Problem Comp.

[orion25]

I am working on a comp that belongs to a friend of my wife. It is a Dell Dimension XPS 8600r. I think it has a Pentinum III 600 processor. It is a Slot type and uses RAMBUS (I think). The reason I think it uses Rambus is that it has 1 stick (128mb) of samsung RAM and a blank stick (no chips) that says Dell on it. The slots are named RIMM 0 and RIMM1.

This thing has Win XP Pro on it!! I installed SP2 after removing all the spyware and a virus. Now it crashes after about 20 min when idle. I am not sure but I think the lack of RAM is the problem.

I am considering installing an Epox 8K5A2+ and XP 1700 that I have available for her. My charge would be minimal as her child uses this comp and they live paycheck to paycheck. Would the Dell PSU on this comp support a regular ATX Mobo? If I had a RIMM I would throw it in there but considering that the only thing Intel I have used in the past 3 years is my newly accquired dually I do not have one.

Any help or ideas?

[stool]

Dell usually has their own proprietary PSUs installed in their rigs(with a different ATX pinout), so I wouldn't count on it working with a new mobo, so a new PSU would most likely have to be part of the package.
If you want to go a different route, you can pick up a stick of Samsung RDRAMPC600@256mb here http://www.upgrade-solution.com/detail.cfm?show=yes&PID=204&add=yes for around $52, but I'd check Dell's support site to see exactly what RIMM the box takes first.

[hibner]

I used to keep an old dell PSU around for a backup. When the time came for me to use it, I realized it had some oddball 18 pin connector. The good new is I salvaged a panaflo fan out of it. You will need to get a new PSU. The best thing to do is figure out what kind of money you have to work with, what parts you have, and what parts you need, then hit the classifieds. There are usually some free items floating around.

But before you do anything reinstall XP and get their computer up and running.

[orion25]

Well, I have decided to give her a Comp based on an old XP1700 and Epox mobo I had lying around. I am keeping the Dell (smoothwall box) for future use. Thanks for the help!!