Upgrading Dell Desktops?

[Vee]

I remember hearing somewhere that you couldn't upgrade parts of a Dell Desktop? I just found out a friend who brought the same model of desktop as me (Dell E521), upgraded his RAM from 1GB to 4GB.

I just wanted to know, if its actually possible and if so, would it help speed up my PC? What would you recommend me to upgrade to? Is it difficult replacing them?

 

[Lachrymose]

I remember my friend had a dell a while back and he said he had to order his upgrades strait from dell. Computers weren't his specialty though, so you never know..

 

[Abe Froeman]

You can upgrade RAM in any Dell PC. I had to do it for a work PC I was given for home use to make it tolerable. I ordered from newegg, per my tech guys recommendation on what to get.

 

[FrozenIpaq]

RAM is one thing that is pretty much upgradable with any system. Over the years Dell has been getting better about the compontents they use and how upgradable they are (they use custom mobos so therein lies part of the problem). Dell Desktops can be upgraded, but it all depends on when they were made as well - the more recent desktops are more upgrade-friendly. The biggest issues have been the power supplies - some are non-upgradable.

You should be easily able to upgrade your HDD, RAM and video card in any desktop.

 

[Vee]

RAM is one thing that is pretty much upgradable with any system. Over the years Dell has been getting better about the compontents they use and how upgradable they are (they use custom mobos so therein lies part of the problem). Dell Desktops can be upgraded, but it all depends on when they were made as well - the more recent desktops are more upgrade-friendly. The biggest issues have been the power supplies - some are non-upgradable.

You should be easily able to upgrade your HDD, RAM and video card in any desktop.

Ah wicked. So you think its definitely upgradeable? This is my computer. I'd appreciate it if you could have a look through, tell me if its possible and recommend me what to get. Thanks!

 

[FrozenIpaq]

Ah wicked. So you think its definitely upgradeable? This is my computer. I'd appreciate it if you could have a look through, tell me if its possible and recommend me what to get. Thanks!

It's got a relatively weak power supply (305W) so you won't be able to upgrade the video card to anything good, but you can upgrade the RAM if you are low on it. Any RAM modules on this page should be compatible from my searches: Newegg.com - DDR2 800 (PC2 6400), 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM, Desktop Memory, Memory, Computer Hardware). With that said I think that the best upgrade option is faster and more RAM which you can upgrade to. If you are looking to up your video card just reply and I'll look into that as well but it's a bit tricker due to the power supply low voltage