blake 0 Posted April 18, 2013 I have my old original Dell Dimension 2200 that i bought back in 2003 sitting in my basement doing nothing.I would like to use this desktop to do bench testing of cctv equipment.It's one of those Dell mini towers.It's got a 1.3 GHz Intel Celeron Processor.Is it feasible to upgrade the components in this tower or should i just junk it? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kawboy12R 0 Posted April 18, 2013 I'd use it as-is for something that it'll do. If it needs anything other than maybe a stick of RAM or a bigger storage HD I wouldn't waste time on it. Sell it and put the money into a new one. PC upgrades can be time consuming and not worth the effort, especially if you have to rip out the motherboard, PSU, HDs, reload the OS, (with occasional stumbling blocks), etc. You can find a cheap new one with all the work done for you for about the price of the parts to redo that one. Also think about the OS- do you want to keep what's on it or upgrade? Add $100 to the parts price if you're thinking of upgrading Windows and that'll make a new box that comes with the OS very attractive. That being said, personally I'd look for something without Win8 installed. That'll narrow your choices a bit. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bigglebowski 0 Posted April 18, 2013 The problem with upgrading a PC is there is usually very little room for a noticeable improvement. It really depends on the motherboard used as to what can be upgraded. You are limited to the CPU socket for which chips will be able to add to it. This will be also limited by the most recent BIOS that has been written for that board as to what is the max CPU you can add. RAM will also be dependent on how much can be added. If using winXP you will be limited to under 4GB, cant remember the exact number (3.X GB), but I bet you can even go near that due to the motherboards bios limitation. Some bios even have a HD limitation as well and it may not be obvious until you reach a certain amount. In this case put your money towards the next PC. That PC would be light duty at best even for a web use and would think that HD video would bog it down too much. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
blake 0 Posted April 19, 2013 Alrighty.Thanks guys for your advice.I'm just gonna grab a nvr and be done with it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
