a video slot that is dual wide like it is in the XPS 400 and precision 380.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=pentium%20d%20915

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Precision-380-390-T3400-XPS-400-CPU-Cool-Copper-Processor-Heatsink-Shroud-X9694-/131310107549

Thanks for all of this information. At first I thought that only old graphics cards would work on this system. So am I correct in assuming that as long as the psu can handle it, I can put any modern gpu in?

So am I correct in assuming that as long as the psu can handle it, I can put any modern gpu in?

For the most part. I had an issue with ATI 5XXX GPUs, but not 6XXX ones. Also, high-powered GPUs require auxiliary power, which your power supply probably doesn't support. (Compatible power supplies can be had for reasonable prices.)

For an old system like yours, I'd think an R7 250 DDR5 would be good match.