Really old system upgrading.

[Ulti]

My parents are currently using a really old pc (it's around 4 year old IIRC, our first pc )

It broke down though so I bought a similar replacement board off fleabay. However, now they start to stream their drama shows through the internet and they complain it stutters a bit so I was thinking of maybe using £10-20 to upgrade it slightly.

According to CPU-Z here are the stats:

Processors Information
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Processor 1 (ID = 0)
Number of cores		1
Number of threads	1 (max 1)
Name			Intel Celeron 330
Codename		Prescott
Specification		Intel(R) Celeron(R) CPU 2.66GHz
Package			Socket 478 mPGA (platform ID = 2h)
CPUID			F.3.4
Extended CPUID		F.3
Core Stepping		D0
Technology		90 nm
Core Speed		2664.9 MHz (20.0 x 133.2 MHz)
Rated Bus speed		533.0 MHz
Stock frequency		2666 MHz
Instructions sets	MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3
L1 Data cache		16 KBytes, 8-way set associative, 64-byte line size
Trace cache		12 Kuops, 8-way set associative
L2 cache		256 KBytes, 4-way set associative, 64-byte line size
FID/VID Control		no

Chipset
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Northbridge		SiS 661FX rev. 11
Southbridge		SiS 964 rev. 36
Graphic Interface	AGP
AGP Revision		2.0
AGP Transfer Rate	4x
AGP SBA			supported, enabled
Memory Type		
Memory Size		512 MBytes

Memory SPD
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DIMM #1

General
Memory type		DDR
Manufacturer (ID)	Micron Technology (2CFFFFFFFFFFFFFF)
Size			256 MBytes
Max bandwidth		PC3200 (200 MHz)
Part number		8VDDT3264AG-40BGB 
Serial number		4A07E6D9
Manufacturing date	Week 71/Year 05

Timings table
Frequency (MHz)		133	166	200	
CAS#			2.0	2.5	3.0	
RAS# to CAS# delay	2	3	3	
RAS# Precharge		2	3	3	
TRAS			6	7	8	

DIMM #2

General
Memory type		DDR
Manufacturer (ID)	Hyundai Electronics (AD00000000000000)
Size			256 MBytes
Max bandwidth		PC2100 (133 MHz)
Part number		HYMD232 646B8-H   
Serial number		1F028642
Manufacturing date	Week 50/Year 03

Timings table
Frequency (MHz)		100	133	
CAS#			2.0	2.5	
RAS# to CAS# delay	2	3	
RAS# Precharge		2	3	
TRAS			5	6

Now the question is, what should I upgrade. Never really got to know the P4s and Celerons and such or AGP either. I'll post a thread in the "Wanted" section once I know what I need.

http://www.sis.com/products/sis661fx_features.htm says that the chipset supports 800FSB CPUs as well as HT and 2 unbuffered DDR400 RAM. It also says it supports AGP 8.0 but according to CPU-Z it only supports AGP 4.0.

Am I right in thinking I should get a HT processor with 1MB L2 cache and an AGP 4.0 card and leave the memory as it is? Or will even an AGP 4.0 card suffice? I do find it takes a little while to load up Firefox and such but nothing too long (around 10 seconds maybe) It is running XP though.

Hope someone can help!

[Terbinator]

Maybe getting 1GB stick of RAM will help also.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Try to get the RAM upto 1GB. What is the graphics card in the PC?? It maybe worth looking at an AGP 3450 as it should have UVD which will help with decoding videos.

My mate has a 3.2GHZ P4 with 2GB RAM and a 9800XT and it does stutter with 1080p HD video files too.

[Papa Lazarou]

Personally I'd upgrade the memory as a first priority (XP runs so much better on 1gb or more compared to 512mb) and get a P4 HT.

[Ulti]

It has no graphics card, main priority is only watching stuff online (streaming) and watching normal rmvb files which are around 200mb as well as normal DVDs. DVDs and rmvb doesn't stutter but streaming does for some reason.

The 3450 AGP costs too much though...

Would this be any good for a P4 HT? Will this even work though first of all?

Really don't wanna spend above £10-20 for all of this as it's an old system.

EDIT: Also will getting any memory do for the 1GB or will getting 400mhz help more?

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

It has no graphics card, main priority is only watching stuff online (streaming) and watching normal rmvb files which are around 200mb as well as normal DVDs. DVDs and rmvb doesn't stutter but streaming does for some reason.

The 3450 AGP costs too much though...

Would this be any good for a P4 HT? Will this even work though first of all?

Really don't wanna spend above £10-20 for all of this as it's an old system.

EDIT: Also will getting any memory do for the 1GB or will getting 400mhz help more?

Wait a second!!

What do you mean the computer has no graphics card??

It must have some sort of integrated or separate card otherwise you would not be able to plug a monitor into the computer.

Have you also tried giving the system a good software overhaul and making sure that you have installed the latest drivers??

Regarding the CPU it should be compatible but you may need to update the BIOS(or not).

[Terbinator]

Snip...

I was under the impression it had onbaord gfx anyway.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I was under the impression it had onbaord gfx anyway.

Oops!! I had another check and found that the SIS661FX chipset has Mirage integrated graphics and support for hyperthreading too:

http://forums.hexus.net/newreply.php...eply&p=1817984

[Ulti]

I meant it has no graphics card, it uses integrated graphics xD

So, which should I chose to upgrade as I don't want to throw money on something this old haha.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I would get a RAM uograde to at least 1GB and also get the P4 processor due to its hyperthreading too.

I would also give the PC a good software and hardware checkup too and make sure all the drivers are upto date.

CCleaner is a good piece for general maintenance purposes.

[scaryjim]

Your memory is currently hampered because you have one DDR400 stick and one DDR266 stick, so they'll both be running at DDR-266. On the whole amount of memory is more important than speed when trying to make Windows run nicely, but if you can afford 2x 512MB DDR400 sticks it'd make a big difference (although it can be hard to find and quite pricey). Otherwise, just add another stick of DDR of any speed (doesn't matter as it will run at 266 whatever!) - ideally 512MB but another 256MB would make some difference.

As you say, according to the chipset specs the HT Pentium 4 you've found on ebay should work fine and looks like a great upgrade for £6. Do you now the make / model of the mobo? It's probably best to check the manufacturer's website to make sure their listed specs tally with SIS's...!

Most AGP x8 graphics cards will also work in x4 - there may be a BIOS setting you can change to enable x8 mode as well. Pretty much *anything* will be a huge advance over the SIS onboard, but I'd recommend you look for at least a Radeon 9000 or GeForce FX series as these can be picked up pretty cheap and are good cards.

One thought about the stuttering stream: do your parents use a router or a USB modem? I had real problems with a SIS-based mobo and a USB ADSL Modem a few (OK, a lot of!) years back.

Anyway, if you have enough patience to wait a week or two, I've got a box full of old PC bits I'm about to sell over in the classifieds, including some AGP graphics cards and a couple of sticks of DDR memory! If you're interested I'd be happy to give you first dibs on anything you fancy.

EDIT:

I would also give the PC a good software and hardware checkup too and make sure all the drivers are upto date.

+1 to this, too, btw. Clear off any bloat, turn off as many start-up processes as possible, delete as much crud, old downloads etc. as possible (archive it off to external USB storage if necessary), uninstall any programs that aren't used very often, use Defraggler to defrag both the files *and* the free space, pay particular attention to whether or not the pagefile is fragmented, as this can seriously impact performance, particularly on older hard drives. You can really make a difference to the speed of an older computer just by giving the software a good overhaul and stripping out dead weight...

[Papa Lazarou]

It has no graphics card, main priority is only watching stuff online (streaming) and watching normal rmvb files which are around 200mb as well as normal DVDs. DVDs and rmvb doesn't stutter but streaming does for some reason.

The 3450 AGP costs too much though...

Would this be any good for a P4 HT? Will this even work though first of all?

Really don't wanna spend above £10-20 for all of this as it's an old system.

EDIT: Also will getting any memory do for the 1GB or will getting 400mhz help more?

That looks a good deal for a 2.6 ghz CPU. Or if you can push the boat out and stretch to £12, you're in 3ghz P4 HT territory The higher up 3.2 or 3.4 models command a premium it seems.

I wouldn't worry too much if the memory is 333 or 400mhz, I doubt you would tell the difference in most uses.

[Ulti]

I would get a RAM uograde to at least 1GB and also get the P4 processor due to its hyperthreading too.

I would also give the PC a good software and hardware checkup too and make sure all the drivers are upto date.

CCleaner is a good piece for general maintenance purposes.

So I should get that CPU off fleabay? It's a 130nm processor though and my current one is 90nm, as it's a HP motherboard I don't think I can update the BIOS so should I just try with it anyway?

Your memory is currently hampered because you have one DDR400 stick and one DDR266 stick, so they'll both be running at DDR-266. On the whole amount of memory is more important than speed when trying to make Windows run nicely, but if you can afford 2x 512MB DDR400 sticks it'd make a big difference (although it can be hard to find and quite pricey). Otherwise, just add another stick of DDR of any speed (doesn't matter as it will run at 266 whatever!) - ideally 512MB but another 256MB would make some difference.

As you say, according to the chipset specs the HT Pentium 4 you've found on ebay should work fine and looks like a great upgrade for £6. Do you now the make / model of the mobo? It's probably best to check the manufacturer's website to make sure their listed specs tally with SIS's...!

Most AGP x8 graphics cards will also work in x4 - there may be a BIOS setting you can change to enable x8 mode as well. Pretty much *anything* will be a huge advance over the SIS onboard, but I'd recommend you look for at least a Radeon 9000 or GeForce FX series as these can be picked up pretty cheap and are good cards.

One thought about the stuttering stream: do your parents use a router or a USB modem? I had real problems with a SIS-based mobo and a USB ADSL Modem a few (OK, a lot of!) years back.

Anyway, if you have enough patience to wait a week or two, I've got a box full of old PC bits I'm about to sell over in the classifieds, including some AGP graphics cards and a couple of sticks of DDR memory! If you're interested I'd be happy to give you first dibs on anything you fancy.

Yeah I realised the thing about the RAM but 256mb came with the board and 256mb was from the system before it went out so I just plopped the two together. As there's only 2 slots I can't add any more memory.

As it's the motherboard was ripped out of a HP system it probably won't help but it's a "Snapper" according to CPU-Z

I've got a router and my pc and my siblings pcs are wired to it whilst my parents pc is downstairs and is therefore wireless. There's no problem with the connection though as I've tested the wireless USB adapter on my pc.

I can surely wait a week or two. Hope you remember me haha.

Thanks!

EDIT: And yup software/startup wise it's very clean. Runs only slightly slower compared to my siblings machine filled with crap. (they're 7 and 13 so pretty much download anything and everything they like... I did clean their startup processes but they complain if I clean their downloaded stuff haha)

Perhaps I should get the CPU for now then and wait a week or two to see what you have?

[Pob255]

That p4 2.6ghz would be a good start as would some 512mb sticks 2 or more depending on how many slots that motherboard has.
Graphics card is not really an issue

Otherhalf is still on the system I put together for her a long while back, 478 P4 3.0ghz, 865PE chipset, 1.5gb memory (2x256 + 2x512mb all 400mhz) and my old fx5200 128mb agp graphics card

Make sure the windows install is lean and mean, and double check antivirus used, some of them have got some quite horrendious memory and process footprints.
(other half is on Antivira free and spybot)

And you'll want to get something a bit better than stock cooler, nothing horendious, the 478 p4 was slightly cooler running than the 775 p4 but not by much and the stock cool can struggle.
I fitted a Scyte samurai on her one because I got fed up of the constant whiring&whining as the stock fan kept ramping up even when idle.

found on in fleabay http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Scythe-Samurai...25cec5febf257c
but any decent 92mm fan based cooler should be fine

[scaryjim]

As it's the motherboard was ripped out of a HP system it probably won't help but it's a "Snapper" according to CPU-Z

Amazing what you can find on Google, isn't it

As there's only 2 slots I can't add any more memory.

Shame. The chipset supports 3 slots too - flippin' cheapass HP. You'll have to source 2 512MB sticks then. Judging by the HP specs there's a lot of chipset features that aren't supported on that board: SATA, for instance...

... my parents pc is downstairs and is therefore wireless. There's no problem with the connection though as I've tested the wireless USB adapter on my pc.

Hmmmm... like I said, it was quite a long time ago but I did have issues with shifting a lot of data through the USB controller on a SIS-based mobo, even at 512kbps. Problem resolved as soon as I moved to using a router via ethernet. DO you have a PCI wireless card you could try? It's a bit of a shot in the dark, but if the PC plays DVDs alright there's no good reason for streaming video causing it problems, and if the wireless dongle works OK in your PC it's not that...

p.s. if you haven't got any PCI wireless cards, guess what...?

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The Celeron D 330 is based on the hot running 90NM Prescott. The 130NM P4 you have linked too is an earlier Northwood but these actually run cooler and consume less power too!!