How long left?

C

Conkernog

New Member
Hi, i have a Dell Dimension 5000 and for the past 6 years its served faithfully enough. Replaced the power supply and added new RAM but apart from that little trouble.
However
It cant play and of the latest games, at least on any graphics setting worth playing, and its starting to slow down and show its age. Also, i have been told at other times that it is very very unusual for a dell computer to have lasted this long, and that also computers only have a max life of about 5-6 years, as the ROM battery goes and after that its " might as well get a new one time".

So, 6 years down the line, and we're wondering how true these statements are, is it inevitable that the computer will go in the near future? Is the ROM replaceable at a reasonable cost?

I certainly want a new computer, i use it the most and although we could prob get by on just the laptop its handy to have both, however i am aware that we are in a recession and my parents dont want to be handing out any money that they dont need to, so im just checking about the above questions and to get some advice.

LASTLY :D do the January sales affect the DELL sites or is it just shops :P
Thanks!
 
With it being 6 years old, its at its end of life period. There is no valid reason to try updating this to play the latest games as the technology is outdated. You will require a highend video card, power supply, memory and cpu to play todays games. Your better off buying parts and building a new computer.
 
The older Dells, particularly the old white Optiplexes, were tough as nails. The one you have, Dimension, is probably made from cheap components. With that said, if it has lasted you this long, you might be able to squeeze a couple more years out of it, but will only be good for basic web-browsing, word processing, etc.

I know Dell had a capacitor problem with machines manufactured between 2003-2004, and I think that's why you heard that it is "very VERY unusual for a dell computer to have lasted this long."
 
The only thing that computer will support is single core pentium 4 chips. No point in upgrading, really...they're all ridiculously underpowered compared to today's chips.

However, if you happen to find a Prescott 2m or, ideally, a Cedar Mill chip for cheap somewhere, it'd speed up your system a bit. Look for a Pentium 4 HT 6xx, with as high of a clock speed as you can manage. Don't pay more than $20.

Here's a list of them. (Cedar Mill is underneath Prescott 2m)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_Pentium_4_microprocessors#Prescott_2M_.2890.C2.A0nm.29
 
Thanks for the speedy replies guys, yeah I had guessed it wouldn't last long, just for the common knowledge that computers dont generally go much over the six year count, however I was told at one stage that it's not actually possible as the ROM goes , any truth to that can u ask??

Ive been thinking about building one myself however my parents want the security of a brand to call upon should all go tits up :P anything worth watching in the market atm?
 
Yeah, six years is a long time in computer speak. It's getting better, though. Computers are getting faster and faster, but for everyday use, the system requirements haven't actually gone up that much. The original Pentium D chips, released in mid 2005, are still more than enough for browsing the web and whatnot. They can even play some new-ish games on low-mid settings.

If you build it yourself, the parts still have individual warranties...usually better than what you'd get with an OEM brand. Plus, it'll be much less likely to fail in the first place!
 
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Conkernog said:
however I was told at one stage that it's not actually possible as the ROM goes , any truth to that can u ask??
Click to expand...

Unless you have never flash upgraded your BIOS, ROM should last indefinitely.

EDIT: I know computers from the Windows 95 era that they threw away at my work that still worked a few months ago. They were just too slow for today's needs, but they still worked, meaning that the BIOS or ROM was still intact.
 
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Mattu said:
Unless you have never flash upgraded your BIOS, ROM should last indefinitely.

EDIT: I know computers from the Windows 95 era that they threw away at my work that still worked a few months ago. They were just too slow for today's needs, but they still worked, meaning that the BIOS or ROM was still intact.
Click to expand...

I had been told that the battery powering the ROM goes after about 6 years and it's expensive to replace ... Any truth to this or was I misinformed?

Thanks again for replies btw!
 
It will go out, but it's not expensive to replace at all. Most computers use a CR2032, which can be had for $3 or less.
 
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