Sunday, May 8, 2011

My Old Dell Dimension

I'm happy to have purchased and installed an upgrade to the RAM for my secondary computing device- an old Dell tower from about 2002 or 2003.
That's right, it's got a CD writer, a DVD player and a 3.5"disc drive

Upgrading the RAM in my old Dell desktop computer has greatly increased the speed at which the machine responds to my input.  I started out with a measly 256 MB of RAM and bought a 512MB chip to boost the total to 768 MB.  Those extra 512 MB made a huge positive change in terms of how I can use the computer.

Before the upgrade, I would double click on something, switch over to my primary computer and glance back at my old computer in frustration several times before anything would happen.  Internet pages refused to load and when they did it took a long time and often random images on that page wouldn't load at all.  I couldn't get any YouTube video to load.  About the only thing the computer was good for was playing music making it an iPod roughly the size of a small suitcase that weighs somewhere around 40 lbs.

Please mind the extension cord, ladies.

 Before upgrading the RAM, I rarely turned on my old desktop tower computer.  When I did, I didn't expect much and was still often disappointed.

After the upgrade, the computer came out of dry dock and I could once again set sail on the internet's open waves.  When I double clicked, programs and documents opened right away.  YouTube videos now play just fine (albeit not in full-screen mode, grumble, grumble).

The Dell is still fairly old but now that I can use it at a reasonable speed I find myself doing the following:
  • Browsing the internet
  • Displaying Flickr slideshows to distract/ entertain me while doing something else
  • Playing downloaded movies and TV shows
  • Playing music and podcasts through iTunes
  • Trying out things in the Chrome App Store
  • Typing and saving Open Office Writer and Calc documents to a Dropbox account, which shares with my main computer
Pro-tip: Adding more RAM makes your computer function better. 

TL;DR: Eh, you didn't miss much.  Read the pro-tip and share what you use your backup/ secondary computer for, if you have one.  
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18 comments:

  1. CPHMay 8, 2011 at 6:02 PM

    I have a secondary computer. Will be doing the same thing actually! I currently have four computers. Two are working, two are in repair.

    ReplyDelete
  2. jaykaydeeMay 8, 2011 at 6:45 PM

    i assume all those things you have done multi-tasking.

    ReplyDelete
  3. D4May 8, 2011 at 8:12 PM

    So two things.

    1. you're not coming upon my feed for some reason and that's messed up.

    2. I chose you for the sunshine award. Yay.

    details here:

    http://d4andmusic.blogspot.com/2011/05/i-feel-love.html

    ReplyDelete
  4. Daniel SmothermanMay 8, 2011 at 9:50 PM

    I can't work with a computer with less then 1GB of ram lol

    ReplyDelete
  5. 123May 8, 2011 at 10:12 PM

    yay :D i have 3gb's of ram, aw yeeeeeee i'm average

    ReplyDelete
  6. Jessica ThompsonMay 8, 2011 at 11:59 PM

    Man that is old school!

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousMay 9, 2011 at 12:29 AM

    hehe, yea. My Pc has 9gb

    ReplyDelete
  8. Brandon SampleMay 9, 2011 at 12:32 AM

    i bet your room gets pretty hot with two computers running.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Solsby KidMay 9, 2011 at 5:02 AM

    I have that exact tower xD

    ReplyDelete
  10. GavrilloMay 9, 2011 at 7:14 AM

    'preciate the info. For someone a bit challenged by tech issues, it really helps. Awhile back, my modem got fried in a storm(yes,I have a surge protector but not on the telephone line). My webmaster stopped by and showed me how to replace the modem. I was amazed by the ease of replacement. The local computer whiz would have charged me $35 to replace it. Given that it took me total time of ten seconds, his rate amounts to something like $12,000 per hour.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Jay ReidMay 9, 2011 at 10:10 AM

    I gave my spare to family :(

    ReplyDelete
  12. DaveMay 9, 2011 at 11:05 AM

    Its a big tower that.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Jazz bazookaMay 9, 2011 at 11:50 AM

    i have three , i have no idea why i need three computers thou

    ReplyDelete
  14. T. Roger ThomasMay 9, 2011 at 5:02 PM

    @ jamiesaur

    Yes, the list is all of things I do while primarily using another computer.

    ReplyDelete
  15. T. Roger ThomasMay 9, 2011 at 5:05 PM

    @ D4

    1. If it's not already, you might try pointing your RSS reader to:

    http://cleansheetsanddirtygirls.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

    2. Yay indeed.

    ReplyDelete
  16. AtleyMay 9, 2011 at 11:57 PM

    LOL, I upgraded my grandfathers computer memory. It had 256. I put a full GIG in there. I was amazed at how much faster the computer was. It was crazy. haha. So, yes, upgrading ram is a great way to up your speed.

    ReplyDelete
  17. The Herb GardenDecember 3, 2012 at 3:08 PM

    we have a computer like that

    ReplyDelete
  18. The Herb GardenDecember 3, 2012 at 3:09 PM

    we have a computer like that

    ReplyDelete

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