I had to cut metal for the new power supply, the new motherboard, and to make the new graphics card fit. There probably are components that are exact replacements but mine were not.
We have the 2013 I3 that is not compatible with Vista 3. I love the upgrade option listed here, but need to clarify… does the USB dongle license work the same after the upgrade?
Yes, the USB license will still work.
So out of curiosity how much does the proper pre 2013 I3 upgrade cost from AC
Also am I correct that…
If the I3 console has gray strips its a PRE 2013
If the I3 console does not has gray strips its a POST 2013
Jay,
That is pretty much the difference, the serial number will have “13” in the number. Ex: A131234.
To get a quote on the upgrade you will want to contact your dealer.
I want to thank everyone on this post who provided information about how to turn an i3 into an S3. I was able to successfully do this myself, with a 2013 i3, which was a little different than a pre-2013 i3. I did find the S3|i3 stamp mentioned by Brent so I felt comfortable moving forward with the process.
Our i3’s built-in computer was starting to show its age and after having the system freeze up during a service a couple weeks ago, and after pondering the process for quite a while, I decided to go the route of using an external computer, in my case a Blackview MP80 Mini PC that I reviewed for a gadget site a while back. It’s still underpowered with an Intel N97, but it’s 11 years newer than the i3’s PC so I figured it would suffice temporarily. This is my personal PC so I’m going to get our church to purchase another mini PC with much better specs, but seeing how much better the system performs with a newer PC has given us a little time to work with before making the final decision.
One thing I did different than Brent with my system is that I bought a panel mount USB connector, which I was able to mount where the built-in ethernet jack was. This provided a clean install that looks original if you don’t know any better and I didn’t have to deal with taking out the old PC to put a blank panel in the old I/O plate slot and mount a USB connector there. I did as little as possible to modify the system so I can put it back if we end up selling this system.
I had hoped to still be able to use the power button on the top right of the console to turn it on and off, and purchased an ATX jumper with a switch just in case, but I couldn’t find a way to mount it in the time that I had and it was less of a priority than getting the system up and running again.
I ended up using the USB cable from an old Apple Mighty Mouse (after breaking one of the tiny wires off another cable I tried first). This was a fitting end to a mouse that should have been retired many years ago. In our case it was just a few months ago.
It probably took me about 3 hours to get the conversion done, and I’ve spent the last couple weeks getting Vista set up, installing and configuring all the additional utilities I use, and other things set the way I want them on the new PC.
After all I’m happy with the decision to go this way rather than trying to replace the internal PC. The new mini PC and a USB-C dock to get more connectors will come to about $550. I’d like to purchase some touch screens as well, but that might have to wait a little bit.
Thanks again to everyone who provided advice here. I hope I can be of help to anyone who wants to do the same thing with a 2013 model in the future.
