Is 5 yrs a good enough time for a Dell Deminsion PC to last?

Question

I have two of them and one is gone and the second one appears to be failing. Consumer Reports liked Dell but I am wondering for my next pc should I get something esle?

Answer 1

Five years is too young to die. You might get 8 or 9 years out of it.

Open MY COMPUTER, right click and pick PROPERTIES. Then click on the TOOLs section and click on CHECK NOW. Pick both tests and allow it to run after startup.

Then run Defrag

I recommend that you go to http://www.download.com and get AD-AWARE and SpyBot Search & Destory. Install, run, update and scan your computer with both programs.

If you have less than 512MB of RAM, then get more. Visit http://www.coastmemory.com and look up your Dell Dimension computer. This company guarantees that the RAM that you buy will WORK.

Just do your own computer maintanance, and your computer will last longer.

Dell Desktops are OK, but I wonder if now is a good time to buying a new one. Let's wait another year, and see how the Windows Vista is coming along. It might turn out to be a good system when the BUGS are worked out. BUY NOW, and your computer is way behind the times, BUY later, and you will enjoy the new technologies.

It is OK to buy a new LCD Flat Panel monitor from http://www.newegg.com if you thing that your monitor is crapping out. But if your hard drive and speed cannot be improved, or you see other evidence of actual failure, then you might want to buy a full system in a package to get the best deal.

Good luck and Happy Computing!

Answer 2

Depends on your useage. We have a limit of 4 years life expectancy for a Dell unit. But this is like turned on 24 x 7 for network. Also, by failing... do you mean the entire thing? Or just drives? You have to remember that drives have a lifetime, and almost anything in a PC will have a limited lifetime. I have five home PCs, and the oldest is a 4100 Dimension.Over its life the basic components have changed, but the main parts are still the same. However, I tend to back up everything, and maybe take a little bit more care with units than same, or maybe I have been lucky. Switching is all a matter or taste... the essential question is what exactly do you want from a PC? Go from there, shop around, and remember the three main rules of computing, Backup, Backup, Backup. And so long as you have a good warranty and support plan, you should be safe.

Answer 3

the computer should keep running for a lot more than 5 years , maybe a few small cheap replacements , eg power supply and cpu fasn , however the system will be obsolite and when it was built programs were a lot smaller than they are now ans you probably really need to upgrade , building your own is a good way to do it very cheaply and gives you a great deal of reward when you get it up and running. and you will not believe how much faster it will run . to many people try to put all these new programs on old computers and expect it to run like the old programs did

Answer 4

Decent i suppose, i have had a dell deminsion 8100 for six years and the only thing to go bad was the fan inside the case.

Answer 5

If you don't know much about PCs, then Dell is probably the best choice. Decent prices, tech support, good rep. Personally, I like to build my own. You save money in the end.

Answer 6

That's a good run my last one lasted 7 years the new PCs now days are more pleasurable.

Answer 7

Yes, that is pretty good. Depending on the problem, replacing the power supply and/or hard drive may help it last a few more years, if you catch the problem before the motherboard is damaged.

Answer 8

5 years is a great time for any puter to last.. if it's given you good service, get another one..
just make sure ya get the ram ya want, ie, 512 or more, cause that's the least amount.. smiles

Answer 9

your lucky that it lasted more than 1 year , afterall it's a dell.