Aging computer blues

[Hawkmoon]

I still have my old-old Dell Optiplex 380 desktop computer. It is now not my primary or even secondary desktop, but it's still here and with an update to Windows 10 it had become unusable. I finally swapped in a Western Digital SSD drive to address that.

The SSD drive upgrade makes Windows usable, which is fine for programs running on the computer. I'm now discovering that video performance is less than stellar. Watching YouTube sites and videos that run fine on the newer computers, I find that on this one the video resolution defaults to lower settings and, even then, the playback is a bit jerky and the audio track gets out of sync with the video track. YouTube videos the auto-run at 720 on my newer Dell desktop only play at 480 on the older box. The video output on the old box is DVI.

So what's the best fix? It's a Dell computer running an Intel Core 2 Duo. The video is integrated, so it's sharing RAM with whatever else is running. It only has 4 GB of RAM.

Option 1 would be to add more RAM. Dunno how much difference that might make.

Option 2 is to install a dedicated video card. It wouldn't be worth going out and buying one, but I have two here that I had bought a while ago but never used. One is an Asus NVidia GEForce 710 with 2 GB of on-board memory. The other is a VisionTek Radeon HD 5450, also with 2 GB of on-board memory. Both have outputs for both DVI and HDMI.

What option is most likely to perk up the video performance?

[WLJ]

I have found with YT videos a new video card my not help that much with older systems. Open up task manager and see how much CPU % your browser is using while running a YT video. Your CPU could be getting overwhelmed trying to decode and process the data stream.

[HankB]

I have found with YT videos a new video card my not help that much with older systems. Open up task manager and see how much CPU % your browser is using while running a YT video. Your CPU could be getting overwhelmed trying to decode and process the data stream.

I had an old PC that I replaced about 12 years ago. (It was old then.) Now, that one already had a video card, but before I got rid of it a friend gave me his old video card that was supposed to be about 2x as powerful as what I had originally installed. IIRC, overall video specmark performance only improved about 10%. He said something about the motherboard or CPU  "pipelines" being over capacity or some such; seemed reasonable, but I don't know enough about computer tech to debate that.

[Hawkmoon]

Slight error on my part. The original video wasn't integrated. The Optiplex 380 used integrated video for SVGA, but the DVI output was a Dell PCI card. Don't know how much RAM it may have had on-board. Comparing reviews and benchmarks of the NVIDIA video card vs. the Radeon, the NVIDIA seemed to win on everyone's comparison, so I installed that. It helps, but YouTube videos still stutters a bit, probably due to buffering. I guess if I want to go whole hog on this machine I need to upgrade the RAM to the maximum the motherboard will recognize, which appears to be 8 GB.

[RocketMan]

I guess if I want to go whole hog on this machine I need to upgrade the RAM to the maximum the motherboard will recognize, which appears to be 8 GB.

Are you running a 33 bit or 64 bit version of Windows 10 on that box?  If it is 32 bit, Windows will not recognize anything more than just under 4GB of installed DRAM.  If it is 64 bit Windows 10, you can add RAM to the machine's maximum capacity and Windows will recognize and use it.

[Hawkmoon]

64-bit Win 10 Pro

[K Frame]

Back in 2011 Mtnbkr built me a new computer after my 6-year-old Dell started turning itself off randomly.

Nothing fancy, I don't put that much stress on my computers. IIRC it's just got the standard video chips that came with the motherboard. I did eventually max out the RAM for when I was playing Diablo III on it and that helped with the video resolution.

Even at 13 years old it's still humming along without an issue and playing videos just as nicely as can be.

[lee n. field]

I still have my old-old Dell Optiplex 380 desktop computer. It is now not my primary or even secondary desktop, but it's still here and with an update to Windows 10 it had become unusable. I finally swapped in a Western Digital SSD drive to address that.

The SSD drive upgrade makes Windows usable, which is fine for programs running on the computer. I'm now discovering that video performance is less than stellar. Watching YouTube sites and videos that run fine on the newer computers, I find that on this one the video resolution defaults to lower settings and, even then, the playback is a bit jerky and the audio track gets out of sync with the video track. YouTube videos the auto-run at 720 on my newer Dell desktop only play at 480 on the older box. The video output on the old box is DVI.

So what's the best fix? It's a Dell computer running an Intel Core 2 Duo.

Replace.  That's got to date back to the late twenty-oughts.

Option 1 would be to add more RAM. Dunno how much difference that might make.

It would certainly help.  If, if it can be done at all.

[dogmush]

Strictly speaking that CPU isn't compatible with Windows 10 and could very well be having strange architecture issues.

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000006105/processors.html

You could upgrade the CPU (If you can find a good one with the correct socket, I have no idea when/how intel changes their sockets) and add RAM, but that seems like it might be more money than the box is worth.

[WLJ]

Did you ever check the CPU % while running a YT video?
I've seen PCs that age run 70-80% on the CPU during YT videos which is much too high. At some point older CPUs just can't keep up.

[RocketMan]

You might want to check Task Manager to see if there are any unnecessary programs or processes running.  Lot's of extra unneeded stuff might have accumulated over the years that run on startup.  That can rob CPU cycles and slow your machine down.
Uninstall any programs that run on startup that you don't need.
Also, there is a "Windows Telemetry Service" that can be a PITA.  It will slow video playback on YouTube and other services.  The WTS is a legit Microsoft Windows service, but can be safely disabled.  I have to disable it on my older computers once in a while after a Windows update re-enables it.

[Brad Johnson]

Another vote for replacement. Any money you put in the current machine is just delaying the inevitable. Also, it's an unrecoverable expense from a future-proofing standpoint. Pick up a solid used rig or a Scratch & Dent/Refurb from any number of manufacturers' Outlet Stores. As of right now you can get a nicely configured mid-tier Dell which will easily do everything you need and more for under six bills.

Brad

[WLJ]

64-bit Win 10 Pro

Do you know if your copy of windows is using an OEM or retail key?
If a retail key it can be transferred to a new build thus saving you money if you go that route

[lee n. field]

Do you know if your copy of windows is using an OEM or retail key?
If a retail key it can be transferred to a new build thus saving you money if you go that route

Given it's processor, it's probably an upgrade from a Windows 7 key, which might very well have been a refurb key on a system originally running Vista or an XP "downgrade".

[WLJ]

Given it's processor, it's probably an upgrade from a Windows 7 key, which might very well have been a refurb key on a system originally running Vista or an XP "downgrade".

Given it's age it could have started life as an XP machine and W7 purchased later. My retro gaming PC is like that, it duel boots XP and W11. The 11 is from upgrading it from W7 that was purchased retail to upgrade it from XP (OEM) many moons ago.

[lee n. field]

BTW, Hawkmoon, here at work we have a stack of Dell Optiplex 3020s, Intel i5, waiting to be recycled.  One customer moved on from them.  Yours is going to be a generation or 2 prior to that. 

The only time I have to work on systems like yours, is when a customer has gotten painted into a corner and has to keep a particular old clunker going.

[lee n. field]

Replace.  That's got to date back to the late twenty-oughts.


It would certainly help.  If, if it can be done at all.

According to this it takes DDR3 and maxes out at 8GB.

https://www.crucial.com/compatible-upgrade-for/dell/optiplex-380-desktop#memory

That would certainly help.  I'm seeing an 8GB kit for abotu $20 on ebay and amazon.

[MillCreek]

https://www.costco.com/computer-towers.html?sortBy=item_location_pricing_salePrice+asc

https://www.costco.com/dell-inspiron-desktop---13th-gen-intel-core-i5-13400---windows-11.product.4000139132.html   A good deal for $ 600.

[AZRedhawk44]

Are you running a 33 bit or 64 bit version of Windows 10 on that box?  If it is 32 bit, Windows will not recognize anything more than just under 4GB of installed DRAM.  If it is 64 bit Windows 10, you can add RAM to the machine's maximum capacity and Windows will recognize and use it.

Untrue.

There is a boot flag that can be set on 32 bit windows ever since WinXP and Server 2003 called PAE, Physical Address Extensions.

https://retrosystemsrevival.blogspot.com/2019/06/windows-vista7810-x86-128gb-ram-patch.html

Of course your hardware must support 32 bit PAE for this to work, and no single app can use more than 2GB since the core OS is still 32 bit.

[MechAg94]

$101     Dell Optiplex 3010 Desktop Computer Intel Core i5 3470 4GB RAM 250GB DVD Windows 10 Home PC, New Free keyboard and Mouse, WiFi Adapter, Black - OEM
https://www.newegg.com/p/1VK-0001-5ZKB1?Item=9SIADGYHJC0067

Saw this after just a few minutes browsing Newegg.com.  I am sure there are other inexpensive options that aren't a great deal more than upgrading your current computer.  If you don't need top of the line, desktops can get pretty cheap.  The "similar products" underneath shows a number of other Dell options.

[lee n. field]

$101     Dell Optiplex 3010 Desktop Computer Intel Core i5 3470 4GB RAM 250GB DVD Windows 10 Home PC, New Free keyboard and Mouse, WiFi Adapter, Black - OEM
https://www.newegg.com/p/1VK-0001-5ZKB1?Item=9SIADGYHJC0067

Saw this after just a few minutes browsing Newegg.com.  I am sure there are other inexpensive options that aren't a great deal more than upgrading your current computer.  If you don't need top of the line, desktops can get pretty cheap.  The "similar products" underneath shows a number of other Dell options.

4GB RAM and a 256GB spinning platter hard disk.  (That's how I read it.)  He'd have to spend some money from the get go to make it run decently.

[dogmush]

Obviously this is a low use tertiairy computer for Hawk, but it's worth pointing out that Windows 10 hits End of Support on October 14, 2025.  If you are going to the trouble of getting a new laptop, it might make more sense to get a machine that can at least run Windows 11 when the time comes.  Which means (IIRC) at least an 8th Gen Intel CPU.  It'd be pretty annoying to spend money on this, or buy a new cheap computer, and get some unpatched issue in two years that MS isn't going to fix.

Might be time to retire this one, buy a new "main" computer, and bump the other two down the line a notch.

[MechAg94]

4GB RAM and a 256GB spinning platter hard disk.  (That's how I read it.)  He'd have to spend some money from the get go to make it run decently.

Just an example.  I didn't take the time to hunt for the best deal.  I have no idea what the budget might be for the fix (if any at all).

https://www.newegg.com/p/1VK-0001-5ZKC4?Item=9SIADFMK852844
This one is $132 and has 8 GB of RAM and a 500 GB hard drive. 

Just pointing out that there are new/used computers that are better for just a little money.  So unless the fix is cheap, a newer machine might be the most economical solution. 

[K Frame]

"Windows 10 hits End of Support on October 14, 2025."

My computer is running windows 7. I just keep dismissing the "OH MY GOD YOUR COMPUTER IS OUT OF DATE, YOU'RE GONNA DIE SCREAMING!!!" messages from Microsoft.

[Brad Johnson]

"Windows 10 hits End of Support on October 14, 2025."

My computer is running windows 7. I just keep dismissing the "OH MY GOD YOUR COMPUTER IS OUT OF DATE, YOU'RE GONNA DIE SCREAMING!!!" messages from Microsoft.

Just so you know... Your computer is out of date. You're gonna die screaming.

Brad