Need New Computer to Run 11

billrigsby · Sep 1, 2025

bobkn said:
For the OP, it sounds more like procrastination than panic.

Yes not in panic mode at all, just know that Windows 10 is close to end of life, and lacking support thereafter.

bobkn · Sep 1, 2025

billrigsby said:
Yes I noticed none of the new computers at the county where I work came with any kind of optical drive, just the hard drive.

It is a must based on a lot of the stuff we sell on eBay, those are CDs and or DVDs. I actually have a brand new Epson printer in the closet for printing CDs and DVDs just in case the one I got fails, and it cannot be replaced anymore.

If you don't need BluRay, it sounds like a <$30 external CD/DVD burner would serve.

The ones based on laptop drives aren't fast, but most take their power from the USB port, which is a major convenience.

If you bought a Dell with a built-in burner, it'd probably use laptop hardware, and might be no faster than a slim external.

My burner is an internal 5 1/4" BluRay burner in an external enclosure. Clunky. But the burner is one with old firmware, that permits it to play UHD BluRay movies, given the right software. (I don't do that, but I could if I wished to.

)

Ghot · Sep 1, 2025

@billrigsby

Dell Tower Desktop | Dell USA

Shop the Dell Tower high-performance desktop PC with Intel Core Processors, DDR5 Memory, Windows 11 & a stylish, compact Design.

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spapakons · Sep 1, 2025

bobkn said:
If you don't need BluRay, it sounds like a <$30 external CD/DVD burner would serve.

The ones based on laptop drives aren't fast, but most take their power from the USB port, which is a major convenience.

If you bought a Dell with a built-in burner, it'd probably use laptop hardware, and might be no faster than a slim external.

My burner is an internal 5 1/4" BluRay burner in an external enclosure. Clunky. But the burner is one with old firmware, that permits it to play UHD BluRay movies, given the right software. (I don't do that, but I could if I wished to. )

You can buy an external Blu Ray burner (BD-R drive) that can also write to quad-layer (BDXL 128GB) disks, but beware, not all models can play 4K (aka UHD) Blu Ray movies! Make sure the one you buy does. For non UHD Blu Ray compliant PCs (Cyberlink PowerDVD refuses to play the movie), try a third-party player such as MPC-HC. To see if you are compliant, there is a special tool from Cyberlink.

bobkn · Sep 1, 2025

spapakons said:
You can buy an external Blu Ray burner (BD-R drive) that can also write to quad-layer (BDXL 128GB) disks, but beware, not all models can play 4K (aka UHD) Blu Ray movies! Make sure the one you buy does. For non UHD Blu Ray compliant PCs (Cyberlink PowerDVD refuses to play the movie), try a third-party player such as MPC-HC. To see if you are compliant, there is a special tool from Cyberlink.

Most of that may be dated.

A few years ago, there were few Blu Ray burners that could play UHD disks. I have an LG burner that can, but it required reverting to old firmware.

Cyberlink PowerDVD required a drive and PC that supported SGX instructions, but even they have dropped UHD.

There seems to be a hobby unto itself involved with MakeMKV, but I haven't paid attention to that for years.

I suspect that all this is far off "billrigsby's" needs. It's fun to display wide-ranging knowledge, but not always helpful.

billrigsby · Sep 1, 2025

bobkn said:
I suspect that all this is far off "billrigsby's" needs. It's fun to display wide-ranging knowledge, but not always helpful.

LOL,
I would say a good 60% of the stuff that has been posted
"I have no idea what you're even talking about"!

My first computer was back in like 80 or 81, it was a Direct suitcase CP/M machine, Z80 based, 5.25 inch floppy disks running MS-DOS and at the time I was working at Zilog the maker of the Z80!
Having said that I've always just been a user, and do not know a lot about the inner workings of the machines.

But I appreciate a lot of the suggestions, I might have to up my price point a bit but that's fine.

I got time.

billrigsby · Sep 1, 2025

Well now I have dated myself!
And Tuesday the 2nd is my last day, the third will be my first day of retirement!

abactuon · Sep 1, 2025

In finished computers, something is almost always wrong.
Either the RAM is a slow memory, or the drive is not the best, or the incompetent processor, or the power supply is not powerful enough.
Of course, everything is fine in the premium segment.

Josey Wales · Sep 1, 2025

billrigsby said:
Well now I have dated myself!
And Tuesday the 2nd is my last day, the third will be my first day of retirement!

Alienware Area-51 Gaming Desktop | Dell USA

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I learned on a TRS-80 or a Trash 80 as they used to say.

Hazel123 · Sep 1, 2025

I'm with the "do the unofficial Windows 11 upgrade" camp. Get another stick of ram so you have 16gb (assume it'll take 16gb?). It'll be fine. I'd use it till it fell apart

It also gives you time to get used to Windows 11 and decide if you need a new computer now or later.

It'll install fine I reckon. Just do a system image and then clean install Windows 11 (burning the usb stick in Rufus to bypass compatibility). It won't be that fast on 8gb ram but probably not much of a noticeable difference than Windows 10 on 8gb ram.

billrigsby · Sep 1, 2025

Hazel123 said:
It also gives you time to get used to Windows 11 and decide if you need a new computer now or later.

Oh I'm used to it, the county has had it pretty much since it came out.

bobkn · Sep 1, 2025

Hazel123 said:
I'm with the "do the unofficial Windows 11 upgrade" camp. Get another stick of ram so you have 16gb (assume it'll take 16gb?). It'll be fine. I'd use it till it fell apart It also gives you time to get used to Windows 11 and decide if you need a new computer now or later.

It'll install fine I reckon. Just do a system image and then clean install Windows 11 (burning the usb stick in Rufus to bypass compatibility). It won't be that fast on 8gb ram but probably not much of a noticeable difference than Windows 10 on 8gb ram.

The list of RAM configurations for the Optiplex 7010 (3rd gen) is here: https://i.dell.com/sites/doccontent...ments/OptiPlex_7010_Technical_Guidebook_1.pdf

I wonder which 7010 "billrigsby" has?

A little online searching says that any of them can accept 8GB DIMMs. If the machine came with two 4GB ones, I'd suggest adding two 8GB ones. Take it all the way up to 24GB, full dual channel.

DDR3 is still available new, but expensive. (I presume it's mainly used for repair of old PCs.) IMHO, it'd make more sense to retire the old Optiplex than to put more money into it.

billrigsby · Sep 1, 2025

bobkn said:
The list of RAM configurations for the Optiplex 7010 (3rd gen) is here: https://i.dell.com/sites/doccontent...ments/OptiPlex_7010_Technical_Guidebook_1.pdf

I wonder which 7010 "billrigsby" has?

Well I have no idea there, I do know when the county upgraded from Windows 7 to 10, that's when I bought it from them and they put 10 on it. So it has to be relatively dated.

I think I would rather just get a brand new 11 box, I'll swap this out for my backup Windows 7 box, and put that in the closet with all the old XP and XP Pro and whatever boxes that are in there, which I should probably just get rid of!

But as soon as you throw it away that's when you're going to need it at least that's how it goes with nuts and bolts in the garage!

bobkn · Sep 1, 2025

billrigsby said:
Well I have no idea there, I do know when the county upgraded from Windows 7 to 10, that's when I bought it from them and they put 10 on it. So it has to be relatively dated.

(snip)

The technical guidebook in post 32 shows the various 7010 models. They range from USFF (ultra small form factor) to mini tower. The USFF model has 2 DIMM slots. All of the others have 4.

Times change. I worked for a small company in the late 90s that configured a Dell (maybe an Optiplex GX1) for a demanding purpose. They max'd out the RAM: all the way up to 768MB. Windows NT4.

Hazel123 · Sep 1, 2025

bobkn said:
The list of RAM configurations for the Optiplex 7010 (3rd gen) is here: https://i.dell.com/sites/doccontent...ments/OptiPlex_7010_Technical_Guidebook_1.pdf

I wonder which 7010 "billrigsby" has?

A little online searching says that any of them can accept 8GB DIMMs. If the machine came with two 4GB ones, I'd suggest adding two 8GB ones. Take it all the way up to 24GB, full dual channel.

DDR3 is still available new, but expensive. (I presume it's mainly used for repair of old PCs.) IMHO, it'd make more sense to retire the old Optiplex than to put more money into it.

That's a good point.

spapakons · Sep 2, 2025

bobkn said:
The list of RAM configurations for the Optiplex 7010 (3rd gen) is here: https://i.dell.com/sites/doccontent...ments/OptiPlex_7010_Technical_Guidebook_1.pdf

I wonder which 7010 "billrigsby" has?

A little online searching says that any of them can accept 8GB DIMMs. If the machine came with two 4GB ones, I'd suggest adding two 8GB ones. Take it all the way up to 24GB, full dual channel.

DDR3 is still available new, but expensive. (I presume it's mainly used for repair of old PCs.) IMHO, it'd make more sense to retire the old Optiplex than to put more money into it.

If adding new RAM has a reasonable cost, I would do it and postpone buying a new computer by some years. Don't forget that buying new hardware equivalent or better than your current PC might cost more that you think. For example, I have a 3rd generation Intel Core-i7, but I cannot afford a new Core-i7 model, I will have to settle for an "inferior" Core-i3. No thanks, I would rather max out my current PC and keep it as long as I can. Therefore, I gradually replaced my previous Core-i3 with Core-i7, doubled RAM from 8GB to 16GB, replaced the mechanical HDD with SATA SSD and finally, my nVidia GTX 1050 Ti with nVidia RTX 3050. Yes, I know, having given all this money I would have bought a new computer, except I did that gradually over some years, not all at once.

Scannerman · Sep 2, 2025

billrigsby said:
My current Dell 7010 is not upgradeable to windows 11.

Looking for recommendations for a good replacement.
What I have now is barely satisfactory for the graphics aspect of the usage.

Main Usage;

Home Business (eBay)

Graphics Work (Corel, Illustrator, Photoshop)

Current specifications;

Windows 10 Version 22H2 OS Build 19045.6216

Device Name DESKTOP-KUKR7NC

Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-3570 CPU @ 3.40GHz 3.40 GHz

Installed RAM 8.00 GB (7.89 GB usable)

Storage 466 GB HDD SAMSUNG HE502HJ, 1.82 TB HDD WDC WD20EZRX-00D8PB0

Graphics Card Intel(R) HD Graphics (32 MB)

Device ID D13B77DB-7CC5-4466-B968-F27BE742A47C

Product ID 00330-54933-69651-AAOEM

System Type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor

Thank You

You might just be surprised at what an extra 8GB of RAM and a discrete graphics card could do for your PC after installing Windows 11 via Rufus. I know some have already mentioned this but you do have a good CPU and unless you're doing really intensive work that requires state-of-the-art equipment purchasing a brand new replacement PC could be unnecessary.

Knowing what I know now about Windows 11 on older PCs and running Win 11 on "non-compatible" systems for going on two years I wouldn't let myself get coerced into purchasing a replacement desk top. You already have high end storage and a reliable CPU. IF your optical drive works so much the better. The thing about investing in a discrete graphics card is that it can be transferred to another unit in the future and should give you at least ten years of good use before it would need to be replaced in most cases. If your PC seems to be giving you lagging issues or seems to be running sluggish the problem is likely the fact that your PC is leaning too heavily on your CPU for graphics.

The choice is yours but if you really have your heart set on getting a new PC I have to say that Dell isn't a bad choice. They're known for good support and I have two Dell desktops in my house right now both running Windows 11 that are much older than your unit. The difference is that they have more memory and both use discrete graphic cards.

I hope this helps.

spapakons · Sep 2, 2025

I see the OP has 3rd generation Core-i5, 8GB RAM, mechanical hard disk and onboard graphics card. He can improve it, I would first replace the hard disk with SSD and install a discrete graphics card. Even a mid-range one would make a huge difference to the onboard, especially if using hardware acceleration such as CUDA, as the SSD will make to the mechanical disk. It will feel like a new computer! Next step to at least double the RAM. Some time later he can also buy a used 3rd generation Intel Core-i7, but the discrete graphics card will make more noticeable difference.

XxXxX · Sep 2, 2025

according to the specs for that PC it has 4x dimm slots for RAM
the CPU maximum RAM capacity is 32GB. so the system can take
4x 8GB DDR3 1600 of ram which would be amply for Windows 11

Specs DELL OptiPlex 7010 Intel® Core™ i5 i5-3570 4 GB DDR3-SDRAM 500 GB HDD Windows 7 Professional Desktop PC Black 7010-3476

icecat.biz

as stated by @Scannerman using Rufus to make an installable ISO of Windows 11
would enable you to install Windows 11 24H2 and then be able to upgrade to 25H2 when it comes available

best of luck, Steve ..

spapakons · Sep 2, 2025

XxXxX said:
according to the specs for that PC it has 4x dimm slots for RAM
the CPU maximum RAM capacity is 32GB. so the system can take
4x 8GB DDR3 1600 of ram which would be amply for Windows 11

Specs DELL OptiPlex 7010 Intel® Core™ i5 i5-3570 4 GB DDR3-SDRAM 500 GB HDD Windows 7 Professional Desktop PC Black 7010-3476

Specs DELL OptiPlex 7010 Intel® Core™ i5 i5-3570 4 GB DDR3-SDRAM 500 GB HDD Windows 7 Professional Desktop PC Black 7010-3476

icecat.biz

as stated by @Scannerman using Rufus to make an installable ISO of Windows 11
would enable you to install Windows 11 24H2 and then be able to upgrade to 25H2 when it comes available

best of luck, Steve ..

If he cannot upgrade all the components, he can first add a discreet graphics card. It will make a huge difference for photo and video editing when hardware acceleration is used. For example, My Core-i3 could render 6-8 frames in HD per second (software rendering including crop/resize and other filters). My Core-i7 can do 10-15 and if I use nVidia CUDA hardware acceleration, my 1080 could to 150+ frames and my new 3050 can do over 300! Next I would replace the mechanical hard disk with a SATA SSD (more than 10 times faster than an average mechanical disk). Then I would maximize RAM. Then I would replace the Core-i5 with a Core-i7, although the difference will not be too high. It certainly was higher from my Core-i3 to Core-i7. I am not sure if a Xeon CPU would be faster because they don't have some multimedia instructions as the "consumer" models have.

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