1. #1

    Old dells and WoW

    So I'm looking to buy an older dell that u can upgrade to run WoW on it's optimal graphIc settings while still getting descent fps. I found a few dells at this local store that have 2gb of ram and 80gb of hard drive space for 150$

    I have no clue if I can upgrade this dell or if it doesn't need upgrades to run WoW well or if it can even be upgraded for that matter. Can someone please give me insight as to what this computer is capable of and what it could be capable of if anything at all?

    Ik my question is vague and I apologize this is my first time selecting a pc to purchase as well as looking for upgrades.
    Peace and love

  2. #2
    80GB of Hard Disk space?.. Sounds like it probably uses those IDE cables on the back of the drive which also possibly means ancient single core processor and motherboard. Best buying something a little more recent.

  3. #3
    Deleted
    You can upgrade a cardboard box into a decent gaming computer.
    All you really need to know is whether the case fits your purposes or not, since you will be replacing the rest anyway.

    That said, easier to just buy a case.

  4. #4
    No it's got a dual processor

  5. #5
    Pit Lord Fallen Angel's Avatar
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    I'm going to take a gamble and say it won't run WoW very well at all. The people in the Upgrade part of the forums HERE could help you with a build that isn't going to cost you $150 just for a box you are going to be removing almost everything from.

    As it is now, you haven't supplied any important info like the graphics card (if it even has one) and CPU.

    Something like model number would help in determining what the computer actually has in it, but I seriously doubt it has what it takes to play WoW at anything really enjoyable.

  6. #6
    To be totally honest, its a wast of money to buy a $150 dell and then upgrade it. Even if you upgrade it to its max specs the mobo can handle it will still run wow like a turd. It sounds like an old optiplex from the way you described it. So it probably has a hyper threaded P4 or a Pentium D CPU and maybe a PCI-E x16 slot for a graphics card. I would recommend you just save a bit more and buy a AMD APU based system if your not looking to spend more then a few hundred. Those can play wow fine with just the built in graphics and will be a million times faster overall then a old dell.
    ​MoBo: MSI Z87-GD65 Gaming | CPU: Intel 4770k @ 4.5Ghz | GPU: MSI Radeon RX 580 4Gb | RAM: Corsair Vengeance Pro 16GB @ 1866Mhz | Storage: Intel 730 Series 480GB SSD, ADATA SU800 256GB, Hitachi Deskstar 3TB HDD | PSU: SeaSonic X Series 80+ Gold 850W | Cooler: NZXT Kraken x62 | Case: NZXT H510 Elite

  7. #7
    I would recommend staying away from the big brands - DELL, HP, Lenovo, etc. They often use non-industry standard builds, at least for the motherboard and case, and often times you can or will run into various conflicts when attempting to support addon cards like your upgraded video card. The companies that make these machines tend to have a strict "officially tested/supported" list of hardware upgrades and you find that getting upgrades that are not on their list (memory, GPUs) can be a gamble.

    If you go to a site like Newegg.com you can browse their refurbs and look for like ASUS, eMachine, or Generic for more industry standard builds.

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883148120

    Is a good example of a generic refurb with twice the memory and 6 times the storage capacity for the same price as that Dell you were looking at and likely will be more accepting of individual upgrades that you are looking at.

  8. #8
    eh ive worked on a few dells and they can be a pita. plastic pieces where you dont need them blocking shit. the little swing out tray for the HDD was nice but still in the way more then anything.

  9. #9
    High Overlord
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    I used your typical "store bought pc" for years, until about 2 years ago...I was tired of the terrible performance and it took me 5 months to get enough saved up for a custom build and now I will never go back! I would recommend just saving up, it might take some sacrifices to get the spare cash but its worth it even if you only go for a cheaper build! I cut out fast-food, dropped down to 1 pack of smokes a week instead of a pack a day, ate peanut butter jelly and ramen noodles. But it was all worth it in the end if I do say so myself! Those machines are meant for your average user, meaning to browse the web, do homework, etc etc... defiantly not for gaming, unless its some old game that doesn't take much to run!
    Haf-932 /// Asus Maximus Iv Extreme /// 2600k Overclocked ~ 4.4ghz /// 8gb Corsair Dominator DHX RAM
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  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by suntsu96 View Post
    So I'm looking to buy an older dell that u can upgrade to run WoW on it's optimal graphIc settings while still getting descent fps. I found a few dells at this local store that have 2gb of ram and 80gb of hard drive space for 150$
    Can't really say for sure what "old Dell" means, but it's most likely OptiPlex GX280 that comes in mini tower and even smaller sizes. Those were very popular for business about decade ago and you can find those used and refurbished everywhere at about $100-150. It's ten years old and because WoW is heavily depending on raw CPU power, it's never gonna be acceptable setup unless you upgrade everything essentially wasting the $150.
    Never going to log into this garbage forum again as long as calling obvious troll obvious troll is the easiest way to get banned.
    Trolling should be.

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by Ragedaug View Post
    I would recommend staying away from the big brands - DELL, HP, Lenovo, etc. They often use non-industry standard builds, at least for the motherboard and case, and often times you can or will run into various conflicts when attempting to support addon cards like your upgraded video card. The companies that make these machines tend to have a strict "officially tested/supported" list of hardware upgrades and you find that getting upgrades that are not on their list (memory, GPUs) can be a gamble.

    If you go to a site like Newegg.com you can browse their refurbs and look for like ASUS, eMachine, or Generic

    Is a good example of a generic refurb with twice the memory and 6 times the storage capacity for the same price as that Dell you were looking at and likely will be more accepting of individual upgrades that you are looking at.

    I like the price for that one and I think I might buy it. Can you recommend some upgrades to put on it? I don't know where to start with that

  12. #12
    Pit Lord Fallen Angel's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by suntsu96 View Post
    I like the price for that one and I think I might buy it. Can you recommend some upgrades to put on it? I don't know where to start with that
    How much are you willing to spend? It still seems silly to buy something you are just going to throw all new stuff in, and as such, I suggest giving the people here the budget you are willing to spend and they can help you do a good build from scratch.

  13. #13
    Like 300-400$ is my budget. Would it be cheaper to buy a gaming comp that's already put together or have it out together from scratch?

  14. #14
    Pit Lord Fallen Angel's Avatar
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    Scratch mostly. Something to include with your prjected budget is if you need extras like Windows, keyboard, mouse, monitor, etc.

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by suntsu96 View Post
    Like 300-400$ is my budget.
    If that has to include everything, monitor and windows too, you're better off buying some $400 discount laptop.
    Never going to log into this garbage forum again as long as calling obvious troll obvious troll is the easiest way to get banned.
    Trolling should be.

  16. #16
    if you tell us what model cpu it currently has, most computer geeks here can tell you instantly what the architecture is and how far you can upgrade it.

    WoW is cpu intensive. as long as your ram and hard drive are working, they're not huge factors. i used to run it on a pentium4 pre cata, but since then its gone thru some graphics overhauls, especially MoP. i wouldn't recommend running it on anything below an intel core2duo cpu or amd equivalent. you can, but you're not gonna like the performance.

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