Dell Dimension 3100 compatible with Windows 8?

martinlw

Posts: 142   +5
Hi I have acquired an old computer just for the internet for my daughter the question is is this computer compatable with windows 8.Regards Martin.
 
There's an upgrade assistant you have to use to buy Windows 8 which assesses your system and checks that you have a Windows OS to upgrade from. Today, 31st Jan 2013, is the last day for a cheap upgrade from Microsoft after which it gets very expensive - the price will rise by 5X.
 
I wouldn't do it. I would probably be better if you got a new machine for a couple hundred bucks. You going to spend money uprading a computer that's not worth it.

That's my opinion. If I were you id get a new one. Maybe one that already has windows 8 in it.
 
I don't know. I ran the CP of 8 on a P4 2.4 with 1 gig of RAM, it ran pretty well. If you have cheap access to 8 I wouldn't hesitate to put it on.

I would not, however, pay full price to run 8 on an old system because as pointed out by HiDDenMisT the money would be better spent piecing together a new system. You can build a non gaming system that is pretty decent for really cheap.
 
Run windows 8 upgrade assistant.

if you think that windows 8 (core or pro) is worth the upgrade, try to dual boot instead of in-place upgrade.
that way when installation fails or become problematic, you still have a working pre-windows 8 OS.
if you are satisfied with windows 8 and all your previous programs are compatible or working fully under windows 8, then you can clean install or do in-place windows 8 upgrade install.

unfortunately, the 39.99$ windows 8 pro upgrade offer is no longer valid.
it ended on january 31, 2013.
the current upgrade pricing is >100$ for windows 8 core and much more for windows 8 pro upgrade via online microsoft store.
windows 8 pro system builder kit costs ~139$ via retail stores
 
Windows Vista and above really need more than 2GB RAM to be on-par in terms of zippyness with XP running 512MB. This is personal opinion, but the 2GB thing can be pretty much proven by various sources.

OP's computer has 512MB RAM by default. This won't run Win8 with any elegance at all. DDR2 RAM costs way more than DDR3.

Bottom line: even a free copy of Win8 is going to cost you money and sanity.
 
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