Dell = shit.
And shee_man, you have to take into account that his original board was a couple years old, im sure he has upgraded to something better than a 2 year old dell.
You can go purchase a good thirdparty board for alot cheaper than 600+ $ and they are alot better, dell, gateway, acer. All the major PC manufactorers are just out to gladly take the money out of your pocket when a repair or service comes into question.
Glad you got er goin 88fast.