Would this be an upgrade?

[mfenn]

If i install the second motherboard along with a bigger hard drive for XP, would the PSU be able to handle it? It only has a 100 watt PSU right now.

No, that PSU is too small. You'll want to get something 250W+.

 

[mfenn]

LOL. I'm working with someone, running WinME on a Micron Millennia 2000. It's tied to a vinyl cutter, that is connected via the parallel port. On a FIOS connection. Scared yet?
Good thing his FIOS router has a firewall/NAT.

Why, yes actually. Though he is probably OK as long as the machine doesn't have a web browser or an email client!

 

[strep3241]

I have suggested to him that it would be better to get a totally different system and he is okay with that. I have the opportunity to buy a used Dell Optiplex 745 for $125. IUS is having a public sale for the old computers because they update their computers every few years.

It has pretty decent specs, Core 2 Duo cpu(doesn't specify which one), 1gb of DDR ram(upgradeable to 8gb), 80gb SATA II hard drive. I just don't like the fact that it uses DDR ram instead of DDR2. This still should be fine for what he wants to do with it.

My question is are there any known issues with the Dell Optiplex series? Any reason I should stay away?

 

[Davidh373]

Well, DDR RAM is pretty slow these days (I see on the dell page it's DDR2 though), The E6xxx is what's featured in the Optiplex series, and it doesn't say exactly what one. The 6xxx is pretty old and slow (most of them are in the low 2Ghz range). If you're thinking you'll be able to game on it it's not likely. It has a few PCI slots and 1 PCI-E. You would have to add more RAM, and Graphics, and if it's a slow processor (under 2.5Ghz) you'll probably notice games run slow. Dell and HP normally remove the Overclocking options from the BIOS'. So you're locked in at whatever processor you get.

I also notice Dell has many versions of the 745. Can you see a picture? Is it a minitower, desktop (flat) or an ultra small form factor?

Product specs.

http://www.dell.com/downloads/global/products/optix/en/opti_745techspecs.pdf

 

[strep3241]

He would not be gaming on this. Only thing he wants to do is browse the internet, email and maybe store a few pictures.

On the IUS page, it does not show a pic but here is one from ebay. Most are pretty similar.

http://cgi.ebay.com/1-Dell-Optiplex...0492963112?pt=Desktop_PCs&hash=item2c5a43f128

 

[mnewsham]

He would not be gaming on this. Only thing he wants to do is browse the internet, email and maybe store a few pictures.

On the IUS page, it does not show a pic but here is one from ebay. Most are pretty similar.

http://cgi.ebay.com/1-Dell-Optiplex...0492963112?pt=Desktop_PCs&hash=item2c5a43f128

For basic stuff like that, upgrade hdd and maybe another Gb or 3 of RAM.

 

[strep3241]

For basic stuff like that, upgrade hdd and maybe another Gb or 3 of RAM.

Why would I need to upgrade the hard drive? The 80gb would be enough for him. I may consider adding a second hard drive for storage.

I will definitely consider upgrading the ram. I may see how it performs with 1gb installed first.

 

[mnewsham]

Why would I need to upgrade the hard drive? The 80gb would be enough for him. I may consider adding a second hard drive for storage.

I will definitely consider upgrading the ram. I may see how it performs with 1gb installed first.

The 80gb drive will be slow and old (more prone to failure) just replacing it with a samsung spinpoint f3 is my suggestion.

 

[strep3241]

Why would it be slow? The one ebay has may be different than what IUS has but according to ebay, the hard drive uses the SATA II interface. Nothing against Samsung but if I did replace it, it probably would be a WD of some kind. I have always had good luck with WD's.

 

[Davidh373]

That would be a great system, I might replace the HDD also. Older HDDs are kinda slow. Maybe since you're spending so little, you could do a few upgrades.

Windows 7
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-754-_-Product

4GB RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-207-_-Product

HDD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-244-_-Product

Total: $205.25

 

[mnewsham]

That would be a great system, I might replace the HDD also. Older HDDs are kinda slow. Maybe since you're spending so little, you could do a few upgrades.

Windows 7
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-754-_-Product

4GB RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-207-_-Product

HDD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-244-_-Product

Total: $205.25

+1 :thumbsup:

 

[strep3241]

He wants to spend as little as possible so I may hold off on the upgrades for now unless it just does not perform that well.

The ones IUS has may be a little different than the one I listed from ebay. According to the IUS webpage, the process is a Core Duo 1.8ghz and the ones ebay has are 2.0ghz or higher.

I would definitely consider upgrading the ram. David, the ram you listed is DDR2, according to ebay, these systems uses DDR.

Look at this one:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Dell-Optiplex-7...0503231325?pt=Desktop_PCs&hash=item20b6a52b5d

According to that one, it uses DDR ram.

 

[mnewsham]

He wants to spend as little as possible so I may hold off on the upgrades for now unless it just does not perform that well.

The ones IUS has may be a little different than the one I listed from ebay. According to the IUS webpage, the process is a Core Duo 1.8ghz and the ones ebay has are 2.0ghz or higher.

I would definitely consider upgrading the ram. David, the ram you listed is DDR2, according to ebay, these systems uses DDR.

Dell lists it as ddr2 and wow that is a slow cpu.

 

[strep3241]

So is it DDR or DDR2? The ones listed on ebay has it as DDR. Could it be possible that they just listed the wrong spec?

I realize it may not be a strong cpu but I figured it would be fine for what he wants.

 

[The Green Bean]

If he's only doing email and Ebay, why not use Linux instead?

 

[strep3241]

The main reason being he is not familiar with Linux and neither am I.

I think that once he starts learning how to use a computer, he might want to do more with it in the future.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Why, yes actually. Though he is probably OK as long as the machine doesn't have a web browser or an email client!

His wife uses it (or used to, I told him not to let her) browse the web.

It's pretty bad, the antivirus that is on there, hasn't updated since like 2007 or something, when the company killed support for the Win9x version. No new AV will even install on a rig that old.

 

[The Green Bean]

The main reason being he is not familiar with Linux and neither am I.

I think that once he starts learning how to use a computer, he might want to do more with it in the future.

Ubuntu is easier to use out of the box than win98. There is no reason to use Win98 over a linux GUI.

 

[strep3241]

Honestly, I would feel more comfortable sticking with Windows. I need to learn it myself before I start telling people to use it that wouldn't have a clue.

 

[Davidh373]

Ubuntu is easier to use out of the box than win98. There is no reason to use Win98 over a linux GUI.

The new comp has XP.

 

[strep3241]

The computers that IUS offer has XP installed but does not come with a cd so he would still need to find or buy a copy so he could reinstall it in the future.

 

[f4phantom2500]

ubuntu is dead easy to use man, seriously. it's really not that different from windows (At least last time i used it, which was a good year or two back). if nothing else there's a live cd, which allows you to boot up off of the cd without installing the os, that way you can try it out.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/196064-28-core

^that's pretty much what i thought...ddr2 was the standard for c2d boards, and while its possible to run ddr, its one of those things where the board manufacturer would have made that board specifically for someone upgrading to c2d with the intention of reusing ddr ram. so odds are that dell uses ddr2.

regarding this deal, hell to the yeah man go for it. i just built my parents a "new" rig with some old parts, athlon 64 x2 3600 brisbane (1.9ghz, certainly slower than any 2ghz+ c2d), 2gb ram, and a sandforce 1222 based ssd. running windows 7 ultra the system is as responsive, if not more so, than my desktop, which has an athlon ii x3 435, 4gb ram, and 2 caviar green 640gb in raid 0 (iirc these drives are faster than the 500gb caviar blue), also running win 7 ultra...granted my install is over a year old, i run maintenance on it etc.

basically dude, for that kind of usage, a 2ghz+ c2d with 2gb of ram is fine. at that point, in my experience, more notable gains will be found from going ssd than anything else. but, since your friend is trying to keep the bill as low as possible, i say buy the rig and toss in some more ram. 4gb would definitely be a good idea since its so cheap now. i remember a few years back when ddr2 was ridic cheap, i didnt upgrade because i figured i was good with 2gb, then when i felt the need to upgrade the prices had doubled...and stayed that way until about now -_-. but yeah man, if he really doesnt need a lot of storage, and you want to upgrade the storage, i'd say buy an ssd, install OS and main programs on it, and use the 80gb hdd for storage/backup.

 

[strep3241]

I am going to let him know about this and recommend him to buy this. The only thing I was concerned about is the computers are used.

As for installing an SSD, I am not going to do that just yet. I just want to keep it simple for him. He doesn't know how to use them that well at all. He is an older guy and he just started learning not too long ago. I will most likely buy more ram for this.

Most Dell Optiplex 745 machines on ebay are refurbished. What does that mean? Does that mean they go through the machine and fix only what is wrong and do a reinstall of Windows? In my mind, refurbished means everything has been replaced. Is that the case here? I am assuming not.

 

[mnewsham]

I am going to let him know about this and recommend him to buy this. The only thing I was concerned about is the computers are used.

As for installing an SSD, I am not going to do that just yet. I just want to keep it simple for him. He doesn't know how to use them that well at all. He is an older guy and he just started learning not too long ago. I will most likely buy more ram for this.

Most Dell Optiplex 745 machines on ebay are refurbished. What does that mean? Does that mean they go through the machine and fix only what is wrong and do a reinstall of Windows? In my mind, refurbished means everything has been replaced. Is that the case here? I am assuming not.

most refurbished units go through a wipe of the drives, make sure nothing is broke, if it is fix/replace it. Maybe clean the dust out.

 

[Davidh373]

most refurbished units go through a wipe of the drives, make sure nothing is broke, if it is fix/replace it. Maybe clean the dust out.

yup. If it ain't broke they don't fix it.