New or Upgrade Old?

[Mr.Goodbytes]

Uh.... How are you planning on taking a Pentium 200 to an athlon/duron system for 50 bucks? I'm not tryin to be a smartass, but I'd really like to know.

[Cody]

The point is... Should I take the Pentium 200 and UPGRADE it to an AMD Duron/Athlon, or should I just buy a new AMD Duron/Athlon system (build it myself of course)

[Mr.Goodbytes]

But where does the 50 bucks come into play? Perhaps that should have been better worded in my first reply. I was under the assumption that you found a way to take a 200 to an athlon for $50. I know of no way to do it at that price. You're likely going to have to start fresh, other than your harddrive, CDROM, and sound card. The AMD systems have different power requirements and motherboard layouts than did the Pentiums. So you'll end up needing a new case and motherboard to start out with.

[Cody]

So, basically, save myself the $50 and get a new system?

[Barney]

A P200 isn't really upgradable.

First of all you must buy a new mainboard + processor + cooler. You will very likely need a new case and memory. Your case probably isn't ATX and even if it is, it probably only has a 235w PSU. Your memory is probably 72pins or maybe PC-66 SDRAM. You need at least PC-100. Most P200's only have 32mb memory, which isn't enough, you'll need at least 128mb to take advantage of the new processor. Most P200's have very slow 2~4gb hd's, so you should really buy a new hd. If you want to play a game, you'll also need to buy a new videocard.

The only things you may be able to use are the floppy drive, CD-ROM, soundcard, keyboard, mouse and monitor.

[Ed_S]

Really, the monitor is the key to your answer. If the P200 comes with a serviceable monitor, it could be worthwhile.

[Cody]

I have to choose: Do I want to build a new system, or spend $50 and get an old Pentium 200MHz and upgrade it to an Athlon/duron 800MHz to 1GHz (any MHz speed in there)?

Thanks!

Ooops :-) Forgot... I want to keep the price below $300 and below $200 if possible (the new won't need RAM... I can always borrow some from my current comp.)

[This message has been edited by Cody (edited 07-21-2001).]

[Cody]

I believe it comes with an old 15" monitor

[RayH]

If that old P200 is working, buy it to keep it around for a spare! Actually, if you are tight on cash, get the P200 and get an FIC 503+ mobo and make it a K6-2 550 MHz. You might be able to do that for about 150, incl. new RAM!

[Cody]

Hrrrm... that doesn't sound TOO bad, except for the fact that I can get a Duron 800 for around $200 :-)
(w/ MOBO, HD, CD-ROM, PROCESSOR, CASE)