How can I get the most out of my P2?

pengyou · 02-14-2007, 08:13 AM

I have a Dell Latitude CPI, one of the last ones so it will hold up to 512 mb of ram. It is not my main computer - I have a desktop to do the more robust things in life but I use the laptop when I need to be mobile or just want to be creative in a comfortable part of my home. What I like about it is that the tv out seems to be completely hardware driven - does not need cpu time, allows 2 batteries to be installed at one time and has batteries that can still be bought new for about $50. I use the notebook to: chat (icq, yahoo, msn, skype), listen to music, watch dvd's, surf, read news, do simple word processing and spreadsheet stuff, upload pics from my digi cam, etc. It has a multitude of uses but seldom requires big files.

I want to get the best performance out of this pc that I can. Which OS would you suggest? I will willing to consider, xp, 98se and linux. The only drawback I have found to the hardware is that the video card only has 4 mb of ram. Is there someway I can use memory from the motherboard for this function? While I do not have any experience with linux ( i am willing to learn) i slightly favor that because the penguin software seems to have smaller footprints which would give me more use out of my 12 gb hard drive.

Any suggestions?

**TheMatt** · 02-14-2007, 08:41 AM

Hi,

If you haven't already, upgrade to 512 MB of RAM. Then, install DSL (Damn Small Linux), VecorLinux, or Debian
http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/
http://www.vectorlinux.com/
http://www.debian.org/
They will be lightest from DSL to Debian, with DSL being the lightest. The reason I mention the others is that DSL can be hard to install, it is done through the command line.

02-14-2007, 08:13 AM	#1 (permalink)
pengyou Registered User Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 129 OS: xp & 98	How can I get the most out of my P2? I have a Dell Latitude CPI, one of the last ones so it will hold up to 512 mb of ram. It is not my main computer - I have a desktop to do the more robust things in life but I use the laptop when I need to be mobile or just want to be creative in a comfortable part of my home. What I like about it is that the tv out seems to be completely hardware driven - does not need cpu time, allows 2 batteries to be installed at one time and has batteries that can still be bought new for about $50. I use the notebook to: chat (icq, yahoo, msn, skype), listen to music, watch dvd's, surf, read news, do simple word processing and spreadsheet stuff, upload pics from my digi cam, etc. It has a multitude of uses but seldom requires big files. I want to get the best performance out of this pc that I can. Which OS would you suggest? I will willing to consider, xp, 98se and linux. The only drawback I have found to the hardware is that the video card only has 4 mb of ram. Is there someway I can use memory from the motherboard for this function? While I do not have any experience with linux ( i am willing to learn) i slightly favor that because the penguin software seems to have smaller footprints which would give me more use out of my 12 gb hard drive. Any suggestions?

02-14-2007, 08:41 AM	#2 (permalink)
TheMatt TSF Enthusiast Join Date: May 2006 Location: Boston Posts: 13,702 OS: Win 3.1, 98, NT 4.0, XP Debian 4.0, Kubuntu 6.06 My System Blog Entries: 3	Hi, If you haven't already, upgrade to 512 MB of RAM. Then, install DSL (Damn Small Linux), VecorLinux, or Debian http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/ http://www.vectorlinux.com/ http://www.debian.org/ They will be lightest from DSL to Debian, with DSL being the lightest. The reason I mention the others is that DSL can be hard to install, it is done through the command line. __________________ - Matt M - KB1OSC - Folding@Home 85015 [url="http://www.techsupportforum.com/hardware-support/"] If TSF has helped you, please consider donating. If I have stopped responding to a thread, feel free to send me a PM with a link to the thread. It is advisable to subscribe to threads so you will receive updates when replies are posted. You can subscribe to threads from the "Thread Tools" Menu. »Memtest86 »Prime95 »UBCD »SpeedFan »NHC Personal »Everest »Sandra »PC Wizard »RivaTuner »ATi Tool Click here for Useful Articles and Guides