I want to upgrade my 2 yr old computer, is it possible?

[TeenInternetAddict]

Hi. My computer is 2 yrs old and was built by Packard Bell. Please, no Packard Bell jokes, this computer served me well for the last 2 yrs that I have it, and I wonder can I upgrade everything. It's a 400 mhz with 284 PC100 SDRAM ram, it has a AMD K6 proccessor chip, 4.6 hard drive, I'm not sure of the sound or video cards or the mobo. I'm running Windows 98SE. I have a question: Even though the computer is 2 yrs old, is it possible to upgrade to a 1.0 ghz AMD thunderbird, 768MB PC100 SDRAM, 80 gig hard drive, a faster mobo, a better video and sound card, and upgrade to Windows XP Home edition.

People at DSLR says it's not very possible, because of Windows stability, dustbunnies, and the computer is probably too old[this is what they say, not me]. If it's not, do I have to buy a new computer? I don't want to buy a new one, because the one I hae is serving me well and I love it! I want to upgrade the computer so badly so that I can get more advantage out of my cable modem service(Roadrunner) because my cable company recommends as you upgrade your computer, RR service should be more faster. Thanks for any help y'all can give

TeenInternetAddict

[Damnit]

Well to answer your question you are not going to be able to upgrade to a 1Ghz, Your mother board wont support it.

If you got a 400mhx with 256K Sdram that is all you going to be able to upgrade.
Maybe the only upgrade you could do if for HD memory. you could always slave another HD to the existng one.

My second PC looks about the same specs as yours. I have a Celeron also.
400 Celeron processor
256 Sdram (seimens)
with a 6 G HD

I did a clean install on that PC about 4 months ago and it did wonders. you will be supprices hot much crap you will get ride of

BUT if you want any faster, I would suggest build a new PC. The prices are really LOW now. you could build a new one for cheep

Here is a website if you want to check out prices www.pricewatch.com

[smaier69]

well, i have worked on more than my fair share of Packard Bells, and they have a bad reputation for good reason. not in terms of use, but in terms of upgradeability. the systems i have seen are of a proprietary form factor, meaning they employed a unique design to the case/mainboard/power supply and more importantly, the I/O panel on the back of the system which is where the PS/2, serial, parallel, etc ports are.

to do any serious upgrading (i.e. motherboard/CPU) would be very difficult as the standard ATX formfactor will more than likely not be suited (retainer screws for the motherboard will not match up, the arrangement of the PS/2/serial/etc ports will not mesh, and the like).

SO, this more than likely will mean you will have to live with a lesser-grade upgrade than a CPU and motherboard. you could still probably swap out the videocard (or disable the onboard one if thats the case) for a newer/faster one. you may be able to upgrade the CPU alone depending on what the mainboard in your system will support. Packard Bell has been dead for awhile, so i am not sure as to what the possibilities would be. from what i can tell (just by the mfgr name), i would think a vidcard would be as far as i would like to go without just building a new system and carrying over some of the components from the old system (hard drive, cd-rom, floppy, NIC or modem, soundcard - if its not onboard). you would need to buy a new case, power supply, CPU and mainboard (possibly vidiecard if its onboard at the current point in time). the memory may or may not be transferrable depending on the CPU and mainboard you get.

anyways, to make a short answer, i would say the video adapter would be the only realistic upgrade i would spend my money on at this point (without a slightly larger investment of lets say... at least $200 to $400).

[terrancelam]

No. The AMD K6 series is limited to the zif Socket 7. For the newer AMD T-birds or Durons, you need a socket A compatible
motherboard that supports the specified speed.

For better performance, you would need a new computer. You can't go much future on your socket 7, maybe the K6-2 550mhz processor if at all.

[monkeyhead]

"is it possible to upgrade to a 1.0 ghz AMD thunderbird, 768MB PC100 SDRAM, 80 gig hard drive, a faster mobo, a better video and sound card, and upgrade to Windows XP Home edition"


you pretty much named all the main parts to a computer, so you wont be upgrading in that sense, youd be buying a new computer. add a case and use your existing monitor and youd be have a new one

[dreww71]

I think a good first question is what do you use your computer for? Without knowing this, it would be difficult to tell you what you should do.

[YARDofSTUF]

Originally posted by michaelanthony
"is it possible to upgrade to a 1.0 ghz AMD thunderbird, 768MB PC100 SDRAM, 80 gig hard drive, a faster mobo, a better video and sound card, and upgrade to Windows XP Home edition"


you pretty much named all the main parts to a computer, so you wont be upgrading in that sense, youd be buying a new computer. add a case and use your existing monitor and youd be have a new one

wow i never thought i'd say this but the ass hole i quoted is right just get a case and build it and ur set! its pretty cheap, and unless u do hardcore gaming a radeon 7500 or a radeon 1 64 meg card should be fine, and they would run games and also have very crisp and beautiful image quality.

[951carter]

as they said, you are already buying a whole system sans the case. Go ahead and build a new one! But, keep your old one and network them 2gether for a much more enjoyable experience. You can also use your old one to dual boot WinDoze and Linux! More fun and challenges are waiting for you just around the corner than you can imagine. Everyone needs a Home Network! Mine is 4 strong and growing + a few remotely attached belonging to friends.