Hardware questions

securespark

securespark

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Some more posers:

I've been on e-buyer looking for some bits. Trouble is, there's 101 of everything I want!

I need:

A network cable to connect a third pc. Cat 5e or 6? No difference for what I want?

Speakers to connect to existing sound card.

A new graphics/sound set up for PC without anything at the mo. Running Intel Celery 1.1G with 256RAM & XP SP2.

A DVD RW for the above: it is a Dell ( :eek: ) so the standard sized units don't fit. Any ideas, or should I just get an external unit?

A means of connecting a USB printer to 3 pc's.

I don't ask for much!

EDIT:

Just been rummaging around - carefully! - in an old 1998 fujitsu pc that has been superceded.

I have found an Aztech PCI 168 sound card - basic I guess, but will it give us sound on the Dell PC?

I have also found three memory cards: 2 x Kingston KVR100X64C2/128R

Are they SDRAM 128Meg?

And one Siemens SDRAM 64Meg card. (nearly wrote 64K- showing my age now!!)

Can they be used to boost RAM in the Dell (currently 256) and the third pc which only has 128?

See what you lot've gone & done? Gone and got me all interested in upgrading and fiddling around with PC's. Tch! ;)
 
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Good Heavens securespark, there is enough here for a dozen posts :).
Well I enjoy a challenge so will do my best to answer

securespark said:
A network cable to connect a third pc. Cat 5e or 6? No difference for what I want?
As far as I know Cat 6 is backwards compatible and is designed to accommodate higher speeds than Cat 5. Are you going to be making up your own?

Speakers to connect to existing sound card.
Any designed for use with PC sound card should be suitable

A new graphics/sound set up for PC without anything at the mo. Running Intel Celery 1.1G with 256RAM & XP SP2.
Graphics - What is the motherboard slot config. ISA, PCI, AGP?

A DVD RW for the above: it is a Dell ( :eek: ) so the standard sized units don't fit. Any ideas, or should I just get an external unit?
Seems strange that standard sizes don't fit - is it that you do not have a spare drive bay for the DVD?

A means of connecting a USB printer to 3 pc's.
Think you are looking for something like THIS
I don't ask for much!
:D :D


EDIT:

Just been rummaging around - carefully! - in an old 1998 fujitsu pc that has been superceded.

I have found an Aztech PCI 168 sound card - basic I guess, but will it give us sound on the Dell PC?
Not unless you plug it in :D. Assuming that mb will accept your card i.e. PCI or ISA then it may work ok just plugging in (Windows may already have standard sound drivers). The problem may be the drivers for any special feature, unless both systems used the same OS and you already have drivers
EDIT: OOps -Your sound card is likely to be PCI as stated in your title

I have also found three memory cards: 2 x Kingston KVR100X64C2/128R

Are they SDRAM 128Meg?
Looks like it - KVR100X64C2/128 100MHz SDRAM 168-Pin PC100 DIMM memory Module
And one Siemens SDRAM 64Meg card. (nearly wrote 64K- showing my age now!!)

Can they be used to boost RAM in the Dell (currently 256) and the third pc which only has 128?
Maybe. Depends if MB will support mixing RAM modules and sizes - and if DELL have done anything nasty to make sure you buy their upgrades :eek:

See what you lot've gone & done? Gone and got me all interested in upgrading and fiddling around with PC's. Tch! ;)
That will teach us :D
Click to expand...
:D
 
The only reason I asked about the difference in the cables is because generally on ebuyer, the Cat 6 seem cheaper than the Cat 5e cables.

The Dell MB has PCI slot, but I don't have the driver for the sound card out of the old PC. It is available on the net, but as the Dell has no CD drive (yet), I hope it can be copied onto a floppy...

I took a "std" CD drive out of the old PC & connected it to the Dell. It worked, but did not physically fit the machine. Maybe I have to go for an external one, unless I can find one on ebay.

Can I find out by looking at the MB which memory cards it will accept?

Can any damage be done by plugging them in to see if they work? :eek:
 
You moved without telling me :D Just posted this on old thread - now removed :D

Good point made by softus about maintaining clarity for other readers. You may be losing out here as other readers with knowledge and experience may well miss this post and you the benefit of their expertise.

Happy to answer your queries in this post :D

securespark said:
Softus: Yes, I know. Maybe I should have started a new one.

Perhaps a kindly mod will split it for me, starting at the post beginning "some more posers"?

Thanks.

Tony: The only reason I asked about the difference in the cables is because generally on ebuyer, the Cat 6 seem cheaper than the Cat 5e cables.
Not on expert on cabling (I usually just specify length of finished cable from supplier. Link HERE confirms backward compatibility

The Dell MB has PCI slot, but I don't have the driver for the sound card out of the old PC. It is available on the net, but as the Dell has no CD drive (yet), I hope it can be copied onto a floppy...
Make sure that its supports your OS - due to age it is likely to be available for Windows 98/Me only so out of luck if you want to run on XP

I took a "std" CD drive out of the old PC & connected it to the Dell. It worked, but did not physically fit the machine. Maybe I have to go for an external one, unless I can find one on ebay.
I have never seen internal CD/DVD drives that differ in dimensions and would not fit a std drive bay in comp case.
There may be benefit to you by going for an external drive - you have a few systems and if you go for a USB model you could move it between systems when required. As an example External USB DVD £28.56 +vat HERE

Can I find out by looking at the MB which memory cards it will accept?
The MB manual would be better if you have it.
DIMMs.jpg
Two types of DIMM shown one 168 pin the other 184pin. Physically same size!


Can any damage be done by plugging them in to see if they work? :eek:
Quite possible if you try and force the wrong type into MB memory slot :oops: If they are not compatible for any other reason usually the system will flag error and refuse to boot. Cannot comment if there are risks to MB or memory due to incorrect voltages though
Click to expand...
 
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Cheers, Tony. I take Softus' point about separating the posts, left it to the mods to decide how to do it: I didn't move it myself!!!

Will have a good look at your posts later.
 
OK. I have tried fitting the memory cards - they are not compatible!

A beeping on start-up warned me of this...

The sound card is no longer needed. Further digging in the guts of the Dell revealed a well-hidden card. So well-hidden I only found it after interrogating the system to find out which hardware devices were installed.

So, I need 2 x sets of speakers for use with the sound cards. Oh, and a network cable.

And an external DVD RW. There is a spare bay, but the standard sized CD drive out of the old PC definately does not fit.

The Dell has a desktop case, rather than tower: does this make any difference?
 
securespark said:
OK. I have tried fitting the memory cards - they are not compatible!

A beeping on start-up warned me of this...
If you want to upgrade memory you may find Link to Crucial Here useful. You can either select the advisor tool which will ask questions about your PC or get it to scan your system when you have a net connection

The sound card is no longer needed. Further digging in the guts of the Dell revealed a well-hidden card. So well-hidden I only found it after interrogating the system to find out which hardware devices were installed.

So, I need 2 x sets of speakers for use with the sound cards. Oh, and a network cable.

And an external DVD RW. There is a spare bay, but the standard sized CD drive out of the old PC definately does not fit.
Was the link in my previous post to USB DVD any use?

The Dell has a desktop case, rather than tower: does this make any difference?
Without seeing your case I am guessing that it is small form factor and probably the hardrive is occupying the only standard drive bay
Click to expand...
 
I'll visit Crucial, thanks.

The optical drive link was good. Just trying to get something to fit internally.

The PC looks like this:

DellPC.jpg


The slot is 148 x 43mm, but the front of the PC case is not flat but bullnosed.
 
The slot size 148x43mm (approx 1.75" high by 5.75" wide) is classed as a half height and are standard housing for CD/DVD drives.

The rectangular area above the floppy disk would be the only place to put internal DVD. Looking from inside the case if the bay is empty a DVD will fit. Now the only issue is aesthetics - I dont think you can get a drive with a bullnose to match your case :(
 
Think I'll try Dell - they must do something that fits....

As I said, I did wire one in and it worked. It even fitted the slot, but the front of the drive would not go flush with the front of the case & I could not see a way to secure the unit.

Do Dell machines have a different method of fixing these drives? The standard one was screwed through the frame inside the PC tower into the side of the unit.

I'll try & get some pix of the inside.

EDIT #1:

This is a picture of the bay. Close to the right is the HDD and to the left is the edge of the case. No room for screwdrivers!

PictureOfPCBay.jpg


Here's a picture of the old drive "in place" from the outside.

The strange thing is that when you view the old drive from the inside, there is room between the frame & the case of the CD drive, but from the outside, the case of the CD drive is too large to fit through the slot in the front of the desktop case.

PictureOfCDDrive.jpg


The dims of that CD drive are 148 x 41.5mm at the front, and 146 x 41mm at the rear.

As I said, I 'll get in touch with Dell: they must have something that fits.

EDIT #2: I measured the blank without removing it. The actual aperture dims are 145 x 41.5mm.... :confused:
 
I think your PC is from the DELL Optiplex range. I have supplied a few that look similar to customers and occasionally had to tinker inside. I seem to recall two methods of holding drives 1. A bracket that attached to drive and slides into case 2. A green plastic clip mechanism that locates the drive in the bay.

The following link may shed some light on your required fixing method - it is for the Optiplex 150 which may be close to your model Dell System User Guide
 
Yes! Small Desktop System...I have looked internally and externally to try and identify the machine, to no avail. Thanks, Tony. I'll get in touch with Dell tomorrow & let you know how I got on.
 
Did you click on the Dell System user guide link in last post?

I just had a look and in the Installation section / Installing an Optical Drive found this:
If you are installing a new drive, connect it to the set of rails that are attached to the inside of the cover.

drives36.jpg


Looks to me like this will be the fitting type for your system - if you can find the rails hidden inside the cover you should be good to go :D
 
Yes, I've looked at that... cannot find the rails inside.

I rand Dell this AM. They told me a "compatible" DVD-RW (no mention of spec) would cost 45.47 (after discount!). Rails not included...

But I have found a way to get a std drive in there. If I remove the blanking plate & the surrounding trim, I'm left with a std slot through which I can "post" the drive unit. It is a nice tight fit, too.

So I'll get the DVD drive from ebuyer, along with the cable, speakers & printer sharer.

Sorted!

Thanks for all your help, Tony. Much appreciated.
 
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