Will It Work?

  • Thread starter Thread starter dwen92
  • Start date Start date
D

dwen92

Hi,

I currently have a Pentium MMX 233MHz, running Windows 98SE, with 64MB
RAM and 4.3GB HDD.

I also have an old P200, running XP Home, with 64MB RAM, and it's soo
slow and glitchy etc.

I'm looking at running XP on the 233, but is it gonna be real glitchy,
like the 200 is?
I'm gonna upgrade the 64MB to 256, and put another HDD in (larger)..


What do you think?

Ta,

D
 
I currently have a Pentium MMX 233MHz, running Windows 98SE, with
64MB RAM and 4.3GB HDD.

I also have an old P200, running XP Home, with 64MB RAM, and it's
soo slow and glitchy etc.

I'm looking at running XP on the 233, but is it gonna be real
glitchy, like the 200 is?
I'm gonna upgrade the 64MB to 256, and put another HDD in (larger)..


What do ou think?
Click to expand...

Truthfully?
I think you should save $300-$500 and buy a Dell.
Seriously.. a 2+GHz Dell system with 20 times the hard drive space, 10
times the processor, and everything else you need vs you trying to limp
along with a very very underpowered machine.

http://www.gottadeal.com/dell.php

http://www.dealsites.net/index.php?module=livedeals&func=search&q=dell

You could probably find a used system in a classified ad that is 5 to 10
times better for less than you'd spend getting memory for that ancient box.
 
@Shenan: Thanks, but no thanks. We've had some troubles with Dell in
the past, and we'd prefer to stay away from them.

I have a friend who has the parts, and will do the job for me,
inexpensively

@Mike: Bigger as in HDD space?
 
I currently have a Pentium MMX 233MHz, running Windows 98SE, with 64MB
RAM and 4.3GB HDD.
Click to expand...


233MHZ with 64MB is the official minimum for XP. It should work, but it will
be deadly slow.


I also have an old P200, running XP Home, with 64MB RAM, and it's soo
slow and glitchy etc.
Click to expand...


Not at all surprising. You're below the official minimum on CPU speed, and
only 64MB is nowhere enough to run much more than Solitaire with anything
approaching acceptable speed.


I'm looking at running XP on the 233, but is it gonna be real glitchy,
like the 200 is?
I'm gonna upgrade the 64MB to 256, and put another HDD in (larger)..


What do you think?
Click to expand...


Upgrading to 256MB and installing a larger drive will help substantially,
but you are still not going to get performance that most people would find
acceptable.

In my view, spending any money at all on a box like this is a waste of
money. I would either run Windows 98 on a box like this, or save up your
money to buy a new one suitable for XP.
 
@Shenan: Thanks, but no thanks. We've had some troubles with Dell in
the past, and we'd prefer to stay away from them.

I have a friend who has the parts, and will do the job for me,
inexpensively

@Mike: Bigger as in HDD space?
Click to expand...

You will still be disappointed. I would not run Windows XP
with anything slower than 800 MHz and even that with at least
512 MB of RAM and a very fast hard drive and video card. If
your friend's parts include a spare Pentium-III Coppermine or
Pentium-4 Tualatin/Northwood with corresponding motherboard,
then go for it.
 
Bigger everything.. don't waste funds on the present machine.. save it
towards something newer..

The HDD is too small, memory is not enough.. the video card may not be
supported properly.. MMX233 is really not up to the job..
 
@Shenan: Thanks, but no thanks. We've had some troubles with Dell in
the past, and we'd prefer to stay away from them.

I have a friend who has the parts, and will do the job for me,
inexpensively

@Mike: Bigger as in HDD space?
Click to expand...
At the moment, there are plenty of bargains to be had, if you don't want
enough power for games, get an Intel Celeron or AMD Sempron based machine,
you can get a base unit with keyboard and mouse for under 300 pounds,
assuming your monitor is still useable.
Go for at least 256MB ram & 80GB hard disk. You will get Windows XP Home
with the machine.
Regards Mike.
 
Hi,

I currently have a Pentium MMX 233MHz, running Windows 98SE, with 64MB
RAM and 4.3GB HDD.

I also have an old P200, running XP Home, with 64MB RAM, and it's soo
slow and glitchy etc.

I'm looking at running XP on the 233, but is it gonna be real glitchy,
like the 200 is?
I'm gonna upgrade the 64MB to 256, and put another HDD in (larger)..


What do you think?
Click to expand...

You are completely wasting your money. I have run Windows XP on Celeron
466 machines, but would never consider an old P200 or P233. The older
machines are just a waste to invest in for something modern.

For what it costs to upgrade to 256MB RAM, a new larger drive, etc, you
are better off buying a Dell, Gateway, HP, etc....

I read that you don't like Dell, but the simple fact is that they sell
some real cheap machines for around $350 that come with all you need to
run XP and they INCLUDE the XP software/license with that.

XP is not glitchy, it's your hardware that causes the problems. I have
more than 1500 machines running Windows XP Prof + SP2 and for all
practical purposes I never see a "glitch".

Do yourself a favor, buy a machine from Dell :

Current special: Dell B110, Celeron 2.5Ghz, 256MB RAM, XP + Media (+$8),
17" Monitor, CD-RW, 1 year warranty, $281 out the door.
 
Hi,

I currently have a Pentium MMX 233MHz, running Windows 98SE, with 64MB
RAM and 4.3GB HDD.

I also have an old P200, running XP Home, with 64MB RAM, and it's soo
slow and glitchy etc.

I'm looking at running XP on the 233, but is it gonna be real glitchy,
like the 200 is?
I'm gonna upgrade the 64MB to 256, and put another HDD in (larger)..


What do you think?
Click to expand...


Yes, it's possible. As for performance, the word "glacial" comes
to mind, if the computer doesn't have a CPU of at least 500 MHz along
with at least 256 Mb of RAM.

Acceptable performance is, of course, a matter of personal opinion
and depends entirely upon what *you* expect to do with your computer. If
all you want to do is play WinXP's built-in games, send and receive
simple emails, browse the Internet (while avoiding the more "ornamental"
web sites) etc., such a machine may well meet your needs. If, however,
you plan to take advantage of WinXP's multimedia capabilities, play
graphic-intensive games, or do advanced word or data processing, such a
machine would probably be woefully inadequate.

If you turn off all of WinXP GUI eye-candy, it will still be very
slow, but it might be usable for simple word processing, email,
web-browsing, etc. It won't be any good for graphics-intensive
applications, and most newer games. (During the public preview period,
I tested WinXP on a 500 MHz machine with 256 Mb of RAM, and it was much
slower than I like.)

To help improve WinXP's performance on older machines:

1) Right-click the Task Bar > Properties > Start Menu, ensure "Classic
Start menu" is selected.

2) Right-click an empty spot on the Desktop > Properties > Themes >
select "Windows Classic."

3) Right-click My Computer > Properties > Performance > Settings >
Visual Effects, ensure "Adjust for best performance" is selected.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin
 
dwen92 said:
@Shenan: Thanks, but no thanks. We've had some troubles with Dell in
the past, and we'd prefer to stay away from them.
Click to expand...

That's fine - but there are other deals to be had.

http://dealsites.net/
http://pricewatch.com/

Even an e-Machine (wow - I typed that!) would be a better choice than trying
to get that ancient and underpowered machine you posted about going.

If you have to do something - do this:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...ffiliateID=_lh6xSc9K0k-j35v0M6ZU4zo9LUjUhCxHA
( Short URL: http://snipurl.com/qrcc )

The fact is - if you spend $50 on that machine - that was $49.99 too much on
something that should have been recycled for scrap. =)

(Personally - Dell has worked great in the thousands of machines I have
bought. Compaq did not fair as well, IBM faired even worse. All in the
thousands purchased/maintained now.)
 
Hi all,

@Bruce:

Thankyou very much. You're the only person that i'm aggreeing with atm.
So people keep telling me: Wow XP has mad games and M/Media
Capabilities. Meh. i just want a program for doing homework, emails,
web, and runs iTunes.

I'm getting an upgrade on Wednesday (so if theres any last comments,
please speak now everyone), to a 50GB HDD, 256MB RAM, and WINXP.

Any last thoughts?


-D
 
If you are planning to install the HDD and memory into your existing
computer, you may still have problems.. the system may not recognise a 50gb
drive at all, and the same applies to SDRAM presently available.. of course,
you may get lucky..

Assuming that the upgrades work with the system, you will still be dogged by
a criminally slow processor.. 256mb RAM alone will not do much for you..
computer speed is determined by the mix of CPU, Memory, HDD access times,
motherboard bus speeds, video card memory etc.. 256mb is ok with a
reasonably decent processor.. yours can't be included in this category..

The other issue is the video card.. early AGP video cards are not well
supported in XP.. video card manufacturers tended not to produce drivers,
and screen performance may not be smooth.. video cards like the Matrox
Mystique 220 PCI are supported, but 4mb video is really not enough even
running XP in full classic mode..
 
Sorry, i screwed up there: it's a 60GB HDD
Click to expand...

Yes - if you are paying more than $200, you should have chipped in the extra
$100 and gotten a whole new computer with warranty instead of parts. =)

You may only want to do minor things - but even at those - this machine will
suck the life out of you - no matter how you tweak it. Things that would
take 1 to 5 seconds on the $300 machine will take you 1 to 5 minutes. And
that includes opening Outlook Express, Outlook, Word, Excel, Powerpoint,
Paint, Open Office and using internet Explorer.
 
Hi guys

The tech talked me into a new 1.7GHz, 256MB RAM, 60GB HDD for $250.
Installed XP PRO on it, charged no labour..

What do u think?

Deon
 
Hi guys

The tech talked me into a new 1.7GHz, 256MB RAM, 60GB HDD for $250.
Installed XP PRO on it, charged no labour..

What do u think?

Deon
Click to expand...

Now upgrade to 512 MB RAM.......
 
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