I just have an old PC I'm giving to my sister. It's a Dell Optiplex GX150 with Windows 2000 installed. Other Specs include: Intel Pentium III 900MHz 128 MB of RAM Installed Two (2) DIMM slots 10GB IDE Hard Drive I want to upgrade it as it is obviously outdated and slow. I plan to upgrade the RAM memory by installing a 256 MB memory module in it and installing XP as well. These thing I know how to do. My question is the hard drive : How do I upgrade the 10gb hard drive?
you're going to hate XP with such a slow processor. either get linux, or do a full motherboard-processor-ram replacement as well as replacing the hard drive. actually, just start saving and build a new pc. to bring that one up to spec will cost just as much.
with 128meg of ram than yes it is slow but with hopefully 384meg than will move faster. i normally don't load xp below 500mhz
Hmmmm... That's a thinker! Give me your opinion. The PC is going to my sister. She doesn't burn DVD's & she's not a gamer either. Basically she's gonna use a PC for Internet, E-mail, Myspace & checking her bank account online. At the most she'll burn a CD sometimes. Very basic stuff! I have $190.00 total in the entire PC including a 256MB memory module I bought to upgrade her RAM from 128MB to 512MB which is the max it could handle. That said, what else should I do? Should I forget about XP just keep 2000 on it? What else would you do if anything? Thanks to all you guys responding so fast! Afterdawn is awesome!
well, if you've maxed out with the most of the fastest possible ram, and the motherboard isn't capable of using a faster processor, and you don't want to do a full rebuild, then you're pretty much peaked. i wouldn't install windows anything; Damn Small Linux, or Mandriva, or some other easy-to-use, light resource OS would work much better on that system and give you complete functionality with improved reliability and security.
ffg7's right win xp will run fine with 900mhz, rams the main problem you'll need 320mb's minimum(if your using onboard video), but i'd suggest just staying with win2k its very similar to xp but alot less resource hungry, its not worth putting to much cash into this computer as it is very old you could buy 256mb's ram and a cheap 40-80gb hdd for about $80+/- but i agree with Auslander use linux
Well I agree with the all the previous posts. But you got to remember folks not everyone has the know how to deal with linux. His sister may already be used to.....'gasp'....windoze. mossfan18 considering the age of the machine go the least expensive route possible if using windows. If you spend any money do it on the hard rive as you can use it in a new build later. Just my .02. good luck
I took the multiple advice and am staying with win2k as there is no point in going the xp route. My sis is not familiar with Linux so that is outta the question. I did order some RAM for it, 256MB worth as you advised. You also mentioned a cheap 40-80gb hdd also. Where would be the best place to order and what brand name do you suggest? Great advice from all you guys! Best info site on the net IMO at least.
if you're located in the US, i'd go with newegg.com. they typically get all my pc part business. as for drives, they're all pretty much the same, these days. seagates have a five year warranty, though.
