Upgrade possibilities PII350 > ???

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dkellogg3

Member
Nov 3, 2002
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Okay, first of all, I've been doing a bunch of searching this evening, but it seems that I'm in a different situation than someone else - different chipset.

So, I pulled a Compaq Presario 5610 out a dumpster at a Transfer station, with the hopes of being able to slavage the DVD player, the Front USB/Firewire ports, and the video card (S-video out). I bring it home, plug it in just to check, and the sucker fires up!!!

I've been trying to figure out my options, so I d/l'd CPU-Z to see what it has... here are the reuslts

CPU: PII 350 (100 x 3.5)
RAM: 64 MB PC100 (2 x 32)
Motherboard: Compaq m/n 0430H
Chipset: Intel I440BX/ZX rev. B1

I know i've got to up the RAM, but my question is this: What's the fastest CPU I can up in this thing?

Thanks in advance!
 
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SectorZero

Member
Sep 29, 2002
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That's a pretty old system, not too many options as far as upgrading goes.

Mainly cuz you may have a realy hard time finding parts. (motherboard,CPU)

Upgrading the RAM and Hard Disk should be no problem. Don't see much point to upgrading the Video card, but that depends on what you have in mind for the PC.

My suggestion would be to flash the BIOS to the latest, get the RAM up to 256 MEG, swap out the hard disk for the biggest, fastest one that board will support (probably 40 gig), maybe upgrade the DVD/burner, and install Win2K.

BINGO, instant second PC. Perfectly fine for Internet/E-mail, word processing, stuff like that.

It would be great if that system could support a P3 450 or 500, but don't underestimate the effect a fast hard disk will have on system responsivness.
And don't forget to put your swap file on it's own partition.
 
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dkellogg3

Member
Nov 3, 2002
113
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Thanks for the reply!

I do realize it'd a pretty old rig, but hey, for ~$60 I figure I can at least get it up as a decent file server. I read somewhere that it is someone's opinion that this could probably go to a PIII 700 coppermine. I've got a 128MB stick of RAM sitting around, and I've already purchased a 20GB 5400rpm drive to put in my main rig so I can use my 60GB 5400rpm in the server (for what I need, the 5400 speed is fin in my main rig).

Any other opinions (or hard knowledge) on the max CPU I can get in this?

Thanks again.
 
MDE

MDE

Lifer
Jul 17, 2003
13,199
1
81
You should be able to use any Slot1 100MHz FSB processor without an issue. Take a look inside of it and see if the CPU speed is controlled by jumpers\DIP switches or by the BIOS (autodetecting).
 
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dkellogg3

Member
Nov 3, 2002
113
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I took a look - doesn't appear to be any jumpers.

Does anyone know how to get into the BIOS setup on this machine. There's no introduction page that says "press DEL to enter setup"

Thanks!
 
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SectorZero

Member
Sep 29, 2002
96
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On Compaq I think it's F10 at start up to get into the BIOS.

It that's not it, just power down, count 10 steamboats (or mississippis) power back up and press F1 through F4 and F10 through F12. You'll hear a beep when you've hit the right key.

As far as the P3 700, I have my doubts about that motherboard supporting it. You'll need a slocket adapter either way.
Don't bother looking for jumpers to change the multiplier. It's very unlikely Compaq would include them.

Most big manufacturers don't want users overclocking then calling them for tech support.
Could be wrong, but I wouldn't be too hopefull about finding jumpers to change the multiplier.


 
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dkellogg3

Member
Nov 3, 2002
113
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Thanks for your help sector.

Anyone else with real-world experience with this board, or otherwise?

be well.
 
sao123

sao123

Lifer
May 27, 2002
12,648
201
106
1) I dont recall anything higher than a Slot 1 450Mhz certified to work on the 440BX Chipset. The 440 chipset will also support up to 384MB RAM if you have 3 slots and 3x 128MB DIMMS.
P2 CPU's are still available from plces such as this...
http://www.upgrade-solution.com/


However, if your really looking for a speed boost...get a PCI IDE controller (promise or maxtor) that will run at 100/133 ATA, and get a 7200 RPM drive This will give your system the biggest possible speed boost... After all those old P2's are still running the ATA 33 or 66 Specs and thats what made them slow.
 
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Mloot

Diamond Member
Aug 24, 2002
3,042
25
91
Well, according to Powerleap, you can use their PL-iP3/T adapter to upgrade your CPU to a (maximum) 1.4ghz Tualatin Celeron. The Presario 5610 is listed as a compatible system for the upgrade. It would be up to you to decide if this would be a cost-effective upgrade, but there's an option for ya.
 
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dkellogg3

Member
Nov 3, 2002
113
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Mloot-

Yeah, in my search, I came accross that adapter. I ca't remember which, but either Tom's Hardware, Storagereview gave it a great review. The problem, as you've eluded, is the cost. Not really what I was looking for as far cost goes.

Thanks for the response.

Don
 
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deadseasquirrel

Golden Member
Nov 20, 2001
1,736
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0
Originally posted by: dkellogg3
Mloot-

Yeah, in my search, I came accross that adapter. I ca't remember which, but either Tom's Hardware, Storagereview gave it a great review. The problem, as you've eluded, is the cost. Not really what I was looking for as far cost goes.
Click to expand...

Sometimes, you can find one on Ebay new-in-box for around $90. I found 3 a few months ago and they're running perfectly (upgraded a P3 600, and 2 P2 400s). I think, including shipping, the avg cost was $83 each. But, that being said....

Originally posted by: oldfart
Upgradeware has a Tually slot 1 adapter for $20. I've used them and they work well.
Click to expand...

... this is an option too. The powerleap has the voltage regulated on the adapter itself, and I felt that to be safer for my old Intel boards.

:edit... and then sell the old chip on FS/FT for $25 or so and defray some of the upgrade cost.
 
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snowwie

Member
Aug 8, 2002
137
0
0
Originally posted by: sao123
1) I dont recall anything higher than a Slot 1 450Mhz certified to work on the 440BX Chipset. The 440 chipset will also support up to 384MB RAM if you have 3 slots and 3x 128MB DIMMS.
P2 CPU's are still available from plces such as this...
http://www.upgrade-solution.com/


However, if your really looking for a speed boost...get a PCI IDE controller (promise or maxtor) that will run at 100/133 ATA, and get a 7200 RPM drive This will give your system the biggest possible speed boost... After all those old P2's are still running the ATA 33 or 66 Specs and thats what made them slow.
Click to expand...

I have used many BX boards, especially OEM and built by Intel boards, and all have been able to handle a 100fsb coppermine. Katmai core P3's are iffy, because they use a higher voltage.

The best upgrade option is probably getting a slot-T adapter, can be found for ~10-20 bucks, and a 100fsb tualatin celeron.

I remember buying a few of those slot1 100fsb 1GHz P3's from googlegear way back, to upgrade a few 440BX boards (all oem, little bios support, recognised them as 533 pentium pros, but they ran fine at 1000MHz) When I bought them, they were 200 bucks a piece, and that was probably the least expensive they ever were. I wonder what limited stock they have of those.

As for ram, I've seen boards that wouldn't take sticks with higher density than double sided 128. But your board is a pretty late rev/version, and I bet it could take double sided 256MB sticks, or maybe even single sided 256MB sticks. I would recommend getting two double sided sticks of 256 ram (PC133 is cheaper than PC100 these days).

But getting an ATA-100/133 controller and a 7200rpm drive is one of the best ideas for a BX board
 
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dkellogg3

Member
Nov 3, 2002
113
0
0
You guys are great - thanks for all of the informative input.

Does the Slot-T take anything besides the Tualatins? They are a little steep.

Don
 
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