[lisaa7002]

Hey guys.
My kids & my Dad both got a hand me down computer for Christmas.
Computer A.(Compaq Presario) has a 300MHz processor, but can only handle 256MB ram & a 18GB HD. Computer B. (American Megatrends- I had never heard of that brand... it was a computer from my Brother -in-law's business ) only has a 233MHz processor, but can handle 1GB ram and a 130GB HD the tech guy from that company told me.
Dad does some business with his computer & really needs the additional HD space (well not 130GB, but more than 18GB would be helpful) Barring the fact that neither processor is worth the metal it is encased in...... Which would you go with? Is there that big of difference between the two processors?

As usuall thanks a million!!!

 

[CarlssonMB]

the difference between 233 and 300 mhz will not be very noticable. I'd go for the one with more RAM and HD space

 

[brite750]

Hey guys.
My kids & my Dad both got a hand me down computer for Christmas.
Computer A.(Compaq Presario) has a 300MHz processor, but can only handle 256MB ram & a 18GB HD. Computer B. (American Megatrends- I had never heard of that brand... it was a computer from my Brother -in-law's business ) only has a 233MHz processor, but can handle 1GB ram and a 130GB HD the tech guy from that company told me.
Dad does some business with his computer & really needs the additional HD space (well not 130GB, but more than 18GB would be helpful) Barring the fact that neither processor is worth the metal it is encased in...... Which would you go with? Is there that big of difference between the two processors?

As usuall thanks a million!!!

I would have to agree, the difference just isnt that great, it would be nice to know more about them, but I bet both are 66fsb, what do you mean by handle 1gig, you might have a hard time finding ram for those dinos now, I cant even imagine any way to put a gig of EDO ram in the darn thing, they didnt come in much more than 64mb sticks, thats like 15 slots, I dont think so. also OS might be a problem, hope you have 98se that should work ok

 

[Jedi_Master]

Howdy folks...

lisaa7002...

I'll have to agree also, you're not going to notice the difference in CPU speed ( not that big of a difference anyway )...


IMHO I would go with the 233MHz pc because...

1) It sounds like it is a no-name brand PC ( and therefore the most likley to be upgradeable )...

2) I don't like Compaq...

3) I can't stand Compaq...

4) Have I mentioned I don't like Compaq ?

And ya W98 would be the highest OS I would put on either...

From what it sounds like, to get the Compaq up to specs with the other one, you will need to flash the BIOS ( for the hard drive, to get to 130Gig not the memory ), which I don't recomend on the older PC's, because you could end up with a very large paper weight...

 

[lisaa7002]

This particular board has slots for DIMM & SIMM memory. I don't anticipate putting more than 512mb in it if it will work. I asked the max memory for it & the guy told me 1Gb. that seems like an awful lot for a 233 processor. Should I call back & hope I get a different tech guy or is that a reasonable amount? I believe the memory it takes (that I have been able to find) is a 168 pin pc66 DIMM (he said get the pc66). --- Now are the DIMM the longer sticks or the shorter ones? There are only 2 slots for the longer memory sticks- there are 4 for the short ones. & What is the EDO stand for?

Also the HD is a Western Digital Caviar. If I get another of that same brand will it automatically work or do I need to do more checking about the proper specs. I tried to look these things up & I found the same HD but the only specs it gave was that it was 5200rpm and an IDE I'm assuming that if I get another it has to be that too? Or not? Is there more info I need to look for on the HD before I get one?

Thanks again guys!

 

[lisaa7002]

bUMP

 

[obvious]

I would have to agree, the difference just isnt that great, it would be nice to know more about them, but I bet both are 66fsb, what do you mean by handle 1gig, you might have a hard time finding ram for those dinos now, I cant even imagine any way to put a gig of EDO ram in the darn thing, they didnt come in much more than 64mb sticks, thats like 15 slots, I dont think so. also OS might be a problem, hope you have 98se that should work ok

loool, i once found a site which did 256mb sticks of edo. ok, 4 sticks of ram 4 a gig. the site died quite a while back though.

 

[brite750]

This particular board has slots for DIMM & SIMM memory. I don't anticipate putting more than 512mb in it if it will work. I asked the max memory for it & the guy told me 1Gb. that seems like an awful lot for a 233 processor. Should I call back & hope I get a different tech guy or is that a reasonable amount? I believe the memory it takes (that I have been able to find) is a 168 pin pc66 DIMM (he said get the pc66). --- Now are the DIMM the longer sticks or the shorter ones? There are only 2 slots for the longer memory sticks- there are 4 for the short ones. & What is the EDO stand for?

Also the HD is a Western Digital Caviar. If I get another of that same brand will it automatically work or do I need to do more checking about the proper specs. I tried to look these things up & I found the same HD but the only specs it gave was that it was 5200rpm and an IDE I'm assuming that if I get another it has to be that too? Or not? Is there more info I need to look for on the HD before I get one?

Thanks again guys!

EDO= extended data output if that clears it you, you should only need 128 or 256 for Win98 to be real happy. You dont have to get the same brand, any IDE hdd should work fine, a nice 20 to 40 gig ought to be plenty, 7200 rpm are most common now, Maxtor, WD, Seagate are fine. You may have to play around to get pc to recognize more than 20 gig drive with win98, but maybe not, it may have to do with the bios on the mobo.

 

[SacsTC]

Think I found the manual for the AMI motherboard. Check it out here:http://www.ami.com/support/doc/ApolloIV_mb_man.pdf
It will only accept 256 Mg of ram whether you are using edo or 168pin dimms. Cannot use both at the same time as they run at different speeds. Here is a place to possibly buy the memory you need if you go ahead with this: http://www.kahlon.com/category.asp?catID=1#6 They are a legit dealer and I have used them several times in the past when looking for out of date memory.

As far as the HD, he told you 130, I think it is actually 127 but only by using the hard drive utility provided by the HD manufacturer. There won't be a bios upgrade for that board that will let it run a hd that large.

 

[lisaa7002]

Thank you SO much. I thought that 1gb memory was a bit outlandish. & Kahlon was my next question. I had been checking on memory for his other computer & saw that they were cheep & had free shipping, but I had never heard of them.

I can't get the manual to come on. But the processor is actually a SuperO P5MMSII(supermicro) so I'm not sure what you were looking at was the right thing (unless of course all 233mhz processors will only support 256)--- but actually that was what we had decided to get because of the price.

What about the ATA? I was reading an article that says that that is important to get the same as your pc, but I haven't been able to find what the ata is on this.

You guys are just so much help! Thanks a Million!

 

[lisaa7002]

Hey guys!

I talked again to the tech guy. (I think the super micros are servers- would that be why they can handle so much memory etc?) He told me (again poor guy) that the max memory I can use is 1gb (will try 512 if we can find it reasonable- unless you guys think otherwise) & 137gb HD.

He said 168pin pc66 DIMM & I have found some of those, but found a 256mb 168 pin EDO. I called back & they said I can use the EDO. What is the difference between the two? (pc66& edo?)

 

[lisaa7002]

OK.... Nice to know that the tech guy knows what he is talking about. I have found it two different sites & it says it willonly support 256mb (just what you said SacsTC). So does the tech guy there have no idea what he's doing - or are those two sites off for some reason? (my bet's on the tech guy being wrong)

& like I said what is the diff. between the pc66 & the EDOs? Thanks guys!

 

[brite750]

I was looking in your manual, at least the one thats posted, so you have (4) 72 pin Simm for EDO, (2) 168 pin Dimm, for EDO or SDRAM, the manual says up to 128 for either case, but you might be able to get 256 to work, you would just have to try and see. SDRAM I would have to think would run faster because it was newer tech at the time. I'll keep looking for a better answer.

 

[lisaa7002]

Thanks! I thought that might be the case. I think I'm going to stick with trying to get 2 128mb sticks. If you find out anything else let me know! I'm happy to learn all I can!

 

[Jack Horner]

Just a side note on the memory, unless you have Win2000 or newer, you will have problems with over 512meg if you have an AGP card.
As for the hard drive, any IDE/ATA (not SATA ) drive will work, just don't get it too big as there is a size limit (137gb) with older OS's. When you install it, you will have to partition and format it before you can use it.

 

[lisaa7002]

Thanks Jack. I'm looking at the Hds & it's looking like we will be getting a 80gb one. they seem reasonable, but have plenty of space.

& It has Win98 too. So that's another reason to go with the 2 128s. Thanks!

 

[SacsTC]

Hi Lisaa,
That manual seems slow loading even with high-speed net. I was hoping you could look at the pics and let us know if I got the right one. If it is the right mobo by them, it will only take 256 Mg. SDRAM doubles the speed of memory transfer over the speed of the EDO. The 80 Gb hd should work fine except that you will probably have to use the manu disk to get beyond bios limitations for size. Maybe not, but be prepared. To get a little more speed out of the machine, when you buy the hd, get a 7200 rpm drive with 8 mg cache. You will also need an 80 conductor cable to go along with it. If you get the retail kit, they supply a cable .

 

[lisaa7002]

Ok... question 1- If the tech guy (who doesn't seem to know what he's talking about said that 137gb was the max for the hard drive does that mean I may not need the disk (which I don't have)- & if I get a drive & it's doesn't work will the seller take it back?

Question 2- 80 conductor???? is that just the flat cable that comes (came with me seagate HD) ?

 

[lisaa7002]

Oh- and the model of the processor is a Supermicro P5MMS II if that helps. I updated Adobe6.0.1 (or2?) yesterday & haven't been able to get it to work since.

 

[SacsTC]

If you just bought a new seagate retail box, you should have gotten the 80 conductor cable. It would have come with the (boxed) drive. The drive also should have come with a floppy and screws, yes??? And yes, it is the flat cable should have a blue end on one end. That is the end that goes to the mobo. If you look at the existing cable and the new cable closely, you will note that there are twice as many wires on the new one.