Compaq 5062 motherboard 1

[jesse83189]

my names jesse and i was wondering how to make my computer better....so i found out that my compaq 5062 sucks!!! it has three ram slots that can hold a max of 128mb in each slot......and i have a pentium 2 processor .. so i was wondering what i should do to make it better...im sitting on 256mb of ram and an 80gb hard drive... whats the best processor i can have and stuff like that so it'll get better and faster.... thank
jesse

 

[wahnula]

Jesse,

Welcome. You might be able to re-use the case

Seriously once a platform is that old it is actually more cost-effective to abandon it. The HDD is re-usable, but to try and upgrade that puppy will be a frustrating experience.

Entry-level PCs that will blow that one away are less than $300 complete w/ OS. If you're more comfortable with someone else installing the CPU get a bundle:

http://www.directron.com/mobobundles.html

and drop it in that case with a new PSU & RAM. 1 GB of DDR2 RAM is like $35. Look at this barebones system:

http://www.directron.com/bbl8010.html

Sweet! Get busy!

Tony

 

[kmcferrin]

I'm definitely with whanula on this one. Not only could you get a new PC that blows that one away for very little money, your upgrade options on that system are going to be extremely limited. Assuming that you could upgrade the CPU (and that's a big assumption), you're not going to get anything faster than the old slot-based Pentium IIIs, and you'd still be stuck with a max of 384 MB of RAM. And that's assuming that you can find all of the right parts, which would probably involve lots of hunting on ebay and the like.

You could get yourself a nice mainboard + CPU combo with integrated graphics for around $100. Throw in another $75 for 1 GB of RAM and a new PSU, and it would be so fast (compared to your old system) that you'd think you'd hit the lottery. If you really want to get crazy, drop $60-$70 for a new 250 GB SATA hard disk too.

I wouldn't put any more money into that current system though, because with the exception of a new case or PSU (neither of which improve performance), nothing that you could buy for it is going to be usable in a future PC.

If you really, really, really wanted to save money you could probably find a second-hand system somewhere for around $100 that would be a lot faster, but I don't think that the cost savings now would be enough to offset the fact that you would be in the exact same predicament 6 months from now.

 

[jesse83189]

would it be possible to upgrade the processor? or would that do nothin to the performnce? if it would help whats the best processor i could put in it?...my mom saqid that shes not going to put any money into a computer cuz everytime shes bought one it crashed or broke some how.... my brother and his porno ruined two of our computers so i put this one im on together now from pieces from the previous three we had and i only had a win98se os cd so i reformated the hard drive and i worked so i was happy....then my step dad brought home a TIVO from his job and i thought to my self.... that has to store stuff so it has to have a hard drive in it....so i took it apart and it had a parrallel ata which i needed.....Maxtor 80 gb! i was happy..and i bought some ram and thats were im at now

 

[wahnula]

Jesse,

Good for you, you've got a good start on the geek mentality. Wish I had better news for you but you're probably stuck with that processor...unless you can find out EXACTLY what chipset you have.

http://www.belarc.com

has the free Belarc Advisor, it should tell you the chipset or at least the model number of the mainboard. There's a SLIGHT chance you can upgrade the processor, but I would not get my hopes up too high.

Right now you have a working PC, make sure it has antivirus,

http://www.free.grisoft.com

has AVG free.

my brother and his porno ruined two of our computers

I hope he did not go blind but I would scavenge from those PCs if they are still around, if not keep your eyes open you will find something newer, visit the local electronics store maybe they have an old Socket A board w/ CPU laying around. Your processor is married to your mainboard chipset which is married to your RAM. Usually you upgrade all three at the same time, but maybe you can find a newer platform that uses your RAM.

Tony

 

[jesse83189]

ok......i see a lot of stuff that has no meaning to me at all.... can you decipher some of this for me?

Operating System System Model
Windows 98 SE (build 4.10.2222) Compaq Presario
Enclosure Type: Mini-Tower
Processor a Main Circuit Board b
333 megahertz AMD K6 3D
32 kilobyte primary memory cache
64 kilobyte secondary memory cache Board: Compaq 043Ch
Bus Clock: 100 megahertz
BIOS: Compaq 686A1 07/29/98
Drives Memory Modules c,d
81.94 Gigabytes Usable Hard Drive Capacity
79.80 Gigabytes Hard Drive Free Space

LG CD-ROM CRD-8322B
Generic floppy disk drive (3.5")

Maxtor 4R080L0 [Hard drive] (81.96 GB) -- drive 0, s/n R29YZHGE, rev RAMC1TU0, SMART Status: Healthy 256 Megabytes Installed Memory

Slot '0' has 64 MB
Slot '1' has 64 MB
Slot '2' has 128 MB
Local Drive Volumes

c: (FAT32 on drive 0) 81.94 GB 79.80 GB free

Network Drives
None detected
Users (mouse over user name for details) Printers
local user accounts last logon
lee family 7/13/07 11:30:39 PM
None detected
Controllers Display
Standard Floppy Disk Controller
Primary IDE controller (dual fifo)
Secondary IDE controller (dual fifo)
VIA Bus Master PCI IDE Controller RAGE LT PRO AGP 2X (English) [Display adapter]
Default Monitor
Bus Adapters Multimedia
VIA Tech 3038 PCI to USB Universal Host Controller ES1869 Control Interface (WDM)
ES1869 Plug and Play AudioDrive (WDM)
Gameport Joystick (no joystick connected)
Communications Other Devices

Intel 21143/2 based 10/100 mbps Ethernet Controller
primary Auto IP Address: 69.212.83.78 / 24
Gateway: 69.212.83.79
Dhcp Server: 192.168.0.1
Physical Address: 00:400:02:9E:6C

Networking Dns Server: 192.168.0.1
Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural Keyboard
USB Root Hub
Virus Protection [Back to Top]
No details available
Missing Microsoft Security Hotfixes [Back to Top]
No details available
Installed Microsoft Hotfixes [Back to Top]
DataAccess
Q329414-21 on 7/2/07 (details...)
Internet Explorer
SP1 (SP1)
Q313829 (details...)
Q833989 (details...)
Q891781 (details...)
Q916281 (details...)
Q918439 (details...)
Win98.SE
UPD238453 (details...)
UPD256015 (details...)
UPD259728 (details...)
UPD260067 (details...)
UPD273017 (details...)
Win98.SE (continued)
UPD273991 (details...)
UPDQ823559 (details...)
Win98
UPD245729 (details...)
UPD323172 (details...)
UPD323255 (details...)
UPD329115 (details...)
UPD811630 (details...)
UPD888113 (details...)
UPD891711 (details...)
UPD896358 (details...)
UPD908519 (details...)
UPD918547 (details...)

 

[jesse83189]

will i be able to make some upgrades?

 

[wahnula]

333 megahertz AMD K6 3D
32 kilobyte primary memory cache
64 kilobyte secondary memory cache   Board: Compaq 043Ch
Bus Clock: 100 megahertz

Ahhhh...the K6...the CPU that should warm the cockles of any AMD fanboy's heart...the first real competition to Intel and predecessor to the hallowed AMD Athlon CPU. You are in good company. If you could find one, it might support a 400 mHz K6 but you would be best off to leave things as-is and save those pennies for a more modern platform. Here's some history:

http://www.zisman.ca/Articles/1998/AMD.html

I love the way they talk about the new "high-speed" 100 mHz bus...we're now looking at 1066 and 1333 mHz DDR2 and DDR3 as commonplace. Yes, that's right, 10X faster...and still going.

As for "stuff that has no meaning to me at all" the only way it will ever have meaning to you is to start now to read about it and learn about it and other things. It will all start to make sense, slowly at first, then faster. It's called a learning curve and we all went through it, check that, we are all still going through it as this tech stuff does not slow down, it keeps expanding like the universe.

Maybe you will be the next shining star...just make sure you have a good password (length=strength) to keep your porn-hound brother off your PC!

And with your new-found interest in PC hardware tell Mom that a little $$$ will go a long way these days and you've found a way to keep that new PC alive...us.

Tony

 

[jesse83189]

so i can upgrade it then? what do i have to keep my eye out for to buy and put it in? .....was you expecting a k6???? i thought that i had a pentium II

 

[jesse83189]

here will this work for me?

K6 2 - 500 MHz (100MHz)

http://www.bizrate.com/cpus_compute...z-cpu--pid5151043/compareprices__nwylf--.html

 

[wahnula]

LOL there is no way that's in stock! If it was, you could try it, but the difference would be negligible, if it even works. The problem with old hardware is the documentation is scarce as to what is and is not compatible. You stand a better chance of damaging the CPU during install, I still say save the pennies for a new platform.

BTW you should be able to see which processor is installed by right-clicking My Computer ->Properties. I think.

Tony

 

[jlockley]

And with your new-found interest in PC hardware tell Mom that a little $$$ will go a long way these days and you've found a way to keep that new PC alive...us.

Tell Mom that building a PC will a) keep you off the street b) keep you from using it to find porno (only as long as you are building) and c) make you smarter. (really, it does.)

Jesse. I am not sure how old you are, or if you are a boy or girl, or where you are, but on the Peninsula there is a group for girls to build computers. Some youth groups have computer clubs. Some schools have after school computer building groups. ASk around. Use a public computer like one at the library to track down computer clubs. I think you will find people who can help you.

 

[jlockley]

Jesse. What city do you live in? If it is near SF and your mom can bring you in, I have some parts that will work for you.