pentiumII 233 upgrade?

[camaro]

We have this old computer at home. It's a dell dimension D233. It's a pentiumII 233 with 64MB RAM, Voodoo2 12MB for 3D and some 4MB card for 2D. It is used for internet and typing documents mostly so it gets the job done. I want to speed it up a little bit since lately it's been lagging a little. I remember that those pentium II mobos accepted up to a PentiumII 333, right? I'm thinking that will speed it up the most. Where can I get that processor? When dropping in a faster processor do I need to change any settings or will it do it by itself? Will a voodoo3 speed it up alot or is it not worth it? Any cheap upgrade recommendation?

[DiDoH]

add more memory that is the cheapes upgrade you can get.

[camaro]

I tried adding another 64MB, didn't do much. Where can I get a pentiumII 333?

[Biff]

Im not too sure that you would see a difference going from a 233Mhz to a 333Mhz. You would be better off going with another board and CPU. I would find out what the highest CPU is you can install on your originall board. You might be better off buying a used board and P3 500 if your budget allows.

[JimG]

Camaro,

I don't know if you've dealt with them before, but TigerDirect has older processors like the Pentium IIs. I checked their site, and came up with this. They didn't have a 333 MHz, but there's a 300. http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Category/category_slc.asp?id=120802

Might want to get pricewatch.com and ebay. But I've dealt with TigerDirect before, and I'm very happy with their service.

[syphon]

yeah camaro, if you get the processor you can always try to overclock it, that is if you know how to cool your processor, and do the procedure correctly. I'm not sure how well the p2's overclock, but it would probably boost performance a nice bit along with your RAM upgrade. Then again I'm not a very experienced overclocker, but its just a suggestion.

[camaro]

This is for my younger sister who has no money. Just a temporary solution. $55 for a Pentium II 300MHz seems a little much considering a Duron 700 MHz is the same. Will there be a noticable speed increase when surfing the net and using napster and AIM at the same time. That's mainly what she does. Its also running win95, will installing 98 help? That thing is dragging now. I'll reformat the HD. It wasn't that slow before.

I will also look at those used stores. Will a different mobo fit into a Dell case? If I could get a used mobo/cpu combo for under $100 for lets say a 500MHz, that'd be a good solution.

[AuraEdge]

My friend had that comp (Dell 233PII 64MB) and I was fixin it for her, after 2 1/2 years of abuse..
I dont know why but that comp is REAL SLOW. Takes over 100 minutes to install Win98SE. Even Pentiums normally dont take that long to install Win98.

Something in there's really slow and choking the whole system. Think maybe its the harddrive.

[chapmc]

Look on Dell's website under support. You should be able to look up the ser# and see a layout of mobo and specs. You might can tell from that what you can do. It seems to me that the Optiplex series is proprietary but Dimension may have standard parts.
I have bought parts for older systems on e-bay and have had good luck. Be sure to look at the seller's rating.
I agree with what someone said earlier; you probably can't do much speed the system up without upgrading.

[This message has been edited by chapmc (edited 01-22-2001).]

[camaro]

I'm thinking used mobo and cpu around 500MHz. I have that service number at the back. I wonder if it would still work. It's been over 3 years. I guess I'll see when I get home.

[Biff]

Check with computer stores in your area, I trade in my old parts when upgrading. If you got problems it's far better to go up the street that to chase online sites around.

Also your board may support higher speeds, your documentation would only be able to list what was current for the time, a bios flash might change that.

[Eli]

Have you discounted the possibility of a newer Celeron? It would be faster than a PII 333 and cheaper than replacing the motherboard.

[Rat]

Camaro:
In regards to your question about whether or not a faster CPU will speed up you internet: The CPU has very little to do with how fast the pages load, etc... Only your modem, connection type/speed/setup, ISP, and a smooth running system (purged cookies and Temp files) make a real difference in internet browsing. I had a Compaq 133 w/80mb RAM system with a 56k IBM modem in it, then got a AMD 450 w/ 256mb RAM sytem and put the modem form the Compaq in it. There was absolutely no improvement in speed while online. Everything else loads and runs faster tho.

Rat...

[doodelsak]

I have a gateway 233 that i upgraded to 500 celeron seem to work fine.i bought the upgrade from Evergreen technologies...Evertech.com......also i saw upgrades from kingston.hope it helps good luck!