[jimmystaggert]

A friend of mine recently tried to get cable internet at his apt
the set up disc stopped when it found out his processor is 200MHz (it needs 300MHz)

Would overclocking to 300 be feasible? Is it still quite possible that the set up disc will read the computer at 200 still leaving him out of luck anyway?

thanks

Josh

[computerbias]

You're asking for a 50% overclock, I doubt that you will be able, considering that a 200 MHz pc is some really old technology, He is really going to need a new pc.


You are in the right place for advice on what to do, but first and foremost, know what you or your friend is going to be using the pc for. If only internet, you don't need a lot of speed, but I would recommend a good amount of RAM.

[jimmystaggert]

this would simply be an internet computer

is overclocking 50% even possible? Is that going to make cooling this thing a real complicated issue too?

My first suggestion was of course to just get a new computer, but he wanted me to look into any possible way.

Thanks

[Biznatch]

Tell him to take the disk and throw it in the trash. All those stupid disks that DSL/Cable companies gives you area bunch of worthless stuff like MSN and such. You don't need to install it, just make sure he has a network card installed and working. Then plug in the cable modem and open IE. It might come up with a window asking if you want to work of line or try again (not 100% sure, i haven't done it in a while) click try again and it should go be able to go online.

[jimmystaggert]

oops, should have really tried that already

thanks, I'll tell him to give that a shot

[Como]

also, if its 200 mhz i assume its running 98 or even 95.

definately throw the disk, just plug it in and try to connect, it will usually work....but if e upgraded to cable from dialup i can tell you that the isp wasnt limiting hte speed that much, a 56K modem on a penium 166 is slower than that same modem on a 500mhz computer. of course, i wish i had cable, even on a 75 mhz....cable internet is much better, on any system, than dialup...

[Susquehannock]

yeah, if it's running Win95 or 98 the programs on that
cable disk would likely be useless. Not that the stuff on those
cable disks are worth anything.

If you get a 50% Overclock from that 200mhz
chip please let us know. I'd like to get that from
the old P1 system my Dad left me.

BTW ... you can get the "non-MMX" 200mhz P1 chip
for $5 now.

[ChillPhatCat]

If we're talking a PI 200 then the most you'll ever see is probably 233 MHz... considering the non MMX pentium 200 was at the top of the technology chain... that's like trying to take a P4 3.2 to 4.8 GHz... very difficult. Additionally, unless he got a real special motherboard... it's unlikely he'd have the option to use an FSB over 66 MHz and it probably wouldn't do a multiplier over 3x.

I have to agree with the other guys... just put in a network card if not installed, install TCP/IP protocol and go... 200 MHz is plenty for cable.

[StealtheR]

yea i never need to install anything too. just plug to my cable modem and im online. their installation cd sux0r

[Gnufsh]

Why has no-one asked what cpu yet? I it a pentium 200MHz? K6? I guess it couldn't be a PII, hose started out at 233MHz.

Pentium Pro perhaps? (the first chip with the P6 arch)

[Staphylococcus]

What you could try, is sticking his HDD in a faster machine and installing it.
You may have to start in safe mode to boot, unless it's the same chipset and then install - it may only be a dog's chance, but worth a shot all the same.

[ChillPhatCat]

Originally posted by Gnufsh
Why has no-one asked what cpu yet? I it a pentium 200MHz? K6? I guess it couldn't be a PII, hose started out at 233MHz.

Pentium Pro perhaps? (the first chip with the P6 arch)

No point really, if it's a K6 200 the same applies... it's unlikely to do much since those chips were also dogs.

[tom10167]

Holy crap, 200mhz!! That's seriously cool, after he upgrades keep that around, that's REALLY neat.

[Jimbob7]

A Friend of mine is running a p2 with XP 233mhz 128mb ram and a 40 gig hdd with broadband, and he gets his full download speed.

Your friend should be fine

[TheFlons]

Yeah your friend should be fine. At work my dad has the same speed pc and his speed is up to par.

[Susquehannock]

Originally posted by [BBE]Jimbob
A Friend of mine is running a p2 with XP 233mhz 128mb ram and a 40 gig hdd with broadband, and he gets his full download speed.

Your friend should be fine

That's great to know.

Maybe my late father's system isn't useless afterall.
The old (almost unused) American Megatrends board can yet
be of use. That would be great as he payed an exorbitant amount
of ca$h for it at the time. Perhaps because it is
large cache & RAM capable. (512kb - 512mb, respectively)

In any event, it's interesting to look at how the boards have
advanced since then. Too bad it's too slow for folding as it would
be great if his old system could be used to help find a cure for
what killed him.

[DarkNight]

Web surfing with a 200 and 95 or 98? Whats the point.? no offence but most of the stuff he would need cable speed for won't runn well on that! Email yes! Real player news downloads no! Stick with dial up and save for a new puter. That would be the best advise you could give.

[StealtheR]

Originally posted by DarkNight
Web surfing with a 200 and 95 or 98? Whats the point.? no offence but most of the stuff he would need cable speed for won't runn well on that! Email yes! Real player news downloads no! Stick with dial up and save for a new puter. That would be the best advise you could give.

rofl dont be too harsh now i had a p233mhz w/mmx technology which i paid 1500 bucks a few years ago that run flawlessly for me for years and still wroking till today. i burn cds, d/l, watch movies..blah it was my babi! and never le tme down

[FuzzyBallz]

FYI for all the people who keep on saying dump the installation CD. Not all ISPs provide static always on DSL or Cable, at least not w/ the standard plan. In large cities, ISPs offer dial-up DSL as the default plan. What this means is they'll mail you the self install kit w/ the NIC, the modem, cables, and installation CD. You'll have to install the CD to setup an account, and for most average users, this is a very simple procedure and very easy to follow. If you're a bit more advanced, you can do the dial-up setup w/o the program on the CD, but you'll still have to get that user account and password setup before you can do anything on your own. BTW, this is based on WinXP experience. Don't know how the network setup is w/ previous OSs.

[oo_7]

Originally posted by tom10167
Holy crap, 200mhz!! That's seriously cool, after he upgrades keep that around, that's REALLY neat.

LOL, i work for a company that recycles old PCs, and we get loads of PCs from the old 486 to P3 1Ghz... I could always send u an old Pentium 133 cpu if u want

About the Topic at hand, u should have no Problem running dsl on an Old pc, i have run afew old PCs on my 1.5Mb line with np at all.