Newbie...needs help

B

bakermo2

New Member
Hello, new to the site, hoping any of you gurus can help.

My computer:

Dell Dimension 8250 (533 MHZ FSB)
Northwood Intel Pentium 4 2.66GHz Processor (socket 478mPGA)
Cache: L1 Data 8 Kbytes, L2 512 Kbytes
Mainboard: Intel i850E
Ram: Rambus RDRAM 1GB (4x256 PC800-40) (400 MHZ)

I have read that there are better options out there as far as computers and Dell's motherboards and types of RAM on older systems/models are too expensive to justify trying to upgrade. However, I got this computer free so I want to do what I can.

My primary use for this computer is surfing the web, e-mailing, downloading A LOT of music and video files and converting video in WMP 11. This process alone is a memory hog and makes the computer slow to where you basically have to stop everything and allow it to soley be dedicated to converting video (97-99% of CPU usage is shown).

I want to be able to convert video in WMP11 while downloading 5 or 6 bittorrent files and surfing the net with 2-3 different pages open in explorer.

What do I have to do to make this happen as cheap as possible? I have no idea of what to look for as far as compatability with components so if someone would be so kind to give me an exact part list with model numbers I would be forever greatful.

TIA
 
533FSB!?!?!(inside joke) Honestly, you will not get what you want out of that system. To achieve your goals you need a multi core cpu. That system is fine really but it is just not capable of the multitasking you wish to use it for. If I were you I would either deal with what you have (there is no real upgrade for that system). Or spend around $500 for a new system.

Edit: I just want to stress that there is no reason to spend money on upgrading that system. There is nothing you will do that will cause you to even notice a difference in speed/multitasking ability. The highend Dell D's came pretty much maxed as is.
 
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backwoods,

thanks for the reply, so even adding another GB of ram wouldn't even make a small difference?

Also, I have read that the i850E chipset allow upgrade from 2.66 to 3.1GHZ processor, whatever that means. So if i upgraded to the 3.1processor and 2GB ram total, i would not see any real improvement?
 
The computer would be a little faster but not what you are looking for. You seem to want multi tasking ability which is just not possible on a single core. Although it wouldn't be real expensive to upgrade I just can't see the point in it. Your results would be a little faster file conversion but still no multi tasking ability.

I can't see spending $100 on technology that was outdated 5 years ago and will not please you anyway. You will be 100% more satisfied to save up for a few months (or however long) and get a relatively cheap yet current build.

side note, I'm willing to bet all your memory banks are full and you would need to buy all new RDRAM which hasn't been made since the turn of the century. Your performance boost would be minimal. Single core cpu's are a thing of the past and that upgrade would again only cause a minimal performance boost.

After your upgrade you are going to be dissapointed and short on cash with a system that is just not up to the task of modern computing. If you can deal with it as is than do that. If you want to upgrade than upgrade to a new computer. This forum is very helpful on picking out a nice budget build.
 
Upgrading computers are pointless imo. It would be cheaper to get a new one and it would actually save you money because it will last you longer than trying to revive what you have now.

Of course your cpu goes to 100% when converting video because, well...you have a pentium 4.

In the end its up to you but i highly suggest you get a fresh start with a new pc. Build it yourself to save even more money. Me and backwoods both built ours (at least i think he did). If you need assistance with building it, we are here to help.

My old specs were:
Pentium 4 @ 2.8
512 MB ram
Geforce 5500
etc.

Now check my new system in my sig. I won't need a new computer for a while now.
 
DarkTears said:
Upgrading computers are pointless imo. It would be cheaper to get a new one and it would actually save you money because it will last you longer than trying to revive what you have now.

Of course your cpu goes to 100% when converting video because, well...you have a pentium 4.

In the end its up to you but i highly suggest you get a fresh start with a new pc. Build it yourself to save even more money. Me and backwoods both built ours (at least i think he did). If you need assistance with building it, we are here to help.

My old specs were:
Pentium 4 @ 2.8
512 MB ram
Geforce 5500
etc.

Now check my new system in my sig. I won't need a new computer for a while now.
Click to expand...

Of course I did! His is faster, mine is cheaper :D
 
I envy both of you I'm still want to build a computer but too many bills to pay I wish I can replace my Dell 5150 with 3.0Ghz,3Gb ram,asus 512mb graphic cards,650Gb hard drive(160gb and 500Gb) corsair 400watts.Cheers to all !!
 
upgrading your memory will cost you alot of money.
your computer is using RDRAM. that ram is obsolete and expensive.
and most likely if you get some software to tell you how much ram is in each ram slot you will find that it has 256 in each. same thing as my dad. after some time searching for that ram i found some places selling it. 140 dollars for 512MB.
NOT WORTH IT. as backwoods said. either build a new one or stay with what you got. trying to upgrade that will actually be pointless.
 
2048Megabytes said:
Look at a refurbished computer from TigerDirect.com.

Take a look at this one for $284 including shipping:

Acer Aspire AM1100-B1410A Refurbished AMD Desktop PC - $284
Processor: AMD Athlon BE-2350 Dual-Core (2.1 gigahertz)
Random Access Memory: 2 gigabytes of PC2 5300
Hard Drive: 320 gigabyte Serial ATA
Operating System: Windows Vista Home Premium

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...u=S445-SF0020&srkey=Acer Aspire AM1100-B1410A
Click to expand...

so this would do everything I am wanting to do?

What about this one, woudl it be even better?

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4356032&csid=_21

TIA
 
its really dissapointing to see windows vista laid off on someone looking to convert video. vista is a hog and will probably only make matters slightly worse. even with substantial tweaking any lowgrade system will drag with it. 2gb of RAM really isnt enough to run it efficiently. or at least i dont feel that it is.
 
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