For Anyone interested,
Dimension E521 purchased 1/8/2007 with 2 year warranty from Outlet Store.
OS: Windows XP MCE SP2 2005 (Upgraded to SP3)
AMD 64 3800+ 2.2 GHz Single Core (90 nm)
(Upgraded to AMD 64 x 2 6000+ 3.01 GHz Dual Core (65 nm))
3 GB RAM
On Friday Dec 19, 2008 tried using DVD player did not recognized DVDs or CDs
under My Computer, a little after 2 PM (EST). Went to Dell support, and made
contact with a tech rep through Dell Chat. After about 10 mins of testing device
through Dellchat, confirmed DVD-Rom defective. Dell made arrangements to ship
replacement DVD-ROM to a local repairman, so that a home repair could be made by
Tuesday, as part of warranty service. Local repairman arrive with replacement
part as scheduled on Tuesday, in spite of very bad weather on Tuesday here in SE
MI (Snow/Sleet). Switch out the bad DVD-Rom, tested it with a DVD, all is
running fine. Have not tried burning CDs or DVDs yet. Repairman was very
courteous and professional, as were the Dell tech personnel through the Dell
Chat service.
Since the PC case was open for the DVD-Rom replacement, I decided it why not
upgrade the CPU with the Dual Core I bought the previous week from NewEgg.com.
Also do a little cleaning of a few "dust bunnies" in the interior of the case. I
had purchase the retail version of the AMD 6000+, which came with a heatsink.
After removing the stock Dell heatsink and CPU fan, and clean out the "dust
bunnies", I saw that I could not use the heat/fan that came with the new CPU for
two (2) reasons.
1. The replacement fan's power connector (4 Holes) was different than what was
on the motherboard connector (5 Pins).
2. Dell's Fan/Heatsink/Shroud Assembly, does not supply the hold down unit that
the replacement Heatsink/Fan would need. I did see an aftermarket adapter for
this on the AMD site, when researching the replacement for the CPU.
Prior to the Dell repairman leaving I mentioned that I was going to replace the
CPU, he said that I could just reuse the stock Dell Fan/Heatsink assembly, and
even gave me a spare tube of thermal paste, that he carried with him. Which I
was very grateful for. It took about 15 mins to remove the dust, and
replace/upgrade CPU, and reboot PC. The new CPU was recognized with no problem,
and seems to be working fine, so far. This was the first time I attempted to
replace/upgrade a CPU.
The one important thing that I learned from the CPU upgrade on the Dim E521, is
that you need to purchase, and have on hand some thermal paste for the Heatsink
and CPU. To do a good job in cleaning out the dust inside your case on this
model, especially the Heatsink and Fan, you will need to remove the Heatsink &
Fan, which will require reapplying some thermal paste when you reinstall them.
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, Happy Holidays, and a prosperous and joyous New
Year, to Everyone!!!!
--
Rich/rerat
(RRR News) <message rule>
<<Previous Text Snipped to Save Bandwidth When Appropriate>>
Similar Threads
Linear Mode
