here goes!
As many of you are well aware, Old Guru (or should that be middle-aged?!!) has a penchant for ressurecting old crap and recycling old computers.
I just happened to acquire a ‘brand new’ Compaq DeskPro (EN Series Model P550/10 desktop format) at an auction yesterday, with an option to buy another 20 or so for about ?10 ($17) apiece.
I say brand new….it’s about 4 years old but it was still factory sealed and unused, as are the others. It’s a proprietary Intel BX board running a PIII Slot 1 processor,10Gb hard disk, Intel 10/100 network and an AGP2x graphics board.
Well, for the money not a bad buy, and for what I need them for (a local community project ‘internet cafe’), they’ll make ideal web-surfers.
Anyway, the first one is on the bench right now and I’m having a bit of a fiddle (as one does) and wanted a bit of input from other ‘tweakers’ out there. Let me throw a few ideas in the ring…
First off, processor upgrade. There IS a PIII 1.4GHz SECC2 processor available which will run on the BX board (100MHz FSB) but in terms of ‘bang for buck’, it’s too bloody expensive. A Celery 1.4 running at 100FSB will work perfectly well with the chipset (and intended use) at about a third of the cost but is a Socket 370 chip so will need a Slot1 to S370 adaptor (Powerleap.com for about ?30, or $48).
Compaq have always been a pain in the butt as far as support goes, and now they have been swallowed up by HP, it’s got worse. They have that stupid (F10 to enter Setup) BIOS and one thing it isn’t is ‘standard’! Without original manuals to refer to, finding info and drivers is hard work.
So….a few thoughts….all comments welcome.
1) Ruling out a PIII 1.4 as a straight replacement chip (assuming the BIOS recognises it!), the Slot to 370 adaptor running a Celeron (Tualatin core PGA370) seems to be the most straightforward option. Of course, any old Celeron will work (Tualatin core and 100MHz FSB) so it doesn’t need to be 1.4GHz…1.1 or 1.2 would be ok.
2) Lets assume I get an adaptor card to take a PGA 370 CPU…the Via C3 (Cyrix III) is supposed to be pin compatible with a Celeron and I’m sure I’ve seen Socket 370 boards that work with either processor, but there MAY or MAY NOT be certain BIOS settings that need changing, and this may not be possible on the Compaq. The C3 can be had for half the cost of the equivalent Celeron and needs less cooling. For general web-browsing, e-mail, etc., the performance difference is negligible. Has anyone out there ‘tried’ a C3/Cyrix III in a Slot1-S370 adaptor and did it work? Of course, I could find a C3 and try it myself, but I don’t want to buy in any more kit if I can help it….it’s a charity project!
3) The machine as it stands (or lays there with the lid off!) has 256Mb ram, 10Gb Hard disk, 40x CD and an 8Mb ATI Rage Pro Turbo AGP2 card. The case is extremely robust and solid and it’s beautifully engineered, with quick ‘screwless’ access to all components…a real joy to work on. The riser card has plenty of spare slots (not that I need to fit any other cards) and the keyboards have internet buttons on (Easy Access Keys, as Compaq call them).
Is there any point in me actually bothering to upgrade them on the one hand….for teaching old farts to use the Internet (connected to a DSL gateway machine/router/firewall via 100BaseTX) they’re probably fine as they are (if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it). On the other hand, just for the hell of it…just how far can I push one of these monsters?!!! I tried 98, ME and XP on the beast (they come with NT4 Workstation or 98 preloaded and selectable on first boot), and 98 is certainly the fastest, but XP works very smoothly and is easier to get a volume licence for, and all hardware is installed natively in XP without needing any extra drivers.
What do you think peeps? Upgrade the CPU, use a slot adaptor, try a C3 or a Celeron, or just leave the darn things alone, hook ’em up to the server and let them be?
Comments…positive or negative warmly welcomed!