Gateway E-1400 CPU Upgrade

[HuddaDudda]

I have a little Gateway SFF E-1400 Computer that I like a lot because of the size and its only for the kids to use for homework. However its getting kind of pokey and I want to spiff it up a little bit. Here are the specifications:

Product Details
Key Features
Form Factor Desktop
Processor Intel Celeron 500 MHz
Installed Memory 256 MB (SDRAM)
Operating System Microsoft Windows 95
Display 15 in.
Recommended Use Small Business, Home Use
Processor
Processor Type Intel Celeron
Processor Speed 500 MHz
Processor Manufacturer Intel
Max Processors Qty. 1
Display
Motherboard Bus Speed 100 MHz
Memory RAM Technology SDRAM
Installed RAM 256 MB
Max Supported RAM 512 MB
Hard Drive Hard Drive Capacity 40 GB
Hard Drive Interface IDE
CD / DVD
Optical Drive Type CD-ROM
Optical Drive Read Speed 24x (CD)
Other Drives
Floppy Drive 3.5" 1.44 MB floppy
Audio / Video
Audio Output Type Sound Card

Max. Video Resolution 1280 x 1024
Networking
Networking Type Network Adapter

Data Link Protocol Ethernet ? Fast Ethernet

I just dont know if I can drop a 3.0Ghz CPU in it or is the max 1ghz? I tried a P3 1Ghz and it didnt work.

 

[mechBgon]

Windows95? For real? Are you sure it's not Win98?

I'll wing a guess that it's similar to our E-1400's at work, which are a sort of perverted LPX format. Max CPU on those is a Socket370 CeleronII 733, according to Gateway (I asked them particularly). If I had kids, I would scrape together a little WinXP system out of parts, and make them all Limited users in this day & age.

 

[HuddaDudda]

Thanks for the info - I do know they sold them with P3 800's and I figured a celeron 800 might work too. I think it is 98 - just so old I dont bother to look. Its great for them to bang around on and stuff. Also I wouldnt retire it because its a good little "test" machine.

 

[Slowlearner]

This may or may not work.

Try out the online Upgrade configurator at http://www.powerleap.com/. If it does not work, they also have a downloadable utility you could use. Powerleap has some unique products useful for upgrading older Pentium pcs but everything else is overpriced and you can get them cheaper elsewhere.

 

[imported_Kiwi]

Besides looking at cpu's, the one thing out of all the bits making up a PC that offers the most dramatic speed improvement in the way the system responds is a more up to date VGA card, especially if there is an AGP slot, and not merely plain PCI.

If the Gateway machine in question has ATA 100 IDE, you can get more speed increase out of a 7200 rpm, 8 MB cache, modern hard drive than out of the cpu upgrade range you have available to work with.

Even adding RAM (past 256 in Win9x is smaller speed increase than up to that sweet spot) is more noticeable in responsiveness than the kind of cpu speed increase you are able to get if a 700-800 MHz P-III is the top limit, but the right low-density PC-100 RAM is more expensive these days than any other (desktop) kind found easily at retail.

However, given the huge, rapid, widespread changes that were happening in the PC industry from roughly 1998 to 2002, there are a veritable TON of excellent used PC's at unbelieveably low prices flooding the overstocks and surplus market, driving prices down. You can purchase an entire PC two generations newer than what you have now, shipped, for about the cost of a new, reasonably good, AGP video card! Literally, you can buy a 2 GHz PC (or AMD XP equivalent) for a hundred dollars or less.

Check your local classifieds.