Is any of this salvageable?

  • Thread starter kennylmao
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kennylmao

kennylmao

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Chad
Chad
kennylmao
Hi guys.

Our family computer which we bought back in year 2001 (:eek:) has went through a lot. Broken, fixed and upgraded multiple times. I'm pretty sure only the keyboard and the tower is the only thing remaining from year 2001.

But my question is, is any of this salvageable to make a decent home PC for basic use? I kinda feel bad thinking about throwing it all out.

I think I'm doing this right, here are the specs from CPU-Z.

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Don't feel bad about giving me bad news. :lol:
 
As it is, not really. However it has a small bit of potential. It has socket 775 meaning you could put a core2duo or core2quad in it. Add a bit of RAM and you'll have a half decent PC.

If you don't want to change it, you could install Linux on it as that should run without too many issues. You won't be able to do much more than browsing and email though.
 
It's more than useable! I would say stick Windows 7 on it and it will be great for normal stuff. 👍

I still actively use my PC from 2001 which is lower specs than yours. AMD 1.3Ghz, 512mb RAM, GeForce 2MX
 
You don't have a lot to work with here...

  • CPU: You might be able to get a Core Duo or something newer running on that board. You'd have to look into what the fastest CPU that chipset can support is. If you can't run a Core Duo or similar, they you may have better chances with a Pentium D.
  • Memory: Max is out, DDR2 should be cheap on eBay.
  • Graphics: You're limited to AGP. They did make a few more modern AGP cards, you could pick one of those up. At least something to get you better DirectX support over that old GeForce 2.
  • Storage: I'm assuming that board is SATA2, so any SSD should be more than capable enough at maxing out that interface.
You could probably do all of those except the SSD for like $100 total. Don't know if it's really worth it. I generally throw out anything that isn't dual core or 64bit capable.
 
No. I'm not trying to sound like a salesman trying to sell you crap that costs a lot but I recommend investing in something new/modern. Although If you really want to keep it stick a core 2 quad or duo in the socket and get some ram that adds up to at least 4gb.
 
starknight97
get some ram that adds up to at least 4gb.
Click to expand...
"At least 4Gb" is pointless as he'll either be running a 32bit OS or even if he isn't, the rest of the machine couldn't keep up with any software that needs more than 4Gb.
 
The suggestion from @IntensityShai to turn it into network storage also has merit.

For the people suggesting adding at least 4GB of RAM, understand that the CPU is only 32 bits, it's incapable of addressing more than 4GB. And as a practical matter, even with 4Gb installed, only 3GB and a bit will be useable. If you managed to install 16GB somehow, you'd still only be able to use 3GB plus a bit of it.
 
BobK
The suggestion from @IntensityShai to turn it into network storage also has merit.

For the people suggesting adding at least 4GB of RAM, understand that the CPU is only 32 bits, it's incapable of addressing more than 4GB. And as a practical matter, even with 4Gb installed, only 3GB and a bit will be useable. If you managed to install 16GB somehow, you'd still only be able to use 3GB plus a bit of it.
Click to expand...

From 3GB to 3.75GB.

Depends on hardware allocation

Only x86 O/S that can address more are the server editions which have P.A.E.
 
And why I said more than 4Gb was pointless. :P

Noncommittal FTW!
 
Infinital-NG
http://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en/mb/introduction.php?S_ID=91#spec

Link to motherboard specs.

Max memory is listed at 2GB.

No windows 7 drivers listed.

There are some Vista x64, but at 2gb max memory wouldn't even bother.
Click to expand...

After a little more research on that chipset. Looks like 2gb of RAM is a limit of the chipset, and it will only work with Pentium 4 processors. So running a Pentium D is not going to happen.

I wouldn't even consider using it for a file server.

http://www.via.com.tw/en/products/chipsets/p4-series/comparison_p4-series.jsp
 
OP should get a new chip set. that mobo is crap even by today office pc standards. At first I read through your post quickly and I didn't notice it was a 65nm processor.
 
Last edited:
@kennylmao

Having a re read through your computer specs no wonder when I posted my specs (which were high end in 2001) were lower than yours :lol: because you have pretty much changed the whole thing to a 2006 computer.

As for the RAM, do people not realise that things like Windows 7 are totally useable at only 1GB of RAM? People have gotten used to seeing huge amounts of RAM and forgotten what things really need.
 
I ran Windows 7 Ultimate on a Atom N280 powered netbook with only 1gb of RAM, I know it's possible but it going to be a very good experience.
 
@JerseyDriverSS @Grayfox @phillkillv2 Thanks for your honest opinion! I wasn't too hopeful about it either.

@DQuaN @BobK Ah, Linux. I have absolutely no idea know how to Linux, lol. Fun fact, I remember the computer actually came with Linux installed and we removed it for Windows 98, then later Windows XP.

@Robin. I think I'll just keep the existing Windows XP. It's decent and I want to use as little resource as possible given the limitations of my pitiful hardware. How in the world do you still use your old computer?!! Does it take minutes to open a file? :P

:lol: Yeah, only the keyboard and tower are left from 2001. The Pentium 4 processor that came with it went busted so my dad took it to the shop and had it replaced together with the motherboard because it was also busted(?), and replaced the 256MB(?) of RAM with a 512 MB one time and finally to that 1GB of RAM later. That's all I can remember, lol.

@acascianelli Thanks for the suggestions. I'm not knowledgeable about computer and parts, would the current setup support SSD?

@starknight97 No problem. I have other newer computers to use so I don't rely solely on it. I just thought of breathing new life into the old fella.

@IntensityShai I've thought of it but I don't think anybody would even want or have any use for it given the dated hardware.

@Infinital-NG Thanks for finding that! That max memory is... sad.

I think I'll just be a cheapskate. The only thing I'll do is max out the RAM!!!... to a mere 2GBs, lol. Any more money invested into this junk will just be a waste.
 
kennylmao
I... don't fancy tablets. :scared:

But that Nokia Lumia one sure looks nice though. :drool:
Click to expand...

The Lumia is gorgeous.

Check out the Chromebook

large-1.jpg


'Sadly', tablet like specs in a laptop form factor. It's $200 which is relatively cheaper than some tablets.
 
phillkillv2
The Lumia is gorgeous.

Check out the Chromebook

large-1.jpg


'Sadly', tablet like specs in a laptop form factor. It's $200 which is relatively cheaper than some tablets.
Click to expand...
Looks cool and the name sounds cool, but kinda feels like a slightly larger netbook. I'm also not into the whole Samsung/Google/Android ecosystem. It has to be Nokia (or maybe Sony) for me. Brand loyalty is gonna kill me, lol.
 
kennylmao
Looks cool and the name sounds cool, but kinda feels like a slightly larger netbook. I'm also not into the whole Samsung/Google/Android ecosystem. It has to be Nokia (or maybe Sony) for me. Brand loyalty is gonna kill me, lol.
Click to expand...
Actually, the Chromebook doesn't have quite the capability of a netbook. A Chromebook is basically a Chrome browser and that's it. It doesn't use Android, it uses another linux variant called Chrome OS. On-device storage is very limited, because it's intended that Google Drive will be the main storage.

Don't get me wrong, I have a Chromebook and I really like it. But it seems a lot of people think it's something it was never intended to be.
 
I really liked netbooks when they were around. I used an Asus 1005HA-P for a long time as my daily PC/Laptop. You had to be mindful about what you were running (OS/apps) because of the low performance CPU, but once I got the hang of the limitation it was great.

I ran everything from Windows XP to Windows 7 Ultimate on it. Windows 7 need some tweaks to get it to run a little more lean than out of the box. I eventually settled on running CrunchBang Linux on it.

Mine had an Intel Atom N280 which was a slight upgrade over the N270, upgraded from 1gb to 2gb which was the max, and when the stock 160gb drive died I put in a 500gb drive then eventually switched that out for a 128gb SSD.
 
BobK
Actually, the Chromebook doesn't have quite the capability of a netbook. A Chromebook is basically a Chrome browser and that's it. It doesn't use Android, it uses another linux variant called Chrome OS. On-device storage is very limited, because it's intended that Google Drive will be the main storage.

Don't get me wrong, I have a Chromebook and I really like it. But it seems a lot of people think it's something it was never intended to be.
Click to expand...
Ah, thanks for clearing that up! So it's just like a laptop, only the HDD is essentially replaced with the cloud? 💡
 

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