Dell Dimension E521

[@randomgamingprojects]

Hello! Just saw your video I actually have this PC maxed out! I added 2 80mm fans to the back of it and it helped my temps significantly I actually run this pc with an Athlon 6400+ BE. Also got 8GB DDR2 800mhz dual channel memory working with out problems. My GPU is a Radeon 7750. But make sure you.get the copper pipe pc version of this PCs heat sink. The aluminum version will not be able to keep the 6400 cool. Sorry for the info dump! Just a big fan of old dells like this!

[@retropcdurham]

That sounds like a great set of upgrades! Do the rear fans add much in the way of sound to the system?

[@randomgamingprojects]

@@retropcdurham I'm useing cooler master 80m x 80m x 10m fans they are pretty quiet amazon sells them. They are actually quiter than the front fan so they are basically not noticeable.

[@avamaria8447]

Your camera work was awesome in this...thank you.

[@retropcdurham]

Thanks!

[@fangojett6001]

I just wanna say thanks for your help. I got the computer on and running now and is functioning properly. I managed to get all of the ram sticks working and I don’t see anything else going wrong so I’m very happy with the results

[@retropcdurham]

That's great, happy to have helped.

[@AidynNichi]

Thanks for sharing this! We have one of these that once served as our family PC. The only thing is ours came with Windows Vista. It still boots up, but it's been saying that there's not enough power going to the system. I'm hoping to clean it up and try to upgrade it if I can, just to experiment with, really.

[@retropcdurham]

Thanks for watching, and best of luck with your restoration!

[@kargandarr]

I checked the specs for one of these systems shortly before posting this comment and did find out that the maximum memory that can be used is only 4Gb of ram.

[@Snickerrick]

Thats a decent machine, I have a 531 that came with a sempron. I upgraded the CPU to an Athlon 64 x2 6000+ with a 2600xt, and used it to play windows XP era games lol. I never actually installed XP on it, it ran Windows 10 and Manjaro Linux both with an XP theme. It did alright too!

[@blimpsquad9409]

how did you get windows 10 installed onto it?

[@retropcdurham]

If I remember correctly I installed via a burned copy of 1607 32 Bit that I use for older machines like this, as they don't always like USB key installs.

[@vrctics9395]

support ssd or hdd 1tb upgrade?

[@retropcdurham]

Yes you could have both!

[@tydropemoff1209]

Currently august 30 2022 about 2 years after this was made this computer was a family pc that stopped working and I’m trying to get it to work I’m now 13 years old 5-6 years after it stopped working

[@retropcdurham]

Best of luck, at least a great learning experience to try to get it working.

[@R3belyc1ous]

I just got this system today from my local goodwill and im wondering if it can run "osu!". As of right now i am going to buy a vga cable and the power adapter and thats all i need :)

[@retropcdurham]

Yea you should be able to run OSU! on this. Good Luck!

[@nesserecampbell2489]

In and when I'm turning it on its Orange then turns green and only one number comes up

[@retropcdurham]

You can check the service manual here: downloads.dell.com/manuals/all-products/esuprt_desktop/esuprt_dimension_desktops/dimension-e521_service%20manual_en-us.pdf in the advanced troubleshooting you can compare the light combinations to understand what is in error.

[@retropcdurham]

I'm not sure for the broken panel issue, maybe you can fit a slotted screwdriver into the top to be able to pull the latch back and release the side panel?

[@sockpaperman]

Is it possible to make it into a gaming pc with proper hardware upgrades? If not, has anyone been able to run a DAW on theirs?

[@retropcdurham]

With a decent low end gaming GPU like a 1030 games like Minecraft, Roblox, OSRS, Classic WOW, should be fine on it

[@fangojett6001]

My dell dimension e521 powers on but no display shows on the monitor. The monitor is fine so what could be the issue with the tower?

[@retropcdurham]

Do you have a GPU installed or using the integrated graphics? Might just be plugged into the wrong port. Also you might need to reset the BIOS if it is locked to a graphics card that is no longer installed

[@fangojett6001]

@@retropcdurham I don’t know anything about it I got it from someone for $20 and they said it turned on but they didn’t have anything to test it with. I took the side panel off and I did see some plugs hanging here and there. I’m not knowledgeable on computers so I’m just trying to figure out the problem. And there’s only 1 port in the back that has rgb plug in and it’s blue. I used that to hook up on the moniter

[@retropcdurham]

@@fangojett6001 Ok. There will be a few free cables for upgrades so that is normal. You should confirm that the key components are installed, such as memory (1 or 2 sticks plugged into the main board), disk drive (will be installed in the same place you see in the video) and also double check that the CMOS battery is there (a large coin shaped battery snapped onto the main board).

[@fangojett6001]

@@retropcdurham okay that’s good to know. And the sticks you mentioned there is 4 of them plugged in and one is taller than the other 3. And yes there is a battery I saw that and it is in good shape has no corrosion or signs of it failing. The only thing that I saw was missing was what I guess you called it a video card. Mine has nothing in that general area it’s all open. I saw pics of other identical machines and almost all of them didn’t have that either. Not sure if that’s normal or not also. Sorry if this sounds confusing lol

[@fangojett6001]

@@retropcdurham so I decided to turn it on again and try to see if it will show a display on the monitor but still nothing. I also noticed a number 3 and 4 lit up on the front dash. What do those mean?

[@potatofries144]

If I just upgraded the power supply and ram to 4gb, and chucked in an Nvidia gtx 1060 3Gb in there using a PCIE riser with everything else left as stock components, would it work? Not trying to game. Purely out of curiosity since I have that gpu layin around. Wondering if I should sell it or not.

[@retropcdurham]

Yes I think so. I would recommend looking into an SSD for your main drive if you haven't already

[@potatofries144]

@@retropcdurham oh wow! Thanks! I’ll give it a shot!

[@MichaelL486]

If you don't have any spare ssd's why not use 2 hdd's in a raid 0?

[@retropcdurham]

Good idea.