Will this fit in my dimension 9100?

Questions about upgrading my Dell Dimension 9100?

• I currently have the following in my Dell Dimension 9100: Model 0X8582 i945P Motherboard Pentium 4 3.0 GHz 1GB DDR2 266 MHz RAM I am considering upgrading to: Intel Pentium D 940 4 GB DDR2 800MHz Ram Geforce GTS 250 Some standard OEM 500W PSU for like $20 I wanted to verify that the Dell Dimension 9100 IS upgradeable, are the motherboard and Dell BIOS able to run a pentium D? If so, will the CPU fan and heatsink from the pentium 4 work with the Pentium D? Also, is there any chance this CPU and Video card could be run off of the standard 375W power supply?

• Answer:

  Some of the models of Pentium 4 use socket LGA775 and Pentium D uses socket LGA775. If your particular processor does not have pins on it, then it is LGA775. You can check this by removing the processor and looking at it. The RAM you want to purchase is running at a much higher clock speed. You'll most likely need a new motherboard. This will solve your aforementioned socket problem. It will also fix any compatibility problems with your new video card. Everything is PCI-Express these days, not AGP. Your old system probably used AGP. You cannot use that old power supply with the new video card. The video card will require a better power supply. The minimum power supply for Geforce GTS 250 is 450 Watts. The 500 Watt supply you pick will probably work. If you are buying a new motherboard, you'll get a new BIOS. It is safe to use the CPU fan and heatsync that is bundled with the Pentium D. However, those components are fairly cheap to upgrade. Trying to save every last penny actually ends up costing you in the end especially when it comes to those components.