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Best upgrades for a dying PII 233 w/32 MB EDO, 4.3 GB?

M

MaxDSP

Lifer
Its a dying Packard Bell system which my sister needs just for Word and surfing the web.

P2 233
32 MB EDO
4.3 GB HD
24x CD-ROM
Trident 4MB 3D card
ISA Sound/Modem combo


Im really on a budget here so I need to stretch my dollars. I cant see how I can upgrade the RAm too much, since the EDO seems to be around $40 for a measly 32 MB.

In case it's cheaper, what would be the best mobo, proc, ram, and HD to get?
Id say my budget is about $150, so it's going to be a fairly crappy system, but as long at it gets the job done, its all good
 
If it's just for word and web, blast it out with a format and fresh load of win95 or 98

Just be sure to tell her not to download any "cute" bs webshots and other memory sucking, taskbar living, autostarting programs
 

Given the budget and the system you are working with, there isn't a whole lot of hope? I'd just save the money.

Try
ECS mobo $60
256 PC133 $35
Duron 1 ghz $46

But unfortunately you still need to buy a heatsink, case, and pay shipping. 🙁
 
I had an extra Gateway 2000 laying around I upgraded a little to give to my brother.

replaced 200mmx w/233mmx however I think these older boards will take a K6II 333. see voltage
replaced ATI Rage II w/ Voodoo 2000 o/c to Voodoo 3000 specs
replaced 1.2 gig harddrive with leftover 4 gig
Soundblaster 16 pci
I put some Pc100 ram 64 megs in and it worked.
Fresh Install of Win98SE

Not the fastest in the world but it plays Halflife, Motocross 2, Starcraft, NFS 3, Mech 3 okay.

Makes a great internet / wordproccessor.

Damn typing these specs in makes me nostalgic for my Shuttle Hot 603 with an overclocked K6200 to 220.

Hope that helps a little..


 


<< Given the budget and the system you are working with, there isn't a whole lot of hope? I'd just save the money.

Try
ECS mobo $60
256 PC133 $35
Duron 1 ghz $46

But unfortunately you still need to buy a heatsink, case, and pay shipping. 🙁 >>



Decent HS= $10-20?

Case, ill just use my old case...Im pretty sure its atx
That 1 GHz Duron is pretty damn good. CDROM- already have, HD-already have, sound/video/modem- already have
I could really make that old POS a great backup PC is it wasnt for the fact that I make like $6/hr.
 

You need to make sure the old PS can handle all the new hardware though. Those packard bells were never known to have quality components.
 
Check out Centrix-International. They have a KT133 barebones system for $85. It has a micro-atx motherboard, case, floppy and modem (It's a OEM Micron setup). Add a low cost Duron, memory, and the parts you have on hand and your set.
 
You wouldn't be able to use the case if it was atx(might be able to salvage the psu but it's not even worth your time) cause Packard Bell makes proprietory cases, which means that only their mobo will fit in it. I had one a looooonnnngggggg time ago.. hehe you live you learn.. FAST! Your best bet is to add lots of ram to it up to 128megs if it can support it cause any more won't really matter much. Use Win98/ME at most and it will run fine. The internet doesn't take a fast cpu to work, nor does it take a good vid card, it's the connection that you use that matters more. Internet and word processing doesn't take much so it will be fine. The best possible scenario is to upgrade the vid card to a better pci(the Bell prob didn't have agp then) and add some ram. It's not worth it to upgrade the cpu cause the board prob can't take much more anyway.
 
What exactly defines an ATX case or mobo? As for the barebones systems, I can't do that, since my dad wants me to fix the PC we have right now and not buy a new one. He wouldnt understand why I need to upgrade, he just wants me to make it work like it did 4 years ago. Jackass
 
From 18004memory.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Upgrade Configuration for Packard Bell
Model: Platinum 3000


System Specs
Type of system: Mini-Tower PC
Bus Architecture: PCI/ISA
Native OS:
CPU Type: 233MHz Intel Pentium II


System Memory
Standard Memory: 32 MB (removable)
Maximum Memory: 256 MB
Memory Expansion: 8 sockets (4 banks of 2)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From Crucial.com

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

100% Compatible Upgrades
Congratulations! You've found the list of modules compatible
with your Packard Bell Platinum 3000
? Maximum Memory: 256MB
? Standard Memory: 32MB removable
? Slots: 4 (2 banks of 2)
? Explanation of Memory Terms


Installed in pairs of modules.
---------------------------------------------------------------------


Why do the 2 differ in the number of banks I have? I have 4 slots on my mobo
 
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