Buy the case. Part of the problem you may have in the future is ventilation. You want a case that is not going to cause heat problems down the line. Your former case was set up by Dell for the temperatures for that particular processor and accessories. With the newer (and hotter) processors and ram, you want the air flowing in and around your boards. You said you were going to Fry's? You should be able to get both a case and power supply in it for not very much. (More fans the better).

Go here and try this..
 
http://www.pcpowerandcooling.com/products/power_supplies/selector/dell.htm

As PTS has pointed out, make SURE that the power supply that you buy is Dell-compatible. Not sure if your motherboard is affected or not, but around the P3-era Dell produced some power supplies/motherboard combinations that were NOT ATX compliant, although the connector was the same.
 
Connecting an ATX-complaint power supply to these motherboards would destroy the board.

Well, it turns out that Sampson had the right idea. I discovered that the dell motherboard is bolted to the case with their own proprietary clips. So even if I was able to get the motherboard off, I didn't have a new motherboard with the same clip holes. I took pictures, I'll post them later.
 
I will put the dell case with a bunch of crappy spare parts in the living room as an internet computer/DivX machine, so I will need that power supply there anyway.
 
Fry's sold me a new case with 450w power supply for a total after tax of $74. It's pretty cool, has temprature guages for the hard drive, cpu, and system displayed on the front.
 
The point is, if you buy a dell, don't plan on being able to upgrade it easily or cheaply. Now that I have the knowledge and am able to, I can build my own, and will never go back to getting anything preassembled, plus, putting a computer together is like my new legos.
 
Thanks to everyone that took a look at my post, and thanks for helping.

Well, I'm a sucker just like you. I'm looking to upgrade my Dell also!!
 
Are you saying I'll have to buy a new tower, and move my Dell to the new tower (with new power supply and motherboard)??
 
What kind of motherboard would you recommend?? I already know where to find my powersupply. What kind of processor can I purchase??
 
I'm pretty much the ultimate newb, so any help is appreciated.
 
Jim

There might be a problem of communication here. To upgrade a computer generally means to replace the CPU, add memory, add hard drives, etc., All of this can be done for your Dell, but Dell will want to do this.
What ickis wanted to do was to build a new machine by putting in a new motherboard into the old Dell case. Very impractical. Dell does interesting things like have unusual fitting motherboards, strange power supply's, etc. And, most importantly their case can handle the heat for that specific set of peripherals. My experience with Dell is order everything you want up front. Don't even think about putting something in later. It might work or it might not. If you want to "upgrade" the machine, send it back to Dell.
If like ickis you are going to build a new machine, don't think about using any of your Dell components. Some of them way work, but there will always be stability problems since those components might have some kinks that only the Dell motherboard handles.
Choose your motherboard first, look at http://www.pricewatch.com/ to find the components and get costs. It is good that you have a power suppply, but it would be better to get a case with power supply, fans and all that is suited to the motherboard you start with.

Originally posted by Ickis:

Quote:I have a dell dimension 8100. I bought it years ago, way before I knew anything about putting together my own computer. 
But the time has come and I am finally upgrading my ram.
 
However, the ram I required for a dell motherboard (which is modified to where you have to use as much dell made stuff as possible) requires the most expensive ram ever made. I have been to stores like circuit city, best buy, to ask questions about ram and such (I should have just gone to Fry's right off the bat), and they all told me that they don't even carry that ram because no one uses it because it's so expensive.
 
So I bought a new motherboard and processor, and new ram, which eneded up being half as cheap as buying just the ram.
 
Now I have run into a myriad of new problems. It turns out dell motherboards are modded to use specifically dell power supplies. So now I have to use one of my roommates power supplies until I get a new one for myself. Then I realized, his power supply doesn't properly fit inside my case, so I will have to mod my pc. I call this mod, power supply outside the case.
 
After looking through forums for well over three hours, I ran into another chump like me that bought a dell a long time ago, and needs to replace his motherboard, but can't figure out how to get the damn thing off. One person said that dell crazy glues their motherboards to their cases.
 
Does anyone know if that is true? Can I get my old motherboard off that case? I want to keep that case to put all my new stuff in. And I was going to use my old motherboard and spare parts to put a DivX machine in the living room on the tv, just set it up naked (without a case).
 
Or does anyone know where I can get a cheap case? I already spent a lot on the new motherboard and ram, now I need to buy a new power supply, so I don't want to buy a new case, but if I absolutely can't remove the motherboard, anyone know where I can get a butt-ass cheap case?
 
This is my first post to a forum ever in my life, so sorry it's so long, someone please help out this NooB.
 
Ickis
www.three-rings.com/ickis
 
 
 
That sucks man. I wish I had of known you before you did this cause I knew about the atx powersupply and dell motherboard issue. But I didnt fry my mobo cause I was not trusting of dell after my customer service. I checked the power supply volatages before I installed new mobo (which was a BITCH to get out of the case) and they switch the voltages around as opposed to ATX standard. Proprietary companies can **ow me.
 
in the end it wasn't worth the trouble.
 
So I bought my new computer and built it myself with the guidance of a friend for compatibility issues with my mobo case cpu and ram

hello there! i have a dell dimension 8250, i was wondering if it would be possible just to swap all the existing hardware i have into a new case. i wouldnt be looking to upgrade any of my existing hardware - maybe my gfx card in the near future. but i am physically running out of space to put fans and want to put more in. i am wondering if this is pheasable at all.
 
thanks for your help.

Im gonna let you in on a little fact....almost every big company like dell is out to just get money....what they do is they get a company like micro star or something like that have them modify one of their mother boards so it is different from a standard motherboard, then you have to buy their outrageously priced mobo,next they modify their ram.....i work with like 3 different dells at my work and found out today that opti-plex 240's ram are different from the opti-plex 260's ram in that one has an extra nich in it so that it fits into the slot....MORE MOENY FOR DELL.....next they dont use regular anything so you have to buy their outrageously priced stuff....my word of advice....either buy another case like me and make ur mobo fit (STUPID MEDION) or just buy new stuff.........dell and those companies just want money so dont bother with them get companies that use parts u can buy from the companies like ASUS and Nvidia themselves instead of through the computers company....or even better and cheaper...make it yourself

Anybody know where I can find a website that rates motherboards? I have a Dell 8200 that I bought a couple of years back, and I was looking into an upgrade, but its better off just buying a new system. I want to get a good board, but wasnt sure which brand was best! Anybody have any ideas?
 
Thanks!!!

Try here to get started, but don't take it as the end all: http://www.motherboards.org/

I have been looking everywhere for information about this, and I would be eternally grateful if someone could answer this question.
 
I have a Dell 8100 as well. I want to buy a new ATX case (see http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_getprod.php?masterid=678517). I spoke to Dell and they said that my motherboard was an AT type. I have a power supply that I can move to the new case, and if that doesn't work Ill buy the adapter. BUT I can't figure out if my motherboard will fit in the new case, since the AT/ATX specs are mostly about the positioning of the holes in back of the case. And now Im even wondering if I can remove my dell motherboard...
 
If anyone could tell me if it is possible to use this new case I would very much appreciate it.

FYI:
I figured it out. Dell Dimension 8100s are type AT cases. The standard is type ATX. Dell Dimensions are not the standard type, so to change the case you would have to get a new motherboard (and processor/ram?).