Okay, I have 2 Dell PCs - one is a Dimension 8300 (1 gb of ram, Pentium 4 processor) and the other is a Dimension e520 (had 2 gb of ram, but upon moving offices and re-booting in the new one, I kept getting beeps and no boot. So I tinkered around with the memory, as the beep code suggested, and finally got it running with 1 gb of installed ram. Oh and Pentium D processor). So, my question is, what is the better rig to use for running Adobe CS3 and 2 monitors, and, what RAM should I buy for the obvious upgrade that I'm going to need. My gut tells me to go get two 1gb of RAM and throw it in the 8300 and call it a day (the e520 has given me some problems in the past and may or may not be infected with a virus). Can I mix and match 3 gb of ram? From threads I have read, the 8300 can only support 3.25 of RAM anyways, so what is my best course of action you think? But, if I can get more memory in the e520 (and if the duel processor will make a huge difference) should I take the risk with the latter? Thank you!
I hope you will not mind me observing that both of these machines are no longer in their "first flush of youth…."
Before spending any money on them it would be wise to check what operating system is installed in them
Many of these machines shipped with Win XP installed and of course now that Microsoft is not generally supporting XP any more it is not safe for most folks to use them on the Internet without taking extra ordinary precautions.
www.crucial.com will be able to tell you the exact make and specification of RAM module for your computers and tell you an indication of cost
(there is no need to buy the memory from them if you have an alternative supplier) however Crucial have a good reputation and guarantee the compatibility of the memory.
Your e520 may be capable of running Vista or Win 7 …. if possible Win 7 would be a better bet….
If the e520 has a virus then if you are not going to format and reinstall Windows it would be wise to visit our Virus and Spyware removal forum if you need help in cleaning the machine . Here' s a link:
It can be an interesting pass time to get an older machine running satisfactorily, but as a new Win 8x machine can be purchased for a low cost…. its important to consider the economics carefully before spending too much on an older machine.
Oh yes, I am quite aware of how old these computers are. To make you sit more comfortable in your chair, I have an HP laptop with in i5 processor and Windows 7 (which I prefer over vista and 8) that works and runs flawlessly for me 99% of the time. These ancient computers were donated to me and have been using them to run a side business of mine laying out publications on an old version of Adobe CS3 that I dusted off. I would like to wipe off the e520 and install 7 if possible, although that would take a reinstall of all my programs which might be a problem. I'm assuming the 8300 is just a little too far gone with a Pentium 4 processor then? Basically I'm asking you for the lesser of the two evils here haha. I will be using this desktop almost only solely for laying out. And for replying to forum posts haha…. Thank you for your quick reply though!
If the machines are still running XP they should be OK as long as they remain isolated from other computers (Internet, email, etc etc) so it does reduce their functionality considerably.
from a purely performance aspect the e520 is much the better/faster machine and the one i'd be using out of the 2.
and as for your ram question, no you can not mix the ram from both machines, the 8300 uses the older ddr ram and the e520 uses newer ddr2 ram which means they have different notches in them so they can not fit in the same motherboards memory slot.
from a quick google search i think the e520's motherboard has a max 4GB ram limit anyway but if it was able to use more ram then the only thing that would stop you using more would be the type of operating system (os) your installing.
win 7 32bit can only use 4GB (which is a 32bit physical limit regardless of type of os.) where as win 7 64bit can use a lot more.
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