{"id":290,"date":"2022-03-31T22:13:42","date_gmt":"2022-03-31T22:13:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/archive.gagvani.com\/?p=290"},"modified":"2022-03-31T22:13:43","modified_gmt":"2022-03-31T22:13:43","slug":"from-zero-to-hero-turning-an-old-dell-pc-into-a-modern-machine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.gagvani.com\/index.php\/2022\/03\/31\/from-zero-to-hero-turning-an-old-dell-pc-into-a-modern-machine\/","title":{"rendered":"From Zero to Hero: Turning an old Dell PC into a modern machine"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Introduction<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

During the lockdown, computer usage reached an all-time high. While trying to find a computer to use, I stumbled upon an old desktop tower PC that hadn’t been used in months. Booting it up, Task Manager revealed a CPU from 10 years ago, and a singular spinning hard drive. It was slow and laggy, and even Google Chrome crashed frequently. I resolved to upgrade it so that it would be usable in the future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Part Selection<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The first thing I did was figure out which parts that needed replacement. To do this, I looked at each individual part of the PC:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CPU<\/strong><\/td>After running a few tests of basic PC usage, I found the CPU wasn’t hindering my experience using the PC.<\/td><\/tr>
RAM<\/strong><\/td>Although basic web browsing caused the PC to come up to the limits of its memory, I decided to not add more memory since it uses old, expensive and hard-to-find DDR3<\/a>. <\/td><\/tr>
Boot Drive<\/strong><\/td>This was probably the most needed area of improvement. The PC took over a minute to boot with its old 2010 hard drive, and programs also loaded sluggishly. I replaced this with a Samsung 860 EVO<\/a> as the boot drives and 2 WD Blue hard drives<\/a> for storage. <\/td><\/tr>
Graphics<\/strong><\/td>The graphics were part of the CPU’s integrated GPU, and were perfectly fine for Zoom calls and everyday usage. <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I installed the 2 WD hard drives in the hard drive caddy, and the SSD in an empty 5.25″ bay using an adapter like this one.<\/a> In the end, this is what my PC looked like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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