JustRob wrote on 2021-10-31, 23:23:

Aren't those newer than the Geforce 8800 GTX? Why would someone wanna put an older graphics card in there?

Yes and no, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quadro then from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GeForce_8_series

Quadro FX 4600 2007-03-05 G80GL Core 400 MHz ---------------- GeForce 8800 GTX November 8, 2006 G80 Core 575 MHz

So they are basically the same G80 chip and the GTX has a faster core clock

Huh. That's cool. From what I'm reading this thing was pretty high end back in the day. Curious what kinda games it can handle.

JustRob wrote on 2021-10-29, 20:14:

Hi, […]
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Hi,

I got a used Dell Precision 490 today. Mainly got it because I think the case looks cool and wanna use it for something, but since it still has all components (I think) I thought I'd try to see if it works as is.

It's really loud, and during the startup sequence I get all kinds of warnings. "Warning, previ0us fan failure". "Warning, previous thermal failure". "Warning, system voltage is low". It's also loud as all hell, so loud I powered it down out of caution.

Is it safe to let this thing run and see what it does? Considering all these warnings it feels like there's some broken hardware in there, and I don't wanna have a PSU blow up next to my face or start a fire. I haven't checked out the insides yet, but I noticed it was pretty dirty, possibly never been cleaned.

Pretty sure you have a failing PSU and maybe some bad fans. Fans can spin sluggishly or not at all at first and then recover if they have been sitting. I had it happen recently with an inexpensive big CPU cooler on a Ryzen that had not run in 4 months. It made some light grinding noises for a few minutes and then eventually regained full function. Maybe something to do with all the bearing lube settling, idk.
I would just get a new PSU, though that could be tricky as Dell likes to frequently use nonstandard PSUs. Still, you might find a low mileage one on eBay for less than a fortune. I bought a couple EVGA 500w White on Amazon recently for $25, which would be great if uses a standard size.
I always open up an old PSU and visually inspect everything. If the caps look good, they probably are good and you are safe to try it. If a PSU goes straight to full fan and is super noisy, it is likely it has failed electrically. I tried an old PSU from the early '00s recently in a LGA 775 build and, while it looked good internally, it had failed. It went to full fan and there was no sign any power was coming out of it. Sometimes a bad PSU can fry components.
That is a really neat rig. I wouldn't mind having one of those. I recently got a Pentium D and was thinking about building myself a dual core netBurst machine.
I have 3 of the somewhat later Optiplex models with Core 2 and P4HT CPUs, a 745, 780 and 380. The 780 is set up with an overclocked Xeon X3220, R7-250 6GB RAM and solid state storage and runs most of my later XP games under Windows 7, as well as some later games (up to and including GTAV). It serves as my floppy and CD authoring machine in support of older hardware. It is also set up for audio recording, with a firewire equipped SB Audigy 2. Who says Windows 7 is dead?
Good luck getting that machine back up and running. It should make for a great XP gaming rig.

JustRob wrote on 2021-11-01, 05:19:

From what I'm reading this thing was pretty high end back in the day.

I searched through the SIV save files I have for one and guess back in the day it was good, but below you can see how much faster later cards are.

HangarAte2nds! wrote on 2021-11-01, 07:35:

I would just get a new PSU, though that could be tricky as Dell likes to frequently use nonstandard PSUs. Still, you might find a low mileage one on eBay for less than a fortune. I bought a couple EVGA 500w White on Amazon recently for $25, which would be great if uses a standard size.

It's none standard and it takes 30 seconds to look and find such as https://linustechtips.com/topic/1098040-chang … -precision-490/

Rob, where are you located? Looking in eBay in England there are 490/690 systems for peanuts and PSUs cost more! Also if you get another system that would mean you ended up with two CPUs 😀

HangarAte2nds! wrote on 2021-11-01, 07:35:

Pretty sure you have a failing PSU and maybe some bad fans. Fans can spin sluggishly or not at all at first and then recover if […]
Show full quote

JustRob wrote on 2021-10-29, 20:14:

Hi, […]
Show full quote

Hi,

I got a used Dell Precision 490 today. Mainly got it because I think the case looks cool and wanna use it for something, but since it still has all components (I think) I thought I'd try to see if it works as is.

It's really loud, and during the startup sequence I get all kinds of warnings. "Warning, previ0us fan failure". "Warning, previous thermal failure". "Warning, system voltage is low". It's also loud as all hell, so loud I powered it down out of caution.

Is it safe to let this thing run and see what it does? Considering all these warnings it feels like there's some broken hardware in there, and I don't wanna have a PSU blow up next to my face or start a fire. I haven't checked out the insides yet, but I noticed it was pretty dirty, possibly never been cleaned.

Pretty sure you have a failing PSU and maybe some bad fans. Fans can spin sluggishly or not at all at first and then recover if they have been sitting. I had it happen recently with an inexpensive big CPU cooler on a Ryzen that had not run in 4 months. It made some light grinding noises for a few minutes and then eventually regained full function. Maybe something to do with all the bearing lube settling, idk.
I would just get a new PSU, though that could be tricky as Dell likes to frequently use nonstandard PSUs. Still, you might find a low mileage one on eBay for less than a fortune. I bought a couple EVGA 500w White on Amazon recently for $25, which would be great if uses a standard size.
I always open up an old PSU and visually inspect everything. If the caps look good, they probably are good and you are safe to try it. If a PSU goes straight to full fan and is super noisy, it is likely it has failed electrically. I tried an old PSU from the early '00s recently in a LGA 775 build and, while it looked good internally, it had failed. It went to full fan and there was no sign any power was coming out of it. Sometimes a bad PSU can fry components.
That is a really neat rig. I wouldn't mind having one of those. I recently got a Pentium D and was thinking about building myself a dual core netBurst machine.
I have 3 of the somewhat later Optiplex models with Core 2 and P4HT CPUs, a 745, 780 and 380. The 780 is set up with an overclocked Xeon X3220, R7-250 6GB RAM and solid state storage and runs most of my later XP games under Windows 7, as well as some later games (up to and including GTAV). It serves as my floppy and CD authoring machine in support of older hardware. It is also set up for audio recording, with a firewire equipped SB Audigy 2. Who says Windows 7 is dead?
Good luck getting that machine back up and running. It should make for a great XP gaming rig.

Idk if it's the PSU. As soon as I turn it on the fans are already really loud, and it seems to just keep getting louder and louder. I've never actually dared to leave it on for more than a minute as I felt like the thing might explode.

red-ray wrote on 2021-11-01, 08:56:

HangarAte2nds! wrote on 2021-11-01, 07:35:

I would just get a new PSU, though that could be tricky as Dell likes to frequently use nonstandard PSUs. Still, you might find a low mileage one on eBay for less than a fortune. I bought a couple EVGA 500w White on Amazon recently for $25, which would be great if uses a standard size.

It's none standard and it takes 30 seconds to look and find such as https://linustechtips.com/topic/1098040-chang … -precision-490/

Rob, where are you located? Looking in eBay in England there are 490/690 systems for peanuts and PSUs cost more! Also if you get another system that would mean you ended up with two CPUs 😀

I don't really wanna buy more systems, mostly because of space issues and shipping. With England no longer being part of the EU I'd probably be looking at import fees as well.

Luckily, my country's local ebay variant seems to have 490 PSUs for sale for 35 euros or so. So if that's the problem I could buy one of those. But considering I paid 40 euros for the PC altogether, kind of a bummer to spend almost as much as that on a replacement PSU.

The seller told me the PC was working when it was put away, but idk how long ago that was. I'll try asking him. From my quick glimpse on the hard drive it seemed like it was last used in 2016.

Also… taking apart the Geforce 8800 is a biiitch. I’ve removed all screws I could find, but the damn thing still won’t give… I think there might be more screws underneath the sticker on top, bit I don’t wanna tear that off or ruin it…

Also think there might be thermal paste keeping this thing together. Do graphics cards normally have thermal paste? I’ve never really taken one apart before this.

Does https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbiYnF9MbPA help? I have not watched all of it.

Watched a bit of that, but I think the guy ends up just tearing the sticker as well

I finally got the gpu apart, had to lift up the plastic sticker thing a bit in the end... kinda ruined it a bit, but oh well, it's just a plastic cover that's inside the PC...

Btw, does anyone know if it's alright to hose down a fan after it's been completely detached? I can't get all those tiny blades completely clean, the backside of them is almost impossible to reach even with a thin cloth... I'd rather not do it because there's still a wire hardwired into the center of it, but if it won't do any damage...

red-ray wrote on 2021-11-01, 08:56:

HangarAte2nds! wrote on 2021-11-01, 07:35:

I would just get a new PSU, though that could be tricky as Dell likes to frequently use nonstandard PSUs. Still, you might find a low mileage one on eBay for less than a fortune. I bought a couple EVGA 500w White on Amazon recently for $25, which would be great if uses a standard size.

It's none standard and it takes 30 seconds to look and find such as https://linustechtips.com/topic/1098040-chang … -precision-490/

Rob, where are you located? Looking in eBay in England there are 490/690 systems for peanuts and PSUs cost more! Also if you get another system that would mean you ended up with two CPUs 😀

I literally said, and I quote "Dell likes to frequently use nonstandard PSUs" and "...would be great if uses a standard size." It seems like people are just jumping all over my posts because I'm a "newbie", here, IRL I am an oldbie. You don't know my IQ, educational background or relevant experience and knowledge in the subject and you apparently can't read so well either. Since you actually know what it means as a Brit, I will tell you I am an Old Rugbean. I experienced plenty of hazing there, as the lone American student, so if that is what is going on, people really need to stop. I turn 40 this month.
Also, one could presumably remove the guts from a modern PSU and insert them in the Dell PSU case. They are usually larger than standard so it shouldn't be a problem. Have a lovely day!

JustRob wrote on 2021-11-01, 16:36:

I don't really wanna buy more systems, mostly because of space issues and shipping. With England no longer being part of the EU […]
Show full quote

red-ray wrote on 2021-11-01, 08:56:

HangarAte2nds! wrote on 2021-11-01, 07:35:

I would just get a new PSU, though that could be tricky as Dell likes to frequently use nonstandard PSUs. Still, you might find a low mileage one on eBay for less than a fortune. I bought a couple EVGA 500w White on Amazon recently for $25, which would be great if uses a standard size.

It's none standard and it takes 30 seconds to look and find such as https://linustechtips.com/topic/1098040-chang … -precision-490/

Rob, where are you located? Looking in eBay in England there are 490/690 systems for peanuts and PSUs cost more! Also if you get another system that would mean you ended up with two CPUs 😀

I don't really wanna buy more systems, mostly because of space issues and shipping. With England no longer being part of the EU I'd probably be looking at import fees as well.

Luckily, my country's local ebay variant seems to have 490 PSUs for sale for 35 euros or so. So if that's the problem I could buy one of those. But considering I paid 40 euros for the PC altogether, kind of a bummer to spend almost as much as that on a replacement PSU.

The seller told me the PC was working when it was put away, but idk how long ago that was. I'll try asking him. From my quick glimpse on the hard drive it seemed like it was last used in 2016.

I have been there where it worked when it was put away... but then you realize that was 5 years ago. If you are in a more southerly location in Europe, especially, you put that in a shed for 5 summers and the caps will be toast, especially when they come from an era notorious for bad caps. So the moment you switch it on, the PSU detects the fault and (hopefully) cuts power from the mains. Usually it is a fuse or fusable link that burns and cuts off power to the board while simultaneously sending the PSU fans to full power but more sophisticated units have non resetting circuit breakers. At least this is what I have observed before and the infamous "white smoke" could be solely from a blown fusable link when it happens. The fans appear to be powered upstream of the power conditioning circuitry which feeds the MB, which is where the failure likely occurred, in one of those massive capacitors that you really don't want to touch. So when it loses conditioned power, the fans are powered from the mains via a simple transformer/rectifier setup, which probably also overpowers them quite a bit, hence the awful noise. The reason for this is that some failure modes may generate a lot of heat and you want the fans spinning as fast as possible to reduce the risk of a fire.
In case you missed my other post today, I suggested you could take the internals out of another PSU and put them in the Dell PSU case because the Dell PSUs are usually larger than standard.

HangarAte2nds! wrote on 2021-11-01, 22:31:

JustRob wrote on 2021-11-01, 16:36:

I don't really wanna buy more systems, mostly because of space issues and shipping. With England no longer being part of the EU […]
Show full quote

red-ray wrote on 2021-11-01, 08:56:

It's none standard and it takes 30 seconds to look and find such as https://linustechtips.com/topic/1098040-chang … -precision-490/

Rob, where are you located? Looking in eBay in England there are 490/690 systems for peanuts and PSUs cost more! Also if you get another system that would mean you ended up with two CPUs 😀

I don't really wanna buy more systems, mostly because of space issues and shipping. With England no longer being part of the EU I'd probably be looking at import fees as well.

Luckily, my country's local ebay variant seems to have 490 PSUs for sale for 35 euros or so. So if that's the problem I could buy one of those. But considering I paid 40 euros for the PC altogether, kind of a bummer to spend almost as much as that on a replacement PSU.

The seller told me the PC was working when it was put away, but idk how long ago that was. I'll try asking him. From my quick glimpse on the hard drive it seemed like it was last used in 2016.

I have been there where it worked when it was put away... but then you realize that was 5 years ago. If you are in a more southerly location in Europe, especially, you put that in a shed for 5 summers and the caps will be toast, especially when they come from an era notorious for bad caps. So the moment you switch it on, the PSU detects the fault and (hopefully) cuts power from the mains. Usually it is a fuse or fusable link that burns and cuts off power to the board while simultaneously sending the PSU fans to full power but more sophisticated units have non resetting circuit breakers. At least this is what I have observed before and the infamous "white smoke" could be solely from a blown fusable link when it happens. The fans appear to be powered upstream of the power conditioning circuitry which feeds the MB, which is where the failure likely occurred, in one of those massive capacitors that you really don't want to touch. So when it loses conditioned power, the fans are powered from the mains via a simple transformer/rectifier setup, which probably also overpowers them quite a bit, hence the awful noise. The reason for this is that some failure modes may generate a lot of heat and you want the fans spinning as fast as possible to reduce the risk of a fire.
In case you missed my other post today, I suggested you could take the internals out of another PSU and put them in the Dell PSU case because the Dell PSUs are usually larger than standard.

My region is more western Europe, I guess. I have no idea in what conditions the computer was stored, but it didn't look absolutely awful. I mean, inside is pretty much a dust fiesta, I wouldn't be surprised if it had never been cleaned on the inside during its lifetime. But otherwise it looks alright. Slight corrosion on the ports of the sound card.

I don't really have a spare PSU laying around, so idk if there's a big difference between buying another Dell PSU or some random other PSU.

So I opened up the PSU... to be honest, I don't even know how to begin to clean this. There's so much dust and grime in there, I have no idea how to clean it all. Should I just toss it and get a new PSU?

I've got its brother the Precision 5500 and agree its a nice case. I even forgive the non standard layout as thy squeeze a lot in a small space.

From what I understand when researching PSU options for the 5500 if your only using 1 CPU you can use a generic PSU. Seems like this is the case for the 490 as well?
https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/psu-u … -gtx770.1711323
even if it was from another PC just for testing purposes.

can you enter BIOS (F2) as soon as the dell logo shows? the fact it's hanging here indicates its hanging during post test which isn't good at all.
Re washing fans, etc. as long as it's absolutely dry after its fine, I usually give it a week (weekend to weekend) to play it safe.
Whats the worst thing that can happen? you'll kill something thats sounding like it's quite sick already.

chinny22 wrote on 2021-11-04, 12:02:

I've got its brother the Precision 5500 and agree its a nice case. I even forgive the non standard layout as thy squeeze a lot i […]
Show full quote

I've got its brother the Precision 5500 and agree its a nice case. I even forgive the non standard layout as thy squeeze a lot in a small space.

From what I understand when researching PSU options for the 5500 if your only using 1 CPU you can use a generic PSU. Seems like this is the case for the 490 as well?
https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/psu-u … -gtx770.1711323
even if it was from another PC just for testing purposes.

can you enter BIOS (F2) as soon as the dell logo shows? the fact it's hanging here indicates its hanging during post test which isn't good at all.
Re washing fans, etc. as long as it's absolutely dry after its fine, I usually give it a week (weekend to weekend) to play it safe.
Whats the worst thing that can happen? you'll kill something thats sounding like it's quite sick already.

Right now the thing is almost completely stripped apart, so I can't really test anything. Cleaning every component (or trying to) is turning out to be a lengthy project.

I tried cleaning the PSU as best I could. There's still quite a bit of dust in the center of it, I can't get to there, and compressed air does nothing to it. I really don't wanna remove all the sides, I'd never get it back together. There's capacitors stuck on both sides.

I also have two big fans with a metal grille on top. They're held in place by these weird rubbery "screws". Does anyone know a way to remove those without destroying them? Or can they be replaced later with regular screws?

JustRob wrote on 2021-11-06, 15:42:

I also have two big fans with a metal grille on top. They're held in place by these weird rubbery "screws". Does anyone know a way to remove those without destroying them? Or can they be replaced later with regular screws?

You can use pliers to push the rubber though a bit and then hold the rubber bit to minimise the stretching while pulling the fan off, reduces the risk of the "screw" snapping but it's still a risk
Otherwise you can use normal screws or get replacements, Many after market fans come with them included.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/b/Rubber-Fan-Mounts-in … 8/bn_7022725205

Question: I finally got to tearing this thing apart completely. Now I have an empty case and a lot of parts. Most of them can be salvaged, especially the GPU, I think, but the PSU and case fans are an absolute shitshow. There's three of them: Two 92mm ones with a metal grille, and one with a tiny speaker mounted next to it, and one huge son of a bitch that was mounted at the lower front of the case.

Out of all the parts, the PSU and fans are by far in the worst condition. They're so dusty I'm surprised the thing didn't immediately implode when I first turned it on. I've tried every cleaning method I can think of, even hosed them down for a bit, but the grime is so stuck on there I feel like these things are beyond saving. Oh, I also partially destroyed one of the fans with a metal grille while taking it out, the one without the tiny speaker. It was really stuck in there and brute force couldn't get it out in one piece.

So long story short, I would love to toss out the PSU and replace it (easy enough), but also replace all the case fans. Now I can find fans of a similar size to these ones, but the trouble is, seems a 4-pin connection is the standard for those. While the fans in my Dell case have a 5-pin connection, and a 5-pin header on the motherboard. I'm assuming a 4-pin connection won't just work with this if I plug it in, and finding 5-pin connection case fans seems difficult. I'm guessing it's a proprietary connection used by Dell.

Does anyone know if these fans can be replaced with non-Dell fans that work with this motherboard?

JustRob wrote on 2021-11-14, 18:26:

Question: I finally got to tearing this thing apart completely. Now I have an empty case and a lot of parts. Most of them can be […]
Show full quote

Question: I finally got to tearing this thing apart completely. Now I have an empty case and a lot of parts. Most of them can be salvaged, especially the GPU, I think, but the PSU and case fans are an absolute shitshow. There's three of them: Two 92mm ones with a metal grille, and one with a tiny speaker mounted next to it, and one huge son of a bitch that was mounted at the lower front of the case.

Out of all the parts, the PSU and fans are by far in the worst condition. They're so dusty I'm surprised the thing didn't immediately implode when I first turned it on. I've tried every cleaning method I can think of, even hosed them down for a bit, but the grime is so stuck on there I feel like these things are beyond saving. Oh, I also partially destroyed one of the fans with a metal grille while taking it out, the one without the tiny speaker. It was really stuck in there and brute force couldn't get it out in one piece.

So long story short, I would love to toss out the PSU and replace it (easy enough), but also replace all the case fans. Now I can find fans of a similar size to these ones, but the trouble is, seems a 4-pin connection is the standard for those. While the fans in my Dell case have a 5-pin connection, and a 5-pin header on the motherboard. I'm assuming a 4-pin connection won't just work with this if I plug it in, and finding 5-pin connection case fans seems difficult. I'm guessing it's a proprietary connection used by Dell.

Does anyone know if these fans can be replaced with non-Dell fans that work with this motherboard?

Far as I can tell the DELL fans are just PWM fans with a different motherboard header & cable arrangement. Seems the suggested fixes for this are either to chop the DELL connectors off and solder them to the PWM fans of your choice or, perhaps better, is to get some of the 5 > 4 pin fan adapter cables (Amazon or Ebay) like this