Dell 4700C BIOS, Memory, & CPU upgrade

That sounds perfect for my needs :) sticking with the 32 is
just fine. I have what it came with which is the Pentium 3.00GHz. so I will take you up on that offer and I'm definitely a novice when it comes to hardware and I like this machine to practice on. I wasn't sure if the SSD would give it better performance
when Crucial had suggested it just because it lacks in so many other areas
and I have replaced the fan once or twice as well can't remember for sure.
Anyway Thanks again for the input... do you have Paypal or?

I just realized the video only showed the heat sink being removed.

The rest is a piece of cake.  The processor is seated with a ZIF socket (Zero Insertion Force).  It has a little mechanical lever on the far side locked under a little metal clip.  Just pull the lever out and up, and the cover holding it down will open up.  The processor itself has a couple of notches in it, so it can only go in one way.  Just remove the old processor, drop in the new one, and close the lever.  Apply the thermal compound directly to the top of the processor afterwards.  Be generous with the compound, but not overly generous if you know what I mean.  Make sure it's coated well.  Reinstall the heatsink and fan.  It;s a lot easier putting it back together.  Don't forget to put your memory back as well.  Done!     

Yes, I do have a paypal account.  Not sure how to coordinate it though, as I've never don it like this before.  I've sold a few things on ebay, and that's about it.

The processor is a little tricky to swap out, but not overly difficult.

Remove your memory first to avoid potential damage.

Here's a video link. .

You don't really need to wiggle it like in the video.  Just pull the tab out and lift the one side.  It feels like you might break the bracket when pulling it out, but it'll be fine if you're cautious.  Make sure you wipe off all the old thermal from the heat sink with a tissue.  

You also don't need to unplug the fan.  Just gently set it off to the side over the motherboard. 

Let me know what you want to do about paypal.  Here's my email address andreasj64@gmail.com.

If you decide to get an SSD get a  decent.

Here's a good on:  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA2W01AZ5378

One last thing.  The SSD I gave you the link to is a SATA III, which will definitely be under utilized in that box.  I like the write performance though, as it will eek out every last bit of transfer possible from the machine.  Always consider write performance when choosing SSD's.  If this machine ever dies you can always move the SSD to a newer machine which could possibly take advantage of the SATA III spec. I personally prefer the Intel 520's, but they are a bit pricey.  The 520's come with a 5 year warranty.  They're all I ever buy personally. 

An SSD will greatly improve boot times and opening programs.  They will snap open fairly quick, and it will be immediately noticeable.  SSD's also use less power, so it will take some off the load off the power supply. 

You definitely want to get more ram for that box if you're only running a gig.  I would go for 4gb (2gbx2), but just remember your 32 bit OS is only going to address about 3gb which is all it will report.  That's normal.  That's also why they only spec'd the machine for 2gb, because Dell knew the machine would not see all 4gb because it's basically sold as a 32bit machine, which saves on tech support and liability when people complain.  This is also why I think it would do fine with 8gb. 

Contrary to what someone else here wrote, the system bios is not what addresses the memory, the chipset is.  The 4700 series uses an Intel 915 chipset, which was designed to address 8.5gb of ram.  All the bios does is link all the pieces of hardware together so the OS can understand what's in the machine.  The base motherboard and bios does not control the memory, the chipset does.  It doesn't know the difference between a 512mb stick, or a 4gb stick.  Admittedly though, I'm not 100% certain if 8gb will work.  The machine was designed before the availability of 4gb chips.  It's possible that the chipset was designed to handle 2gbx4, not 4gbx2. 

That sounds perfect for my needs :) sticking with the 32 is just fine. I have what it came with which is the Pentium 3.00GHz. so I will take you up on that offer and I'm definitely a novice when it comes to hardware and I like this machine to practice on. I wasn't sure if the SSD would give it better performance when Crucial had suggested it just because it lacks in so many other areas and I have replaced the fan once or twice as well can't remember for sure. Anyway Thanks again for the input... do you have Paypal or?

The setup for the 4700C that I am using, and I use this for work so performance is definitely a key.

Video Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814139081 <~ GeForce GT 630 2GB 128-Bit DDR3 PCI Express x16 Low Profile Ready Video Card

Ram: http://www.amazon.com/DDR2-533-PC2-4200-Memory-Upgrade-Dimension/dp/B009OTB1R4/ref=sr_1_51?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1395088075&sr=1-51&keywords=4gb+ddr2-533+pc2-4200 <~ 4GB [2x2GB] DDR2-533 (PC2-4200) This is what I am currently running but will be upgrading to the Gskill DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit when I get the extra cash

CPU: 64 Bit Prescott 571 3.8Ghz

I am currently running Two Monitors on Windows 7 32 bit Ultimate, runs like a champ but I am going to upgrade this weekend to the 64 version to take advantage of all the RAM.

I will also be upgrading the Power supply to the DEll 270 Watt version instead of the stock 160 again as cash dictates.

Just wanted to let you you know I am now running Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit without any issues. Runs really fast too I am very impressed with this old rig. Just thought I would update :)

Oh by the way even with 4 Gigs of Ram installed The computer still holds over 770MB of Ram for "Hardware Reserved" I'm going to see what I can do to fix this :)

Awesome!  How's that fan doing?  Mine sounds like a jet rev'ing up off and on.  It tends to follow the processor usage.

I don;t think there's much you can do about the memory allocation, but let me know how you make out.  If I'm not mistaken, most of it is reserved from the OS.

No I don't think there is anything I can do about the memory issue. Everything that I have tried has failed to release the memory. and the Board bios does not have a control for memory extensions. However I did notice that the memory I was sent was actually DDR2 5300 (667) not 533, so at least we know that faster memory works just fine and 800 MHz Ram should work as well.

The fan is like a freaking Jet! Yes I need to do something about this fan even if it means replacing it with some jury rigged substitute. Yeah it winds up and down with the CPU usage but my god lol 

Do me a favor if you can.  Once you get everything setup, run a utility that might give a clue as to how hot the CPU is getting.  My linux box doesn't read temperatures.  It could probably read them, but not without a lot of hassles making it read the temperatures with some complicated steps.  May get another CPU fan that's a little quieter.

I have tried like 5 different programs to try and find what temp the CPU is running at but all I have manged to do it find out that my hard drive runs really cool and my Video card is running 140 degrees F! I don't think the MOBO has thermal monitoring for the CPU. my video card while being awesome and fan cooled, I still think I am going to order some all copper Ram sinks for it. 

Oh I did however remove the old Multi-Card reader that sits under the DVD drive and that allows for some nice airflow into the case. the case no longer gets warm except near where the CPU is of course.