Upgrade Challenge Extraordinaire

[DrEvil]

I have a decrepid Compaq that I need to overhaul, but it's a bare bones antique.

Pentium 3 Processor, some 433 odd MHz, 128 bits RAM
8 Gigabyte Hard Drive
No Soundcard, OLD videocard....
Possibly the first USB ports ever produced
Standard CD Rom drive

I'm basically just hoping to salvage the power system and mother board, but the rest obviously has to go. Any suggestions as to what hardware this POS can handle would be greatly appreciated. Ideally I would like a duo core processor, some sound and graphic capability would be nice, as would a DVD and CDRW and S-Video port.

Ideas? Besides throwing it out....

[Sirkwa]

Well...With the way it looks, a C2D is out of the question. Same with the power supply. And the Motherboard. In all honesty, If your looking for something better, throwing it out might be the only and best option.

Post a reply with the model of the Compaq or a link to specifications so we know the full details that is behind it. Or just post what the the full details are. After that I or someone else will help to see what can be upgraded but it does not look like much so far...

- Sirkwa

[DrEvil]

Right. This is a Compaq Deskpro 1000 series. The power supply unit specifies:

Switching power supply - 110-240VAC input, 45-66Hz - 6 DC outputs, 145 watts

The Mother Board Specifies: Motherboard (system processor board), 100MHz front side bus - Does not include processor

It has three RAM slots, two of which are of course occupied.

I can't see the info on HD, but its scrap so irrelevant. The video card is an ATI 3D Rage Pro Turbo AGP, and he ethernet card takes up one of the four remaining slots. That's about all there is to it. My options, as you can see, are limited.

[Sirkwa]

Well for starters you can upgrade your ram to Kingston 512MB 168-Pin SDRAM Unbuffered PC 133 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820141313&Tpk=KTC-EN133%252f512). It states that it was designed for HP/Compaq Deskpro 566-1000. Which is hard to believe, I wanted to double check with the motherboard specs but cannot find anything.

As far as Compaq Deskpro 1000, Even the Google Gods cant help finding the specs for the system. So I have no clue what make or model processor, motherboard, etc.

The cost of upgrading this anymore would be not be worth the money. The RAM alone almost sets you a 1/4 of the way for a new pc...A new PC that this being upgraded will not even come close to touch.

I think it might be time to explore more options then just upgrading.

- Sirkwa

[LeftyAce]

What do you want this computer to be able to do?
What operating system are you running? For general 'office-type' use, a ram upgrade would show the biggest improvement in performance.

For a system that old, salvaging parts isn't really practical; for instance, current builds take powersupplies of 400 to 500 Watts....

[Cricket]

Don't even try to upgrade that old Compaq (unless you enjoy getting splitting headaches), you're better off just building a new computer from the ground up.

:) Cricket

[wjperry]

Amen to that Cricket. These old PC's are more of a liability than anything, regardless of what you might want to do!!!