opnion on old packard bell

[DaveLewis]

If you can get hold of a manual for it you may find that you can replace the processor with something a little faster. In general on the other components - memory - yes, hard drive - yes, based either on the drive size that your bios will support or on the installation of "EZ Drive" type software, cd rom - yes. Audio,video, and modem may be replaceable if the motherboard has jumpers or bios settings to disable the on board components.

The price was definitely right but figuring that you'll have to spring for at least 64MB of RAM, about $100 for a new hard drive, maybe $35 for a new CD, you're probably looking at about $200 to make the machine halfway usable. It won't be able to play the latest games but should be okay for surfing the net. Do yourself a favor though and try to figure out how to disable the on board modem and go with a good hardware type.

[Axel]

lets see -
any modem with WIN or SOFT in the name is a nightmare - don't give it away or sell it - break it in half and hand it carefully to a circuit board recycler -

The hard drive is pretty much too small for anything but DOS games -

The CD-ROM drive might be good to keep around for a spare to do emergancy installs with and stuff - or to listen to CD's on.

I'm betting the RAM would be good for key chains - but is probably so slow and out-dated it should go with the modem to the recycler -

So - in short - update? - no - not worth it - have fun playing old DOS CD-ROM games on it or try to trade it for a box of CD-R's at the local salvage shop....

You might get $20 for the processor at a swap meet -

Packard Bell was the low end consumer label for NEC computers that got closed about 16 months ago - Their support area is buried under NEC - no more BIOS updates are out there - the motherboard , well - lets just say you got something made by the low bidder on the market here....

There's a reason it was free -

I wouldn't spend time on it except to strip it for screws and the parts mentioned above. You might be able to hang on to the power supply as a spare or to pull the fan out of it if it isn't too clogged with dust.

You might be able to palm this off on someone through E-bay for $35 - plus shipping - but I wouldn't expect much else out of it....

[spuck]

well it came with deerhunter 3 cd.
i dont think there are any circutboard recyclers in maine.
i just put 2 chips in it . now it says 24 mb of ram.how do i find out what kind of chips they are? i dont know anything about memory.


[This message has been edited by spuck (edited 02-20-2001).]

[justy]

Upgrade the memory, and it will be a decent enough home PC for a new user.

Just my opinion.

All the best, Justy.

[RLT65]

All this PC really needs is more RAM to really be useful, there are still alot of things to do with a PC other than playing games!

Rhonda

[big_block_buick]

i survived for over a year on a 166mmx with a 2gb hard drive.that is,till i came to sysopt,and learned overclocking,then it was 200mhz,then i had to buy a 233,then i had to buy a new mobo to o'c the 233to 286mhz.now i'm buying a k6...funny how i could go for a year on a 166..but only three months at present speed...anyhow except for the ram that system is plenty fast enough for a normal user,(play card games ,surfing etc..

[Barney]

I would upgrade the memory to 64mb. Just get some secondhand stuff, that doesn't cost much. See if you can overclock the processor. Pushing 33mhz extra out of it will make a difference. The CD-rom doesn't need to be upgraded imo. Those things are fast enough for a 200mhz system and you'll only notice a difference in speed when installing/copying something big. If the the harddrive isn't big enough, you can use compression on it to get 4gig.

Ronald

[spuck]

its a multimedia
200mhz intel
win 98
16 meg ram
1.96 gb hd
sound4winmodem
16x cdrom
everything seems to be on the mobo.
the speakers are on the monitor.can it be updated?it was free.

[This message has been edited by spuck (edited 02-20-2001).]

[RayH]

If the thing takes EDO RAM, forget it unless you can find some used RAM! EDO is real expensive right now, about $2/meg. SDRAM is about 50 cents/mb.

I wouldn't sink anything into it! Keep an eye on the newspapers and get those 100% rebates. They'll probably be one on Memorial Day!

[crazyray]

Some info (such as motherboard diagrams, etc) may be available at http://pbsupport.alorica.com

[tinwindow]

Hey there are still alot of people out there that are beginners and to get a 200 Mhz computer is a great experience.
I remember when a wonderfull wedding gift was a Comadore 64.....
Now I surely want no less than 400MHz and a minimum 128MB...So believe me when I say this is a good site to get the info you are looking for ....just keep asking and someone will help.
Ron said it well....
I doubt that you have EDO memory but it won't hurt to investigate.
If you are in an area where there are computer shows like "Peter Trapp" etz.
sometimes some vendors have second hand hardware cheap.
Compress the HDD
Update the Modem to 56k
If need be the sound card
Min. 64meg of memory and keep in mind that some PB machines will only take pairs of memory like 2-16meg or 2-32meg etc.
anything but the pair won't be recognized or even interfere with the system.
Well Good Luck
and keep asking questions.. :d
TW