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Building new computer

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mk77

New Member
Joined
Dec 15, 2011
Im looking to build a new gaming pc. I will be using it for iracing. I have a dell desktop that im not using right now. The hard drive is messed up though. But im not suring exactly what model it is right now. Is there anyway i can build a good gaming pc out of that computer. Im only wanting the pc to run one screen right now. Im just wondering what the price would be to build a to build a good gaming pc out of the dell desktop???? ANY HELP APPRECIATED BECAUSE IM NEW WHEN IT COMES TO BUILDING PC'S. THANK!!!!!
 
Without knowing exactly which "Dell desktop" you have, it's impossible to say whether a basic gaming rig could be built around or what the cost might be.

iRacing.com said:
System Requirements:
Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7
Hyperthreaded Intel CPU, AMD Athlon 64 CPU, or any dual-core CPU
128MB Pixel Shader 2.0 (ATI 9700Pro or nVidia 6600 or better); 256 MB Pixel Shader 3.0 (ATI X1600 or nVidia 6800 GT/GS or better) graphics adapter recommended
1 GB system RAM
3Gb free hard disk space
Microphone optional, required for voice chat

Based on what little I can see, the game isn't terribly demanding. You could probably build a rig that would play it very well for <$600 new for all parts. Likely even less if you got really stingy.

Get a model number for that Dell. If it has at least one PCIe x16 slot and a multicore CPU it might be viable to base an iRacing rig on.
 
mk77, you have to provide more specifics or no one can really help you. What model Dell is it exactly?

Secondly, when you say the "hard drive is messed up," what is it that tells you you have a bad hard drive?

Hope to hear back!
 
chances are knowing Dells you would be pushed to find anything of value inside the case other than to reuse the DVD. Hard Drive and possibly the processor. The PSU will probably only work with a Dell motherboard and the board will be specifically designed to be none upgradable unless you bought a high power machine in the first place, and being Dell that only comes as a server !! Best place for a Dell - the BIN !! Start a fresh and buy a new computer and you will save yourself a lot of hassle
 
chances are knowing Dells you would be pushed to find anything of value inside the case other than to reuse the DVD. Hard Drive and possibly the processor. The PSU will probably only work with a Dell motherboard and the board will be specifically designed to be none upgradable unless you bought a high power machine in the first place, and being Dell that only comes as a server !! Best place for a Dell - the BIN !! Start a fresh and buy a new computer and you will save yourself a lot of hassle

Yah, on 2nd thought I kinda agree with this, inasmuch as a lot of the lower-end Dell models are junk. I would never buy brand new, high quality components and try to stick them in a Dell chassis lol. That's just asking for trouble.

On the other hand, if you want to be frugal (which i highly recommend, given that you only want to play this one iRacing with lower requirements), another possibility would be to upgrade using components that are sourced from other Dell computers. For example, if your Dell currently has 2 GB RAM, you can try to buy maybe 4 GB RAM pulled from another Dell. Or perhaps get a better Dell mobo. This may be feasible because lots of people sell Dell components on Ebay, it wouldn't be too hard to find some upgrade options there.
 
I wouldn't put anything "new" into that Dell box aside from a hard drive, low-midrange video card, and MAYBE a beefier power supply if it needed it. If it needs anything more than something simple and inexpensive (like a beefier CPU, more memory, or a better motherboard), just start from scratch.
 
or better still sell your dell on eBay and use the money to buy a proper computer that actually is cheap and easy to upgrade. Knowing older Dells its probably an early Pentium 4 has AGP graphics and probably not even got Sata on board and they dont particularly like Sata expansion cards either - as I can claim from many hours trying to upgrade them in the past. Like Acer, if someone asks me to help them, I tell them try eBay and see if anyone else wants it - you might be lucky !! If it was a Compaq/HP well there a proper computer and have PCI-E and Sata on board and cost peanuts on eBay for the same era, only idiots and ignorant people knock Compaq/HP desktop machines. Oh and they dont need special DELL ram either any cheap memory will do and they usually work. erm can you tell I dont particularly like Dell machines? put it down to 20 years experience !!
 
or better still sell your dell on eBay and use the money to buy a proper computer that actually is cheap and easy to upgrade. Knowing older Dells its probably an early Pentium 4 has AGP graphics and probably not even got Sata on board and they dont particularly like Sata expansion cards either - as I can claim from many hours trying to upgrade them in the past. Like Acer, if someone asks me to help them, I tell them try eBay and see if anyone else wants it - you might be lucky !! If it was a Compaq/HP well there a proper computer and have PCI-E and Sata on board and cost peanuts on eBay for the same era, only idiots and ignorant people knock Compaq/HP desktop machines. Oh and they dont need special DELL ram either any cheap memory will do and they usually work. erm can you tell I dont particularly like Dell machines? put it down to 20 years experience !!

Kind of agree to disagree, and for a couple of reasons: if the OP wanted to do some moderate gaming, then I would also recommend starting from scratch. However, in this case the OP says he wants to do an upgrade to play iRacing. Looking at those minimum requirements, it would be rather expensive to start from scratch when an upgrade would do.

Secondly, Dell has changed alot over 20 years. Sure, they still have the low-end, god-forsaken crap that isn't worth ****, but they also have some semi-decent machines like the XPS. If you have a Dell Opteron that was built for an Intel Duo Core processor, it will have better mobo internals than a Dell made for a Celeron processor.

Finally, I would still recommend to the OP to consider upgrading from other used Dell components. These are going to be cheaper and also much more likely to work with the Dell components he already has, than for example an aftermarket, high-speed RAM like Corsair or Mushkin.
 
I would certainly make an exception with the later Dell XPS i7 Studio Machines, they are good and "can" be bought/sourced for a bargain second hand !! Just watch its not a mickey mouse one with a 256Mb Graphics Card and sod all memory. Problem is they use a Foxconn motherboard, aaaaugh !!

Mind you if someone is running Vista, a simple upgrade is to install Windows 7 or even XP !!
 
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