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February 1st, 2014 10:00
Dell Dimension 3100c
Hello
I have a Dimension 3100c - its seven years old - slimline/low profile case. It runs Windows 8. Its runs perfectly well - but the graphics card is old, built in and cannot be replaced. This means I cannot upgrade to Windows 8.1, and its a bit slow with handling some graphics. i don't want to particularly have to buy a brand new pc as the PC itself works really very well - plus its had a new hard drive and DVD driver installed. An inbuilt card, and no card slot, means a whole new motherboard. Is there a mother board, graphics card and all the other bits that I need that will fit this casing? I really don't want to have to buy a whole new system for the sake of a graphics card!
thanks
rdunnill
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February 1st, 2014 12:00
You can't upgrade the motherboard, but you can install a new video card, and the HIS 5450 PCIe-x1 is a great choice. I suggest a memory upgrade, as well. (The 3100c/E310 can use at least 4gb of memory.)
The 3100c is compatible with Windows 8.1 32-bit, but not the 64-bit version.
chavvers1
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February 1st, 2014 13:00
hi thanks for replying
I took my pc into a computer shop and apparently my motherboard doesn't have a slot for a new graphics/video card hence needing to buy a new one.....it was purchased in 2006 and has the following spec;
should I be able to add a new card to this as you say - that would be so much easier....
thanks!
rdunnill
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February 1st, 2014 13:00
Your motherboard has a PCIe-x1 slot, and the card I linked to will fit. You need a PCIe-x1 card with a low-profile bracket; note that the PCIe-x1 slot is black and so small it's easy to miss, but it's there.
I have a 3100, hotrodded with an HIS 6450 video card (out of production), 120gb SSD, 4gb of memory and Windows 8.1 32-bit.
chavvers1
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February 2nd, 2014 03:00
Ok so
thanks for explaining. The motherboard I have is a DD332 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Dell-DD332-Dimension-3100C-LGA775-Motherboard-/300941698879 - I've compared the MB and the card - I don't understand how the card would fit into the board when the board already has the VGA connector etc...the back of the computer looks like it wouldn't accommodate this card - would I have to change the back fittings somehow as well?
Also, am I able to upgrade the CPU to a new Intel?
sorry if these are really basic questions - this is all new to me!
rdunnill
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February 2nd, 2014 10:00
The card plugs into the small black expansion slot; the slot is so small you can almost miss it. Meanwhile, the card has two half-height brackets that you can swap in to adapt the card to your half-height chassis.
Speedstep would know which CPUs were available with this model, and can advise which is the best that will work with your stock heatsink. Once that has been determined, you can buy the CPU used on eBay and install it. (You will need paint thinner, isopropanol and paper towels to clean off the old thermal compound from the heatsink and new thermal compound.)