12-22-2008, 04:26 PM
He's got 4gb of RAM already (which should be plenty for even Vista), and he replaced the video card last year. Hard drive is SATA, so no need to worry about that working with a new motherboard. So looking at a worst-case scenario here, you'd have to tack on the cost of a new case to Conc's estimate, but subtract the negligible memory cost if you find something that works with your current RAM.
I couldn't find the pin-out schematics for the Dimension 8400 motherboard, so unfortunately I can't tell you if they're standard or not.:( A new case can be had for as little as $35 or less, but you tend to get what you pay for. I'd spring for something a bit more upscale. Your current power supply will probably work and should save you a bit of money on a case if you can transfer it, since some cases charge more for the power supply.
In the end it's still going to be cheaper than buying a new machine.
I couldn't find the pin-out schematics for the Dimension 8400 motherboard, so unfortunately I can't tell you if they're standard or not.:( A new case can be had for as little as $35 or less, but you tend to get what you pay for. I'd spring for something a bit more upscale. Your current power supply will probably work and should save you a bit of money on a case if you can transfer it, since some cases charge more for the power supply.
In the end it's still going to be cheaper than buying a new machine.