replacing a motherboard in Dell 4600

  • Thread starter Thread starter Mary Fowler Leek
  • Start date Start date
M

Mary Fowler Leek

We have an older Dell 4600, bought in 2003. The capacitors appear to be bad
on the MB. I've never tried to change out a Motherboard. Assuming I can find
and purchase the correct replacement board, is this something that can be or
should be handled by a home user? I've done most other things inside the box
but never replaced a Motherboard. This is our son's computer and would like
to try and salvage it, if possible.

My thanks for your advice.

MEL
mleek at sbcglobal.net
 
Mary said:
We have an older Dell 4600, bought in 2003. The capacitors appear to be
bad on the MB. I've never tried to change out a Motherboard. Assuming I
can find and purchase the correct replacement board, is this something
that can be or should be handled by a home user? I've done most other
things inside the box but never replaced a Motherboard. This is our son's
computer and would like to try and salvage it, if possible.
Click to expand...

There's really no way anyone can answer this question for you. Only you can
make that decision. You will need to get an identical replacement
motherboard from Dell. Then you'll need to basically take the computer
completely apart and replace the motherboard. Dells are built quite nicely
from a working-inside-them standpoint.

If you've done everything else, then you are familiar with the innards of a
computer. Unplug the machine and open the case and take a good look to see
exactly what would need to be removed in order to get to the motherboard.
There's no reason you *can't* do this; it is really more a case of whether
you *want* to do this.

Malke
 
Hello,

In my opinion there is not much that you can make wrong if you buy the
right motherboard.
If you're a little bit skilled in those things then I would say there
is no problem.
Sure you have to know how to connect and configure it but in the user
manual everything
is written and described. As I already said you only have to be a
little bit skilled in
things like connecting and configuring it.
If you have questions about that then feel free to ask.

Cüneyd
 
In case its not clear from the other replies Dell motherboards are
specifically built for Dell and as such a generic motherboard is unlikely to
fit.
You might want to check the price of the replacement Dell mobo, before you
commit.
 
Malke said:
There's really no way anyone can answer this question for you. Only you
can
make that decision. You will need to get an identical replacement
motherboard from Dell. Then you'll need to basically take the computer
completely apart and replace the motherboard. Dells are built quite nicely
from a working-inside-them standpoint.

If you've done everything else, then you are familiar with the innards of
a
computer. Unplug the machine and open the case and take a good look to see
exactly what would need to be removed in order to get to the motherboard.
There's no reason you *can't* do this; it is really more a case of whether
you *want* to do this.

Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User
Click to expand...


Hello,
In my opinion there is not much that you can make wrong if you buy the
right motherboard.
If you're a little bit skilled in those things then I would say there
is no problem.
Sure you have to know how to connect and configure it but in the user
manual everything
is written and described. As I already said you only have to be a
little bit skilled in
things like connecting and configuring it.
If you have questions about that then feel free to ask.

Cüneyd


Mary Fowler Leek:
First of all...
There's a helluva lot that can go wrong when a new motherboard is installed
in a system - even when the installation is undertaken by a qualified
technician. And this is particularly so when one is dealing with a
proprietary machine such as your Dell 4600 (which incidentally, was a very
nice machine when it was released some years ago - and still is today if it
meets your son's current needs). On the other hand, as Malke has indicated,
some (but not all) Dells are particularly easy to work with.

Please understand that while installing a motherboard isn't exactly
rocket-science as that trite phrase goes, it's not on a par with replacing a
relatively simple PC component such as a CD-ROM or video card. It *is* a
more complicated and demanding procedure, make no mistake about that.

Now having said all that...

Thousands of amateurs successfully install motherboards every day. In no way
would I want to dissuade you from also doing so if you feel reasonably
comfortable about undertaking this project. For one thing it *is* a terrific
learning experience. It will teach you (and hopefully, your son) more about
the workings of a PC than reading a dozen books on PC theory. But it can be
a puzzling & frustrating experience when things don't work out the way they
should. Since you indicate you've had some experience with the "innards" of
a PC, that should give you a step up.

It really would be helpful if you knew someone who had some
familiarity/experience with installing a motherboard and could provide some
guidance with the installation process at least during the initial stages.
It really makes a big difference.

As Malke has stated, only you can make the decision as to whether you want
to go ahead with this. Assuming you can purchase a replacement motherboard
at a reasonable price (hopefully no more than $150) it's probably worth a
shot for you and your son to undertake this project.
Anna
 
The motherboard must be the exact same part number. Some older Dell
motherboards used a custom power supply connector wiring and if you do not
replace with the exact same board you could end up smoking the new board.

JS
 
Mary Fowler Leek said:
We have an older Dell 4600, bought in 2003. The capacitors appear to be
bad on the MB. I've never tried to change out a Motherboard. Assuming I
can find and purchase the correct replacement board, is this something
that can be or should be handled by a home user? I've done most other
things inside the box but never replaced a Motherboard. This is our son's
computer and would like to try and salvage it, if possible.

My thanks for your advice.

MEL
mleek at sbcglobal.net
Click to expand...

It can be a simple though time consuming procedure, depending on the design
of the case.
How to get the MB out should be fairly obvious. Just unscrew the screws,
unlatch the latches, and pull. Don't pull hard unless you know it's ready
to come out.
Getting the new MB in is as simple as getting the old one out, you just have
to do everything in reverse, meaning you have to remember what goes where.
The biggest IF is if you have the right replacement, and what type of CPU it
has.
The replacement MB has to be compatible. The safest way to be sure is to
get the exact same model number.
If it has an Intel CPU in a separate container, you can detach it and attach
it to the new MB.
If it has a CPU that attaches directly to the MB, you may need to read about
how to properly attach the heat sink.
Your safest bet there would be to buy a new MB with a CPU and heat sink
already on it.
 
We have an older Dell 4600, bought in 2003. The capacitors appear to
be bad on the MB. I've never tried to change out a Motherboard.
Assuming I can find and purchase the correct replacement board, is
this something that can be or should be handled by a home user? I've
done most other things inside the box but never replaced a
Motherboard. This is our son's computer and would like to try and
salvage it, if possible.

My thanks for your advice.

MEL
mleek at sbcglobal.net
Click to expand...

As others have said, I needs to be an exact replacement.

Get the price from Dell, see what it is, and then go buy the exact same
Dell motherboard somewhere else for cheaper.

This happened when I was ordering a rack-mount server from them for a
company I used to work for. The rackmount case can not be put into a rack
w/o using side rails, which Dell sold for $250 at the time. I was able to
find the exact same Dell side rails, new, unused, still in the Dell box,
online from another retailer for $50.

And I also replaced someone else's Dell with a cooked MB, Dell's
replacement proce $300, online, original Dell MB, $50.

So, I assume your 4600 is a Dimension 4600c ? Correct ? A quick
pricewatch search showed this MB available for $119....

http://castle.pricewatch.com/s/search.asp?s=dell+4600&group1=2&sci=2
&c=Motherboards&i=2&srt=t&mi=0&m=&view=

Funny, but the SAME company that has them listed there, has them listed
on their E-Bay store for $99.....

http://cgi.ebay.com/DELL-DIMENSION-4600C-MOTHERBOARD-0K0057-P4-S-478
_W0QQitemZ230032146546QQihZ013QQcategoryZ1244QQcmdZViewItem

Regards,

DanS
 
Dell offers pretty good online support:

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dim4600/en/4600/sm/index.htm

and for the motherboard itself:

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dim4600/en/4600/sm/sysboard.htm#1136475

You may or may not be able to easily use a third-party motherboard. The
power wiring on this one appears to be standard (unlike their systems from
10 years ago), but I'm not sure that the connector for the front panel
controls is standard. The heat sink for the CPU is definitely proprietary.

Dell may be able to sell you a replacement motherboard. It may be really
expensive, or not. If it's expensive, it may be cheaper to buy a third-party
mainboard and install it in a new case, using the good components from the
Dell to build a new system. You'd need a new case, probably a heat sink &
fan for the CPU [inexpensive], and perhaps a new power supply.

Replacing a motherboard isn't particularly difficult, just more
time-consuming than replacing a graphics card or memory modules. The only
touchy bit (in my opinion) is installing the heat sink and fan for the CPU,
but that's not really difficult. (It's possible to mess that up without it
being obvious without disassembling it again.)

Hope this helps.

Bob Knowlden

Address may be scrambled. Replace nkbob with bobkn.
 
DL said:
In case its not clear from the other replies Dell motherboards are
specifically built for Dell and as such a generic motherboard is unlikely
to
fit.
You might want to check the price of the replacement Dell mobo, before you
commit.
Click to expand...

Mary, to help u determine whether to spending the $, why not see what u
can buy a used 4600 for on Ebay? I've looked up someprices & found at times
the complete system is selling for less than the cost of just a new
mobo--needless to say, decision made! HTH, s
 
Back
Top