I have a few questions....

[-=RWA=-Justin]

Hey everybody, i have a few " ". hehe.

I own a computer about 4 years old. 233 Mhz Intel Mobo, 64 megs of ram,running Win 95(b) 3 gig HD, Geforce 2 mx 400 PCI 64mb, 4 PCI, 4 ISA, some crappy soundcard + modem, and a dvd rom drive.

Im lookin to soup up this bad boy (already started w/ videocard). The videocard has allowed me to play Counter Strike over my laggy AOL connection. (Looks NICE, runs slow ;-( ). I was wondering

a. What should i put in my last free PCI slot to make it more versatile and get better use out of it in the future? (i.e. PCI->USB, Network Card)?

b. Im not sure im my mobo can handle more SIMMS (may be 430 chipset = no more RAM), but ill go home and repost later. 256 or 126 max?

c. again my last question has to do with things im not sure about (sorry), but any suggestions in optimizing my video card?

any help would be really appreciated.

[psabi]

First off, money would be better spent on a new motherboard/CPU. The only limitations there would be your budget. With that said....

PCI slot- do you have USB devices you want to hook up? Sure, throw a card in there. Maybe you want a throw a ATA 100 controller in there? That would require having a drive that can benefit from the faster transfer rate (my guess is that your current hdrive is EIDE, ultra DMA 33 if you are lucky so it won't benefit from the ATA 100 controller - you would now be buying a new h drive as well)

That's a decent video card - it's kinda of a waste if you don't have the cpu to really push it...

Your board is a "super" socket 7 (assuming you are running a pentium MMX). You may be able to upgrade it to a K6-2 or K6-3 cpu - depends on what voltage settings are available on your board as well as bus speeds and multipliers. Again, this would be an upgrade for your system but upgrading old technology with slightly less old technology may leave you disappointed.

More memory never hurts - most likely you can handle 128MB with no problem.

Post more details about your board - unless you decide to bag the sytem and get a new cpu and motherboard. You can always recycle the components from your old system and upgrade individual components over time.

[andyswork@beci.net]

Very well said psabi. I have been there if budget allows go has far as you can. I did not do that and have been through 2 upgrades(wasted money on first. Now have extra cpu and motherboard. Keep in mind this is what happened to me, I would go new cpu and motherboard.

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One day i will be a pro, Thanks Andy

[-=RWA=-Justin]

yeah, update

Mobo: Intel 82430 VX http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/frown.gif (burst into tears at finding out 64 mb was limit, well not really)

Power Supply: 115V~6a
230V~3a
50/60 Hz (so is it commonly known as 115V or 230V?
It's Greek to me)

Suggested Mobos/CPUS that run off of this power supply?
Should i start doing what the "SYSTEM OPTIMIZATION GUIDE" says?
http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/eek.gif

[mjc]

Quit possibly it is an AT power supply...newer boards use an ATX so the first thing to look for would be a new case with power supply...well first after deciding what your budget for the project is... then you are pretty much unlimited on what board you can go with.

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mjc
Links list:Computer Links (http://www.dreamwater.org/tech/mjc/index.htm)

Celts are the men that heaven made mad, For all their battles are merry and their songs are all sad.