Suggestions? Processor upgrade

freykatt · 12-19-2006, 09:37 AM

I am looking for help determining how to determine if and how and what I need to upgrade my puutor.
Processor = 233mhz Cyrix GXm
16k primary memory cache
Board = GXm-Cx5530
bus clock = 64mhz
Bios: Award Software International, inc. 4.51 PG 11/03/98
160mb
Win98se

Even tho there are some good deals on new ones, I am one who likes to recycle as much as possible - too much going to the landfills. Thanks to all who might enlighten me on some possibilities.

crazijoe · 12-19-2006, 12:08 PM

From looking at the speed of the processor, I would have to say that this machine is at least 8 years old. If any of the components have never been replaced, probably the only thing salvagable would possible be the opticle drive and the case. The case would be questionable because if it is a standard AT, your out of luck. My suggestion would be to buy new and take your old one to a recycling center.

freykatt · 12-19-2006, 03:41 PM

[COL
OR="SeaGreen"] [/color]
Hi crazyjoe, thanks for the help. I am not sure if it is an at or what, but, I am thinking that with the prices from Tiger, I could probly take care of this with a new Mother board and processor.??? Not sure what else is ivolved. BTW, what is the difference corncerning "cases"??

crazijoe · 12-20-2006, 10:19 AM

What motherboard/processor were you looking at?

freykatt · 12-20-2006, 01:16 PM

Hi crazyjoe, at this point I am unable to get in a big hurry to expend funds and have not closed in on any particular combo as I am not too up on this. Personaly, I am not a gamer , nor do I D>L> music , etc. therefore my needs are rather simple = i.e., email, surfin, a little word processing, etc. . Basically, a puutor that is more efficient, a little speedier would suit me at this time. Do you have an idea or suggestion based on your knowledge of motherboards and processors?? In my mind, I believe a simple swapout will allow me to still utulize the new CD Rom dr.,externalCDRW, all-in-one HP that I am using now, have I missed anything?

crazijoe · 12-20-2006, 01:31 PM

Well some things to consider. Some of the components you presently have may not work with the newer motherboard. I.E. memory, PSU, etc. Other things that may complicate performance would be like you graphics solution and hard drive. Hard drive performance today are about 4 times faster than 8 years ago and about 10 times the capacity. You shouldn't have a problem with your optical drives but without seeing the case it would be underterminded what format it is. I.E. AT, ATX, Flex ATX, mATX, etc.

milehile · 12-21-2006, 11:31 PM

A suggestion from me, barebones. You can go onto newegg.com and get a barebones system (MB, cpu, case, powersupply and sometimes integrated video) for a couple hundred, most of the time, less. You can still use your hard drive, cd drives and printer. The memory on the other hand my need to be changed. Following is a good example for what you need it for:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16856110032

This one doesn't come with the CPU, but you can get an inexpensive one for $100 now-a-days.

Hope this helps.

Edit: I have a correction for this reply. The CPU for this particular barebones system is much cheaper than anticipated. You can get one for ~$60 on newegg.com.

freykatt · 12-22-2006, 05:36 PM

Hi Milehile, Thanks for your info. This looks good, need to figure if my "stuff" (CD,HD, etc. will work, not too up on building a puutor, but don't imagine it is real difficult. Thanks again, will delve into it further.

milehile · 12-22-2006, 06:10 PM

Well. First things first. What brands are they, how old are they, and what kind of hard drive (IDE, SCSI)? Most motherboards won't support SCSI. If your hard drive is an IDE you won't have a problem. You may want to look into updating your operating system with something more modern. Win98 has had some problems with newer equipment in my past. Win2k or even Win XP is suggested.

If you feel that your old stuff isn't going to cut it, you can get newer stuff that are more "out-dated" for real inexpensive. For example; I looked up the price for a single stick of 256mg DDR2100 (roughly 1999 technology) and found it to be about $40. I also found a good 40gig hard drive (which is more than what you need it for) for around $40. And I own a Toshiba CD-RW/DVD-RW combo drive that I only spent $40 on.

Some food for thought for ya; if you are going to be upgrading your main componants on your comp, why not just go all out and get the whole thing for real cheap. You can either go to Best Buy and get a premade computer that's perfect for what you want to do for $400, or you can buy the stuff, build it yourself, get a faster and more customizable computer for close to half the price. It's up to you though. I just hope you make the right decision, lol. Have a great holiday.

12-19-2006, 09:37 AM	#1 (permalink)
freykatt Registered User Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: snowland Posts: 13 OS: win 98se, DSL (new to Linux)	Suggestions? Processor upgrade I am looking for help determining how to determine if and how and what I need to upgrade my puutor. Processor = 233mhz Cyrix GXm 16k primary memory cache Board = GXm-Cx5530 bus clock = 64mhz Bios: Award Software International, inc. 4.51 PG 11/03/98 160mb Win98se Even tho there are some good deals on new ones, I am one who likes to recycle as much as possible - too much going to the landfills. Thanks to all who might enlighten me on some possibilities.

12-19-2006, 12:08 PM	#2 (permalink)
crazijoe Registered User Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Omaha, The Center of the Universe Posts: 7,632 OS: WinXP, Win2K3 My System	From looking at the speed of the processor, I would have to say that this machine is at least 8 years old. If any of the components have never been replaced, probably the only thing salvagable would possible be the opticle drive and the case. The case would be questionable because if it is a standard AT, your out of luck. My suggestion would be to buy new and take your old one to a recycling center. __________________ Microsoft MCSA + Messaging, MVP, A+, Network+ http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b3...other/Help.jpg Do you want a real Republican? HDD diagnostic tools / HDD data recovery software

12-19-2006, 03:41 PM	#3 (permalink)
freykatt Registered User Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: snowland Posts: 13 OS: win 98se, DSL (new to Linux)	Processor upgrade [COL OR="SeaGreen"] [/color] Hi crazyjoe, thanks for the help. I am not sure if it is an at or what, but, I am thinking that with the prices from Tiger, I could probly take care of this with a new Mother board and processor.??? Not sure what else is ivolved. BTW, what is the difference corncerning "cases"??

12-20-2006, 10:19 AM	#4 (permalink)
crazijoe Registered User Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Omaha, The Center of the Universe Posts: 7,632 OS: WinXP, Win2K3 My System	What motherboard/processor were you looking at? __________________ Microsoft MCSA + Messaging, MVP, A+, Network+ http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b3...other/Help.jpg Do you want a real Republican? HDD diagnostic tools / HDD data recovery software

12-20-2006, 01:31 PM	#6 (permalink)
crazijoe Registered User Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Omaha, The Center of the Universe Posts: 7,632 OS: WinXP, Win2K3 My System	Well some things to consider. Some of the components you presently have may not work with the newer motherboard. I.E. memory, PSU, etc. Other things that may complicate performance would be like you graphics solution and hard drive. Hard drive performance today are about 4 times faster than 8 years ago and about 10 times the capacity. You shouldn't have a problem with your optical drives but without seeing the case it would be underterminded what format it is. I.E. AT, ATX, Flex ATX, mATX, etc. __________________ Microsoft MCSA + Messaging, MVP, A+, Network+ http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b3...other/Help.jpg Do you want a real Republican? HDD diagnostic tools / HDD data recovery software

12-20-2006, 01:16 PM	#5 (permalink)
freykatt Registered User Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: snowland Posts: 13 OS: win 98se, DSL (new to Linux)	Hi crazyjoe, at this point I am unable to get in a big hurry to expend funds and have not closed in on any particular combo as I am not too up on this. Personaly, I am not a gamer , nor do I D>L> music , etc. therefore my needs are rather simple = i.e., email, surfin, a little word processing, etc. . Basically, a puutor that is more efficient, a little speedier would suit me at this time. Do you have an idea or suggestion based on your knowledge of motherboards and processors?? In my mind, I believe a simple swapout will allow me to still utulize the new CD Rom dr.,externalCDRW, all-in-one HP that I am using now, have I missed anything?

12-21-2006, 11:31 PM	#7 (permalink)
milehile Registered User Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 473 OS: Windows 7 RC My System	A suggestion from me, barebones. You can go onto newegg.com and get a barebones system (MB, cpu, case, powersupply and sometimes integrated video) for a couple hundred, most of the time, less. You can still use your hard drive, cd drives and printer. The memory on the other hand my need to be changed. Following is a good example for what you need it for: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16856110032 This one doesn't come with the CPU, but you can get an inexpensive one for $100 now-a-days. Hope this helps. Edit: I have a correction for this reply. The CPU for this particular barebones system is much cheaper than anticipated. You can get one for ~$60 on newegg.com. __________________ *When you don't do something right, how can you be sure you've done anything at all?* Last edited by milehile; 12-21-2006 at 11:41 PM. Reason: correction

12-22-2006, 05:36 PM	#8 (permalink)
freykatt Registered User Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: snowland Posts: 13 OS: win 98se, DSL (new to Linux)	Hi Milehile, Thanks for your info. This looks good, need to figure if my "stuff" (CD,HD, etc. will work, not too up on building a puutor, but don't imagine it is real difficult. Thanks again, will delve into it further.

12-22-2006, 06:10 PM	#9 (permalink)
milehile Registered User Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 473 OS: Windows 7 RC My System	Well. First things first. What brands are they, how old are they, and what kind of hard drive (IDE, SCSI)? Most motherboards won't support SCSI. If your hard drive is an IDE you won't have a problem. You may want to look into updating your operating system with something more modern. Win98 has had some problems with newer equipment in my past. Win2k or even Win XP is suggested. If you feel that your old stuff isn't going to cut it, you can get newer stuff that are more "out-dated" for real inexpensive. For example; I looked up the price for a single stick of 256mg DDR2100 (roughly 1999 technology) and found it to be about $40. I also found a good 40gig hard drive (which is more than what you need it for) for around $40. And I own a Toshiba CD-RW/DVD-RW combo drive that I only spent $40 on. Some food for thought for ya; if you are going to be upgrading your main componants on your comp, why not just go all out and get the whole thing for real cheap. You can either go to Best Buy and get a premade computer that's perfect for what you want to do for $400, or you can buy the stuff, build it yourself, get a faster and more customizable computer for close to half the price. It's up to you though. I just hope you make the right decision, lol. Have a great holiday. __________________ *When you don't do something right, how can you be sure you've done anything at all?* Last edited by milehile; 12-22-2006 at 06:14 PM.