Gateway Parts

About using Dell parts with foriegn parts?

My friend wanted to know wether or not it would be okay if he used the memory, hard drive, disk drives, and processor/ heat sink out of his old DELL computer when he buys some new parts to upgrade it with. He's buying a new case, and video and audio cards, mobo, power supply, and a handful of memory. (Since DELL has had some funky power supply issues, I ask this) Will it work fine, or will there be problems? Thanks!

Public Comments

1. It should work fine as long as they are the same standard/protocol etc. You won't be able to put an AGP card in a PCI slot, etc. So know his parts and what your computer is compatible with. DDR2 RAM is, for example, backward compatible. So if you have a DDR2-667 and he has a DDR2-800 it will work at the DDR2-667 speed. However, if you are using DDR2-800 and you slap his DDR2-667 your memory will work at the lower speed. However, you won't be able to slap SD-RAM, Rambus RAM, EDO RAM, etc into a DDR2. Power supply should not be an issue as long as it's the same type (i.e. has the same connectors). Video card will not matter as long as you match the slots. Audio card definitely doesn't matter but make sure you don't have a better one already built-in or installed. If you're replacing the Mobo too and all the other parts, you pretty much are just taking his old computer and keeping the case right? But if he's keeping the processor you might have issues too... Parts are made to be interchangeable (with the above caveats). It's hard to be more specific without you giving us more specifics.
2. I can't answer that question without more information. The memory that was in the DELL might work, but it might not. It all depends on if the new motherboard he buys supports the same type of memory. If he is upgrading, then it will probably be a newer version of RAM and will be incompatible. The hard drives will work fine. The Heatsink may or may not work as well. If it is the same one, then it will probably work fine as long as the motherboard is compatible with that processor. If it is a different processor, it will have a different retention mechanism and it may not be able to dissipate enough heat to cool a hotter running CPU.
3. since he is getting a new motherboard and power supply, all he needs to do is make sure that the cpu he currently has is the same socket size as the motherboard he gets. The power issue with dells (and other manufacturers for that matter) is that they use proprietary connectors between the motherboard and psu. So, if you use a dell power supply with a 3rd party motherboard, you will fry one of them or both. So, if you replace the motherboard, you will need a new power supply. As long as all of the new parts are compatible and the motherboard socket is compatible with his current cpu, he should be fine!