Halp! I need to upgrade my computer

[oldaccount]

I have a Dell Dimension 5100. Nothing impressive, but it gets the job done. I though about just ordering a new computer all together, but this one is surprisingly problem-free for its age and how little I do to keep it running well.

It is, however, running a little sluggish, so I figure its time for some small upgrades, but I have no clue where or how to start. I figure I need some more memory, and a larger internal HD.

How do I know what's compatible with my current system? What else should I look at replacing? What about software/reformatting/someotherfancycomputerywords?

[MadDog]

What are the specs of the Dell Dimension 5100 ?? Do you expect everyone to look them up ??

[bmstyle71]

alienware ftw lol mucho $$$ though.

[radix]

OK, before suggesting anything, you should clear up the following:

1. What do you use the computer for?
2. What is the current processor speed?
3. How much memory is installed?
4. What OS are you running (XP, Vista)?

The specs for the 5100 are here:

http://reviews.cnet.com/desktops/del...-31429803.html

before you go and blow a bunch of money on a new machine, I'd suggest that you look at adding more memory first.

[oldaccount]

Originally Posted by MadDog

What are the specs of the Dell Dimension 5100 ?? Do you expect everyone to look them up ??

Here are the results of a scan:

OS Information:
Property Value
OS Name Microsoft Windows XP Professional|C:\WINDOWS|\Device\Harddisk0\Partitio n1
Service Pack 2.0
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
Windows Directory C:\WINDOWS


Processor:
Property Value
Current Clock Speed 2992
Description x86 Family 15 Model 4 Stepping 3
Manufacturer GenuineIntel
Name Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.00GHz

Current Clock Speed 2992
Description x86 Family 15 Model 4 Stepping 3
Manufacturer GenuineIntel
Name Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.00GHz


Memory (RAM):
Property Value
Bank Label
Capacity 268435456

Bank Label
Capacity 268435456

Bank Label
Capacity 268435456

Bank Label
Capacity 268435456

Total Memory Deteced in Hardware: ~1024 MB
Memory Reported to Operating System: 1022MB

Disk Drives:
Property Value
Description Disk drive
Manufacturer (Standard disk drives)
Model WDC WD1600JS-75MHB0
Media Type Fixed hard disk media
Size 159998146560 (~149 GB)
Number of Partitions 3

Description Disk drive
Manufacturer (Standard disk drives)
Model Canon MP470 series USB Device
Media Type
Number of Partitions

Description Disk drive
Manufacturer (Standard disk drives)
Model Samsung CF Card CF USB Device
Media Type
Number of Partitions

Description Disk drive
Manufacturer (Standard disk drives)
Model Samsung MS Card MS USB Device
Media Type
Number of Partitions

Description Disk drive
Manufacturer (Standard disk drives)
Model Samsung SD Card MMC/SD USB Device
Media Type Removable media other than floppy
Size 2031644160 (~2 GB)
Number of Partitions 1

Description Disk drive
Manufacturer (Standard disk drives)
Model Samsung SM/XD Card SM USB Device
Media Type
Number of Partitions


Installed Printers:
Property Value
Name Send To OneNote 2007
Port Name Send To Microsoft OneNote Port:
Default False
Driver Name Send To Microsoft OneNote Driver

Name Intuit Internal Printer
Port Name LPT1:
Default False
Driver Name Amyuni PDF Converter 2.07

Name Canon MP470 series Printer
Port Name USB001
Default True
Driver Name Canon MP470 series Printer


Motherboard:
Property Value
Manufacturer Dell Inc.
Model
Name Base Board
Part Number
Product 0J8885
Serial Number ..CN6986157717BC.
Version


BIOS:
Property Value
Manufacturer Dell Inc.
Name Phoenix ROM BIOS PLUS Version 1.10 A03
Release Date 20060707000000.000000+000
Version DELL - 7


Monitor:
Property Value
Description Dell 2005FPW (Digital)
Name Dell 2005FPW (Digital)
Screen Height 1050
Screen Width 1680


Keyboard:
Property Value
Description USB Human Interface Device

Description Microsoft eHome Remote Control Keyboard keys

Description Microsoft eHome MCIR Keyboard

Description Microsoft eHome MCIR 109 Keyboard


Pointing Device:
Property Value
Manufacturer (Standard system devices)
Name USB Human Interface Device

Manufacturer Microsoft
Name HID-compliant mouse


Sound Card:
Property Value
Manufacturer Creative Technology, Ltd.
Description Creative Audigy Audio Processor (WDM)
Device ID PCI\VEN_1102&DEV_0004&SUBSYS_20061102&REV_04\4&585 5BE9&0&18F0


Video Card:
Property Value
Adapter Compatibility NVIDIA
Adapter RAM 268435456
Description NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT
Installed Display Drivers nv4_disp.dll
Driver Version 6.14.10.9131
Driver Date 6/1/2006 9:22:00 PM
Video Mode Description 1680 x 1050 x 4294967296 colors


DirectX Installation:
Property Value


Modem:
Property Value

Network Adapters:
Property Value
Description Intel(R) PRO/100 VE Network Connection - Packet Scheduler Miniport
Description RAS Async Adapter
Description Intel(R) PRO/100 VE Network Connection - Packet Scheduler Miniport
Description WAN Miniport (L2TP)
Description WAN Miniport (PPTP)
Description WAN Miniport (PPPOE)
Description Direct Parallel
Description WAN Miniport (IP)
Description Packet Scheduler Miniport
Description Packet Scheduler Miniport
Description 1394 Net Adapter
Description WAN Miniport (ATW)
Description Dell Wireless 1450 Dual-band (802.11a/b/g) USB2.0 Adapter
Description Packet Scheduler Miniport
Description Dell Wireless 1450 Dual-band (802.11a/b/g) USB2.0 Adapter
Description Packet Scheduler Miniport
Description Windows Mobile-based Device
Description Dell Wireless 1450 Dual-band (802.11a/b/g) USB2.0 Adapter
Description Packet Scheduler Miniport
Description WAN Miniport (Network Monitor)
Description Packet Scheduler Miniport
Description Dell Wireless 1450 Dual-band (802.11a/b/g) USB2.0 Adapter
Description Packet Scheduler Miniport
Description WAN Miniport (IPX)
Description Microsoft Tun Miniport Adapter
Description Windows Mobile-based Internet Sharing Device
Description Packet Scheduler Miniport
Description Windows Mobile-based Device

External Ports:
Property Value
External Reference Designator
External Reference Designator
External Reference Designator
External Reference Designator
External Reference Designator
External Reference Designator
External Reference Designator
External Reference Designator
External Reference Designator
External Reference Designator
External Reference Designator
External Reference Designator
External Reference Designator
External Reference Designator

Expansion Slots:
Property Value
Slot Designation PEG
Slot Designation SLOT2
Slot Designation SLOT3
Slot Designation SLOT4

[radix]

What do you use the machine for? Do you game? What exactly is slow?

[oldaccount]

Originally Posted by anmcguire

OK, before suggesting anything, you should clear up the following:

1. What do you use the computer for?
2. What is the current processor speed?
3. How much memory is installed?
4. What OS are you running (XP, Vista)?

The specs for the 5100 are here:

http://reviews.cnet.com/desktops/del...-31429803.html

before you go and blow a bunch of money on a new machine, I'd suggest that you look at adding more memory first.

1. internet, d/ling large files, watching movies. nothing major.
2. 2.99 GHz
3. 1GB ram
4. XP

Does this look like what I would need (2 of them)?
http://accessories.dell.com/sna/Popu...64429&price=39

[oldaccount]

Originally Posted by anmcguire

What do you use the machine for? Do you game? What exactly is slow?

I was answering this while you made this post, but no, I dont game. It would be nice to have the capability, though.

Everything is slow. Even basic commands. shutting down, starting up, opening folders, etc. It feels like the majority of my time spent on the computer is waiting for things to open/load.

[radix]

Originally Posted by Suareezay

1. internet, d/ling large files, watching movies. nothing major.
2. 2.99 GHz
3. 1GB ram
4. XP

Does this look like what I would need (2 of them)?
http://accessories.dell.com/sna/Popu...64429&price=39

Yeah, get two of those. You currently have 4 x 256MB DIMMs AFAICT, but your not going to be able to use more than 4GB of memory without a 64-bit OS.

[radix]

Originally Posted by Suareezay

I was answering this while you made this post, but no, I dont game. It would be nice to have the capability, though.

Everything is slow. Even basic commands. shutting down, starting up, opening folders, etc. It feels like the majority of my time spent on the computer is waiting for things to open/load.

That could very well the result of a memory shortage. You have more than enough processor power for such activities.

[MadDog]

Originally Posted by Suareezay

I was answering this while you made this post, but no, I dont game. It would be nice to have the capability, though.

Everything is slow. Even basic commands. shutting down, starting up, opening folders, etc. It feels like the majority of my time spent on the computer is waiting for things to open/load.

Sounds like you have a virus or malware. Where do you d/l files from ??

One suggestion I would make is for you to do a clean install.

[oldaccount]

Originally Posted by anmcguire

Yeah, get two of those. You currently have 4 x 256MB DIMMs AFAICT, but your not going to be able to use more than 4GB of memory without a 64-bit OS.

do I have to get the ones from Dell, or can I look for a better price on newegg?

[oldaccount]

Originally Posted by MadDog

Sounds like you have a virus or malware. Where do you d/l files from ??

One suggestion I would make is for you to do a clean install.

it very well may be. i d/l files from everywhere. torrents, 4chan, etc.

i run ccleaner/adaware/spyware weekly and hardly ever turn up anything. could it still be a virus or malware? should i run another program?

by clean install, do you mean wiping everything out and reinstalling windows?

[radix]

Originally Posted by Suareezay

do I have to get the ones from Dell, or can I look for a better price on newegg?

Any memory that fits these specs should work:

http://accessories.dell.com/sna/Popu...ce=39#Overview

so feel free to shop for a better price. BTW, Mad Dog's suggestion about reinstalling isn't a bad idea either, and could be a no cost alternative. Of course if you *know* your machine is malware free, then it'd just be extra effort.

[radix]

Originally Posted by Suareezay

it very well may be. i d/l files from everywhere. torrents, 4chan, etc.

i run ccleaner/adaware/spyware weekly and hardly ever turn up anything. could it still be a virus or malware? should i run another program?

by clean install, do you mean wiping everything out and reinstalling windows?

Yep, a clean install means bare metal recovery.

[oldaccount]

^ cool. Ill probably do the memory, see where that gets me, than reinstall windows later. its something Ive been meaning to do, but I have about 100GB of stuff I need to backup first.

Also, what about a 1tb internal HD. Are these just plug and play?

http://accessories.dell.com/sna/Popu...9014&price=170

[radix]

Originally Posted by Suareezay

^ cool. Ill probably do the memory, see where that gets me, than reinstall windows later. its something Ive been meaning to do, but I have about 100GB of stuff I need to backup first.

Also, what about a 1tb internal HD. Are these just plug and play?

http://accessories.dell.com/sna/Popu...9014&price=170

That's an external drive, and that won't help with the speed issue. Your current hard drive is a 7200 RPM SATA drive. The 1TB drive you linked to is USB 2.0 and has a maximum effective throughput of 320Mbit/s or about 40MB/s. The advertised 480Mbit/s is a purely theoretical number and is marketing BS. Your internal drive is almost certainly much faster. You could implement a tiered storage scheme however, and put infrequently used stuff on the external drive and use the internal drive to cache the more frequently used stuff. To answer your question, most of the external USB drives are plug and play. Also, a true 1TB internal drive still wouldn't be faster, unless you got a 10k or 15k RPM drive.

[oldaccount]

Originally Posted by anmcguire

That's an external drive, and that won't help with the speed issue. Your current hard drive is a 7200 RPM SATA drive. The 1TB drive you linked to is USB 2.0 and has a maximum effective throughput of 320Mbit/s or about 40MB/s. The advertised 480Mbit/s is a purely theoretical number and is marketing BS. Your internal drive is almost certainly much faster. You could implement a tiered storage scheme however, and put infrequently used stuff on the external drive and use the internal drive to cache the more frequently used stuff. To answer your question, most of the external USB drives are plug and play. Also, a true 1TB internal drive still wouldn't be faster, unless you got a 10k or 15k RPM drive.

I think I copied the wrong link.

Im not looking for a new HD to solve my speed problems, I just want it for additional storage. Id really like to use a 750GB-1TB internal HD if possible; I had a bad experience with an external HD (lost a ton of files). Is an internal 1TB HD compatible with my system?

[radix]

Originally Posted by Suareezay

I think I copied the wrong link.

Im not looking for a new HD to solve my speed problems, I just want it for additional storage. Id really like to use a 750GB-1TB internal HD if possible; I had a bad experience with an external HD (lost a ton of files). Is an internal 1TB HD compatible with my system?

I see no reason why it should not be compatible. Just keep in mind that if you're going to store that much data it really might be better to have two drives and do some RAID 1. Losing 1TB+ would really suck. You'd need to buy an extra hard drive and a PCI SATA RAID controller in order to do this though.

[oldaccount]

thanks man, ill do some shopping around. ill post back here if/when i have more questions.

[bmstyle71]

Originally Posted by Suareezay

thanks man, ill do some shopping around. ill post back here if/when i have more questions.

I'm telling you man alienware....best gaming comps / notebooks IMO. Check them out.

[snipersix]

y not build your own computer. That way you get to save money and can still get what you want or even something better at a cheaper price. Cause if you buy a prebuilt one, specially branded ones, you are usually just paying for the brand only.