How to upgrade from a Pent 2-350to a 3 or 4...
#1
03-13-02, 09:15 AM
How to upgrade from a Pent 2-350to a 3 or 4...
I bought a cd rw... read the box in a dull moment and realized I need a pent 11 400 and 'win 98 SE. I have a pent 2 350 and 'win 98 ... argh! How do I upgrade to a Pen 3 or 4? Where are the best places to look for parts and how can I tell if I have a ZIF or whatever? ANY EXTRA DATA appreciated! Thanks so much to anyone who replies to me & my stoopid problems!
Last edited by Dragonfly; 03-13-02 at 09:34 AM.
#2
03-13-02, 11:10 AM
Don't understand why need 98SE and 400 MHz cpu.... but....
Will need new motherboard if you want to upgrade to P-4. Probably for P-III as well.
You could order a P-II that is faster clock speed, check pricewatch.com. Difference 'tween 350 and 400 is only 50 MHz, not enuff to really worry about for most things.
Microsoft site has most downloads to effectively upgrade Win 98 to 98SE.
I would install it anyways and give a test run. Pretty sure it will work without upgrading anything. Unless you running some super special software for burning disks................
Bluecanary25
Will need new motherboard if you want to upgrade to P-4. Probably for P-III as well.
You could order a P-II that is faster clock speed, check pricewatch.com. Difference 'tween 350 and 400 is only 50 MHz, not enuff to really worry about for most things.
Microsoft site has most downloads to effectively upgrade Win 98 to 98SE.
I would install it anyways and give a test run. Pretty sure it will work without upgrading anything. Unless you running some super special software for burning disks................
Bluecanary25
#4
03-15-02, 08:11 AM
bluecanary
OMG! I had a 486dx2/66 and thought (mistakenly I now see), that to upgrade all I had to do was pop a new top on the chip! How very silly of me! I would love to build a new PC, motherboard on up, but gee whizz! I have been looking at prices of individual items and the new systems and it seems like in a few months all the things I would like now, (like g4 graphics), will be close to affordable by summers' end!
So, I will give the CD-R/WR a try in my current PC. Thanks for the info.
So, I will give the CD-R/WR a try in my current PC. Thanks for the info.
#5
03-15-02, 08:18 AM
Gary T
Hi, and thanks! I was concerned about the version of windows I have, 98, but there is no harm in trying to install the cd r/wr. I will do just that! Thanks for the vote of ok that I needed! You will hear from me if it doesn't work! :-) You'll hear from me if it does work as well! Thanks again!
#6
03-19-02, 10:20 AM
upgrading p-II to p_III or greater
part of the performance of the computer has to do with having enough processor to handle the IO to the CD burner with the software being used and do other things on the computer.
On many slower systems you are running a risk to
burn a CD in background while trying to perform other tasks.
The problem comes from the fact that IO on the IDE bus is handled by the CPU. If the CPU gets busy doing other things like drawing web pages or doing IO to a hard drive the memory on the CD-burner could empty and you will have what is called a buffer underrun (congradulations you've made a coaster).
There are a couple ways around this on a slower system. Either get a bus mastering IDE controller or use a SCSII CD-burner instead of IDE.
Before you begin thinking about getting a new mboard you need to make sure you can.
What brand of computer do you have? Does it have a custom case or a standard ATX case? If you have a standard ATX case your in luck and the upgrade should be easy. If you have a custom case like many Compaq or Dell computer have you will not be able to upgrade the mboard.
To find out look at the back of your compter. What direction are the slot covers running (the chrome lates that you pull out when you put a card in). If your computer is a desktop the slot covers should run across the desk. If you have a tower the slot covers should run up the side of the case.
desktop
_______________
| |
| | | | | |
|_|_|_|_|_____|
tower
______
| |
|-- |
|-- |
|-- |
|____|
if they don't do this then your screwed and you need to buy a new case.
Also if going to pentium 4 or a new athlon processor check the power requirments of the motherboard and processor. Many new systems are going with much higher rated powersupplies than came on pentium-II systems (I've seen 400 and 500 watt systems)
On many slower systems you are running a risk to
burn a CD in background while trying to perform other tasks.
The problem comes from the fact that IO on the IDE bus is handled by the CPU. If the CPU gets busy doing other things like drawing web pages or doing IO to a hard drive the memory on the CD-burner could empty and you will have what is called a buffer underrun (congradulations you've made a coaster).
There are a couple ways around this on a slower system. Either get a bus mastering IDE controller or use a SCSII CD-burner instead of IDE.
Before you begin thinking about getting a new mboard you need to make sure you can.
What brand of computer do you have? Does it have a custom case or a standard ATX case? If you have a standard ATX case your in luck and the upgrade should be easy. If you have a custom case like many Compaq or Dell computer have you will not be able to upgrade the mboard.
To find out look at the back of your compter. What direction are the slot covers running (the chrome lates that you pull out when you put a card in). If your computer is a desktop the slot covers should run across the desk. If you have a tower the slot covers should run up the side of the case.
desktop
_______________
| |
| | | | | |
|_|_|_|_|_____|
tower
______
| |
|-- |
|-- |
|-- |
|____|
if they don't do this then your screwed and you need to buy a new case.
Also if going to pentium 4 or a new athlon processor check the power requirments of the motherboard and processor. Many new systems are going with much higher rated powersupplies than came on pentium-II systems (I've seen 400 and 500 watt systems)
#7
03-19-02, 02:49 PM
You shouldn't have any problems with your computer, although it may be slower then usual. The recomandations mainly apply to the software that comes with the CDRW drive, not the drive itself. All computer since the mid 90's come with a bus mastering IDE channel, and the CPU should barely be used during that process. But with your system I would not do anything else while I copy a CD, you may run into buffer underruns. I use a 8X4X32 CDRW drive on a Celeron 300 with no problems. Plus, most new CDRW drives have buffer underruns features, so your only concern is solved.
