Dimension 3000 and 2400--what is the difference?

Hello all...

Another Dimension 3000 has crossed my bench for service, and once again I'm
struck by how similar it is to the Dimension 2400. Looking around seems to
reveal that both were budget boxes. They are virtually identical inside and
out. I thought that perhaps the 3000 might pick up on the
also-closely-related OptiPlex 170 tower and have SATA or something, but it
does not have any SATA connectors. And there's no AGP slot--just solder pads
for one.

I've also noticed that Dimension 2400 systems are present in much greater
numbers than the 3000.

So what's the difference?

William

 

The 2400 has a side panel with a curve in its front edge (matching curve in
chassis) and an 845 chipset supporting 400 and 533MHz FSB.

The 3000 has a rectangular side panel and an 865 chipset supporting 400, 533,
and 800MHz FSB. Not sure if it supports hyperthreading or the newer Pentium D
and Celeron D (Socket 478, of course).

The Optiplex 170L motherboard is identical to the 3000 board, AFAIK. Different
BIOS, of course.

The Dimension 3000, like the 4600, came along relatively late in the life of
Socket 478/DDR, and not as many were ever built.

There was also a B110 with the same style of chassis, but I have never seen one.
Not many were built.

A Dimension 4600 board makes for a nice Dimension 3000 or 2400 upgrade, adding 2
DIMM sockets and an AGP slot, with 865 chipset. Repaired a 3000 with a dead
mobo recently by dropping in a 4600 board, which was all I had. Even Windows
did not complain, because the major chipsets lined up perfectly. Owner got a
nice memory upgrade, too, so he was ecstatic... Ben Myers

 

Hi!

Interestingly, the OptiPlex 170L to which it is so closely related
uses the curved panel and case. Amazing. (Also--surprising that the
OptiPlex hasn't got the AGP slot...)

The OptiPlex has a single SATA port and solder pads for another, while
the Dim3000 has only solder pads for both SATA ports.

The one on my bench has a Celeron D 330 in it.

I've always wanted to ask someone I know (who definitely has the
soldering skills to do it) if they'd populate the AGP slot on a
Dim2400. Just for curiosity's sake.

The motherboard on this system is healthy and happy--the hard drive is
definitely not. I slapped it into one of the ever present and very
handy Deskpro EN systems for a look at the SMART data and it was bad
news.

William

 

How do you examine the SMART data on a hard drive?

Mike

 

Hi!

The SpeedFan tool can view SMART data, and it has a companion web site that
will take your results and compare them against other drives.
http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php

Gibson Research Corporation's SpinRite 6.0 tool can also display SMART data
(if it knows the hardware address of the disk controller--which it may not
on a SATA system!) as it tests a drive.

HDAT2 can also do the job:
http://www.hdat2.com/

William

 

Dell did not go crazy on the Optiplexes with all the options typically found in
the Dimension product line. After all, these are business computers. Actually,
it looks like the 160L and 170L were budget-priced Optiplex models, so they
would lack AGP slots like their Dimension counterparts.

You're right about the SATA port on the 170L. I forgot about it. That makes it
a tiny upgrade over its cousin Dimension 3000 mobo. I have to add another
column to my chart to track presence of SATA connectors... Ben Myers