So I'm working on a computer project

GTzerO

GTzerO

Banned
I want to upgrade an old Dell Optiplex GX1 so that it can be atleast adequate for general internet viewing. Right now it runs TERRIBLY slow with 64mb RAM and a 447Ghz Pentium 3. Would it make much difference if I put in 768MB RAM? I'm guessing it might be a bottleneck because of the RAM. I would upgrade the processor but P3s are kind of hard to find and Dell isn't very open ended with upgrading.

Also, is it possible to take a hard drive from a Dell computer and put it on another one? I know Dell is kind of weird with what you can do with the hardware, so I'm just wondering.
 
I would honestly just recommend you try to sell it on Craigslist and just get a cheap refurbed desktop, if all you want is internet connectivity. It'll cost you less in the long run to take a full step forward, rather than working with the scraps you have. For instance...

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3952508&CatId=2628

Will run you $180, 1 gb of RAM, 160 GB hard drive, DVD burner, new keyboard and mouse, and you'll also be rid of the proprietary hardware you've got with that Dell, and have a computer that you could truly upgrade if the opportunity cropped up the future. I'm sure that the bargain hunters here on CAG could do better than me on deals for desktops, but this was just to give you an idea.
 
Long run doesn't matter. This computer isn't meant for me. So, in the short run, it'd just cost less to put the maximum amount of RAM in there.

Oh, anyone got any idea about the hard drive?
 
[quote name='Oktoberfest']ouch, DDR RAM is pretty expensive these days[/quote]
The RAM in Dell computers has to be specially manufactured. I have no idea if that makes it cheaper or not, but it is.
 
That is really damn expensive. You can get 1 GB of DDR2 for the price of 64 MB of DDR1 on that site. No matter what you do this computer probably won't last too long with that processor. If you really don't want to sell it and buy a cheap desktop, more ram would definitely help it out. And I'm pretty sure you could move the hard drive to a different computer if you wanted to.
 
It'd be cheaper to just pick up any POS you can find on Craigslist for $80 than to waste your money on that.
 
Shows how much I know about computers.

Seems like the last time I checked, 1 gig of RAM was like 100 bucks.

I've decided that I'm just not going through with it. I'd be better of getting them a new computer ( which I won't ), so there's no point.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
bread's done
Back
Top