Paul Dilley wrote:
> As Ian confirmed:
>
> > No only if you want full pentium power rendering full colour
> > polygons etc Usually you average the two out and install a P133
> > motherboard + chip with your outdated video and controllers, you
> > will get P75 speeds.
<snip>
> My calculations were P133 & motherboard stlg172, 32MB RAM stlg110, 2MB
>
> PCI graphics card stlg65, 1.2GB HD stlg114.00, CL soundblaster with
> TextAssist stlg62.00, 12 speed CD ROM stlg58 = stlg581 + VAT =
> stlg683.
<snip>
> Then evaluate your 3 year old 14" monitor against a new 15".
>
> The end result is not cost effective.
>
> I am becoming increasingly convinced that a P166MMX with 32MB RAM may
> be justified as an entry level machine in September. More
> software is being manufactured to take advantage of the MMX
> features.
<snip>
Firstly, I just have to agree with Paul; what is the point of upgrading
to a Pentium 133 but keeping an old graphics card giving you P75
performance. You can get PCI S3 2Mb graphics cards that work pretty well
for upwards of stlg30 which is a minor increase to the total price. Also
if you are upgrading from a 486, the configuration of the memory SIMMs
could force you to buy all the memory rather than an upgrade; Pentium
PCs require the memory to be used in similar pairs (i.e. for 16Mb you
need 2x8Mb or 4x4Mb). If the old PC has 4Mb then it's probably not worth
buying another three 4Mb SIMMs since two of these would have to be
removed for further expansion on most motherboards. Buying new memory
would also mean that you could opt for EDO RAM which is slightly quicker
than the standard SIMMs.
As for processors, I've been using a Cyrix/IBM processor in my home
machine for the past year which offers P150 power but typically costs
stlg55. So far I've had no compatibility problems.
As for MMX processors, if you are recommending these for students, can
you really justify the extra stlg50 or so over the cost of the standard
Pentium for the majority of cases? For standard WP there will be little
improvement. Multimedia applications may be improved if the software
supports MMX, but I think that MMX is more likely to be games oriented
in the immediate future. In two years time it will probably be standard,
but I don't feel that I can claim that it's essential for the majority
of students (if any) at this moment. We're back to the need vs want
argument.
Heath Boffey
Special Needs Technical Support Officer
Lancaster University
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