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got a 486...want to mess with it

R

Rhodent

Senior member
Is there any way You can change say the processor and the ram in a 486 and make it become a pentium class computer..or is the whole chipset designed for the architechture of the 486?
 
They make overdrive processors that drop into 486's. Intel made em, as well as a few other outfits... Evergreen comes to mind. In the long run, it depends on the intended usage as to if it's worth it or not. If you need a cheap single purpose linux box, maybe for like a router/firewall rig, that would be worth it. Or maybe a web box for the little Rhodents. Other than that... I wouldn't spend the bucks.
 
My main computer is a "486-class" computer with a Pentium Overdrive at 83MHz. ABout double the speed of a 486 at 66MHz.
 
Well....No...I just happen to have P75 and P120 sitting here..nd thought if I maybe popped one in with some EDOram that it might work. Not gone spend any money on that thing. No Little Rhodents...got my eye on a gig HZ. thanks though
 
LOL, nope.. 486's use Socket-3, you'd have a difficult time shoving a Pentium in there.. 😉 Look ma, it fits!


The best processor you can stick in there is probably an Am5x86/133(About the speed of a P120)

 
depending on what kind of 486 you have, its can get different speeds with an overdrive, my 486dx goes from 33mhz to 133mhz from an evergreen overdrive, I'm pretty sure its an AMD
 
I actually picked up a couple of 486's myself at an auction last week. Of course I was going to part them out, then I wanted to see if I could get them up and going...just for fun. Both of mine have the Socket3 AMD 486DX-4 (woohoo) which is close to a 100Mhz chip. It actually runs Win98SE with all of 16MB RAM.... just lots of hourglass time. I think upgrading the memory will do wonders for these little puppies , so I have been scouring the for sale forum in search of dirt cheap 72pin SIMMS. They both have network cards, so maybe I will pair them up and get me a screaming 486 network shooting solitare or Freecell all over the house. Just a thought. Anyone got one of those overdrive deals...reeally really cheap? I only gave $1 each for the boxes, so you can tell I am not willing to spend much money on these.
 
If you can find a AMD 133 z series 486 cpu (What Eli suggested), it'll run 160 with even a cheap heatsink/fan. Makes for a mighty fine mp3 machine at that speed, though high bitrate mp3s break up on mine at 133mhz. That chip will do 180 if your motherboard has the right combination of multipliers, but mine was never stable in Windows at 180. 60mhz VLB was cool though 🙂

I'd go with the AMD over an overdrive CPU anyday for two reasons...first, the AMD is a true 486 so it's just more fun as a retro machine, and second, it's faster anyway. Only problem is that the 133 is a 3.3v chip so your motherboard may or may not support it.

I've still got my 133/160 system running off and on. Runs fine and does normal tasks just great, even fine for most audio stuff, just isn't a gaming rig anymore. Though I could drop the V3 in there and make it work with some I guess (motherboard has PCI, and VLB and ISA) Heck, if it wasn't for games it'd probably still be my primary.

--Mc
 
I had a little of fun with an old 486 last year. You take the system out side. Have a friend chuch the processor at you and see how far you can hit it with a baseball bat. If it remains in one piece, have the friend try. Then you take the motherboard and melt it with a bonfire until it is nice and charred. Then you play hot potato, afterward the winner gets to throw the motherboard off the roof. A hammer makes short work of the video card, also the sound card. If you are in the mood for fun, you can dissable it with a flat head screw driver, or just melt the thing with a soldering iron. The ram is the only thing worth saving. Old ram sell for great prices on e-gay at times, if not then they make great weapons. Chucking ram like a ninja star at a friend's head can be painful.


Have I left anything out?
 
I once connected the turbo switch on a 486DX/66 to the jumper that makes the bus 40MHz:
Turbo off - 66MHz standard clock
Turbo on - 80MHz overclocked
Now that's what the turbo key is for!

BTW, I could hot-overclock it in DOS, and see the CPU speed change in some DOS-based benchmark (Landmark, I think). I never tried that in Windows - I bet it would've worked!

-PJ
 
lol 007, I should try that with my old compaq 486, just overdrove it and got it some more ram and then the MB decides it doesnt like HD's anymore! !@#$@#
 
Don't get an overdrive, especially an Intel! I got an Intel Overdrive and my Intel 486 DX/2 66 MHz saw no improvement in any programs! It was terrible! It was the very thing that turned me into the anti-Intel I am today! Go for an AMD 486 processor and you'll save yourself from a lot of grief (I had the Intel clunker for 5 years, and I'll tell you, I had tons of grief).
 
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