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DELL Dimension C521 WiFi or not
I am looking to buy a used Dell Dimension C521 AMD Athlon 64 or Athlon 64 X2 dual core series w/500GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache and it's about 4-5 years old.
On the My Digital Life review webpage http://www.mydigitallife.info/dell-dimension-c521-reviews-and-comparisons/ it states -
"CNet concludes with average rating of 5.5 out of 10 that C521 puts the dual-core AMD Athlon 64 X2 to good use with improved support. However, the reduced-volume case neither saves that much space, nor give you room for upgrading and no Wi-Fi option."
Does this mean I cannot use this PC with my wireless network at home or can I simply replace the existing eathernet card with a wireless card ?
Also, is $275 too much for this PC incl 22" Dell monitor & keyboard (no mouse).
This deal is going down in a few hours or maybe not depending on how soon I get an answer.
Please & thanks.
RoHe
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April 28th, 2012 20:00
That may just mean Dell didn't offer a WiFi option when configuring a new system.
System specs are here
<ADMIN NOTE: Broken link has been removed from this post by Dell>
. This system has one low profile PCI slot where you could install a WiFi card assuming nothing else is using that slot (eg, add-in audio card -it does have onboard audio- or a modem).
It also has one PCI-e x1 and one PCI-e x16 slot. The PCI-e x16 would be where an add-in video card would be installed, unless this system is using on-board graphics. So you might be able to find a PCI-e x1 WiFi card that fits. I presume the PCI-e cards would have to be low profile too.
It's also possible to get a USB WiFi dongle so you don't even have to open the case to get connected to WiFi.
The NIC is on the motherboard so it can't be removed.
No opinion on price/value for this system, other than it is 4-5 years old and there's newer technology. A lot depends on what you intend to use it for, eg routine email and word processing, high end games...
RoHe
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April 28th, 2012 20:00
One more thing...Search these forums for that system model to see what problems/complaints other people posted about this model. Since it's low profile, look for complaints about overheating etc.
Any warranty on the system you're considering? OK, that's 2 things...
osprey4
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April 29th, 2012 05:00
Hi Stekelrat,
$275 seems very pricey for a system this old.
fireberd
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April 29th, 2012 07:00
John, I'm glad you said it. I didn't really want to say anything, but I totally agree.
RoHe
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April 29th, 2012 17:00
I tried to say that 'diplomatically' by mentioning there's newer technology...
osprey4
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April 30th, 2012 11:00
Hopefully the OP got cold feet before hitting the bid button for that one.
jppic3d
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June 20th, 2012 03:00
I have a wireless network I run at home,I got a dell c521 used in good condition.anyway I just got a wireless USB adapter.It work's great I got the net gear one with the extra wire,and just set it on top of my desk.It will set you back 30 or 40 buck's,but it's a quick fix.You might have to get a microsoft hot fix to run it depending on the windows your running.It's not that hard to do.With the hot fix just copy it onto USB and install it I had a crash a few month's ago.Had to rebuild off my Windows's disk,and what I could get off my ps3 kind of like using a butter knife to open a can,but it worked.