Will Xp Run at 450 mhz?

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JGM

I have a Pentium III 450 Mhz and 160 Megs of Ram can it handle XP as well
as ME which is presently installed ???

many thanks Graham
 
While the processor clock speed is a bit low, the real issue will be the
160MB of ram. I don't know how much ram the system is capable of running
but you are really going to need considerably more ram for satisfactory XP
function on that setup. Further, if your system has only a small amount of
graphics memory, in other words the graphics card has less than about 64MB
of its own ram, on this setup, XP will run very slow as it is a very
graphics intensive operating system.
 
Thanks Michael....Would another 128K do the trick???
Graham

Michael Solomon (MS-MVP Windows Shell/User) said:
While the processor clock speed is a bit low, the real issue will be the
160MB of ram. I don't know how much ram the system is capable of running
but you are really going to need considerably more ram for satisfactory XP
function on that setup. Further, if your system has only a small amount of
graphics memory, in other words the graphics card has less than about 64MB
of its own ram, on this setup, XP will run very slow as it is a very
graphics intensive operating system.
Click to expand...
 
If you are low on graphics memory, no.

Here's something to consider. Combine the cost of memory to be added with
the amount you are planning to spend on XP, plus a new graphics card if
necessary and compare that sum to the cost of a new computer. I'm not
necessarily talking about a top of the line system, I'm talking about a
system available in roughly the price range of how much you might have to
spend bringing your current system up to speed.

Also remember, you will need to check all your hardware to be sure there are
XP drivers available, you'll need to be sure all your software will work
with XP, especially, antivirus, firewalls and CD burning software, all of
which will have to be replaced if these items are versions that pre-date XP
as those versions are not compatible with XP. Figure that into your cost.

That said, should you decide it makes more economic sense to buy a new
computer, make sure it includes an actual XP CD, not simply a recovery CD
but a CD that is for all intents and purposes the same as the retail version
or you should purchase that separately because most custom OEM versions lack
those necessary tools.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

JGM said:
Thanks Michael....Would another 128K do the trick???
Graham
Click to expand...
 
It will do adequately, most adequate for a second system but compared to
what he is currently running, it will slow down considerably.
 
In
JGM said:
I have a Pentium III 450 Mhz and 160 Megs of Ram can it handle XP as
well as ME which is presently installed ???
Click to expand...


There are two issues:

1. The 450 MHz Processor.
It's certainly on the slow side, but not so slow as to make XP
unusable. My wife runs XP on a 400MHz PII. It's no speed demon,
but it's adequate for her use.

2. 160MB of RAM.
How much RAM you need depends on what apps you run, but most
people running XP with a common range of business apps find that
good performance begins around 256MB. Fortunately it should be
easy and inexpensive to upgrade your RAM.
 
Ken Blake said:
In


There are two issues:

1. The 450 MHz Processor.
It's certainly on the slow side, but not so slow as to make XP
unusable. My wife runs XP on a 400MHz PII. It's no speed demon,
but it's adequate for her use.

2. 160MB of RAM.
How much RAM you need depends on what apps you run, but most
people running XP with a common range of business apps find that
good performance begins around 256MB. Fortunately it should be
easy and inexpensive to upgrade your RAM.
Click to expand...
I have XP Pro installed on a Pentium II 200 MHz with 320 MB RAM. It's
slow but works OK for web browsing and Office 2003 apps. It runs real
bad for any game more intense than solitaire.
 
One possible issue that might be a problem is disk access
speed, and available space. If you can run at 100 MHz FSB
and have fast hard drive virtual memory swapping will be
faster than on a 66 MHz on 3600 or 5400 rpm drive.


message | In | JGM <[email protected]> typed:
|
| > I have a Pentium III 450 Mhz and 160 Megs of Ram can it
handle
| XP as
| > well as ME which is presently installed ???
|
|
| There are two issues:
|
| 1. The 450 MHz Processor.
| It's certainly on the slow side, but not so slow as to
make XP
| unusable. My wife runs XP on a 400MHz PII. It's no speed
demon,
| but it's adequate for her use.
|
| 2. 160MB of RAM.
| How much RAM you need depends on what apps you run, but
most
| people running XP with a common range of business apps
find that
| good performance begins around 256MB. Fortunately it
should be
| easy and inexpensive to upgrade your RAM.
|
| --
| Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
| Please reply to the newsgroup
|
|
 
I have a Pentium III 450 Mhz and 160 Megs of Ram can it handle XP as well
as ME which is presently installed ???

many thanks Graham

--
"Oh Lord, may I be directed what to do and what to leave undone. " (Fry)




128 MB is the minimum 'recommended' by Microsoft. Almost everyone
considers it inadequate in practice. 256 is a reasonable base - but you
can't get back at Dell for mis-selling. One point though is that at 128
the default settings for Virtual memory are quite inadequate. Go to
Control Panel - System - Advanced - Performance; click Settings -
Advanced - Virtual Memory click Change and select the drive where the
page file is. Select Custom, make the initial size 400 MB and the max
900 and click Set.
Click to expand...

If you have w/98 running on the system and can borrow
an XP disk I beleive there is a way to run XP setup
in a test-only mode. Something like

c:\i386\winnt.exe /CHECKONLY

Can someone confirm this and post the exact command ?

This will tell you if XP will have problems with
hardwar compatibility.

You need at least 8GB of disk. An old machine may have
a slow disk and a new 7200 RPM disk can't hurt.

Having set up a bunch of machines similar to yours, but with _very_
slow disks and only 64MB of memory with w2k for a company, against my
recommendations, I found that the machines were quite satisfactory for
the users, but setup was painfully slow. I didn't mind because I was
being paid by the hour. ;-) The moral is don't judge usability
based on setup speed.

The users of these machines were running NT domain, Outlook, MS
Offfice, IE, and a LAN database application. All at once.

There are some things you can do to make sure your system is working
to it's potential;

The following services can be turned off;

Automatic Updates
Messenger Service
TCP/IP Netbios Helper
Wireless Zero Config (unless have a WiFI adapter in the machine)
Upload Manager
Task Scheduler Server
Error Reporting
Remote Registery
Server Service
Computer Browser

Turn off some of the GUI crap;

Start->Properties Select "classsic" IMHO

Start -> Control Panel > System -> Advanced
-> Performance -> Settings

Select "adjust for best performance"
 
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