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08-18-2003, 12:17 PM
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#1 of 25 
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Performance of Win XP on a PII 450MHz system
My sister is visiting this weekend and I wanted to give her my old computer system. It is currently running on Win 98 but I wanted to put XP in it.
If I remember correctly, it is a 450 MHz PII with 128 MB of RAM and a 13GB HD. I know that this meets the recommended minimum requirements but I wanted feedback from the HTF.
Is anyone running XP on a similar system? Can the system handle it? Is there noticable slow down? Should I stick with Win 98 (or possibly 2000)?
GIR, UNLEASH THE MONKEY!
\"I am the Doctor of Death, and I have come to cure you of your life.\" --Endless Mike, The Adventures of Pete and Pete
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08-18-2003, 12:51 PM
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#2 of 25
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With only 128 MB of RAM, it will run like shit! Absolutely NOT recommended.
You'd need 256 MB for barely adequate performance. I'd recommend 512 MB for the best performance.
With enough memory, it shouldn't run much different than in under 98. May be slightly slower in some multimedia apps, but multitasking will be much nicer.
Mahatma Gandhi, as you know, walked barefoot most of the time, which produced an impressive set of calluses on his feet. He also ate very little, which made him rather frail and with his odd diet, he suffered from bad breath. This made him...a super-callused fragile mystic hexed by halitosis.
Gameshow host: "Is taking Viagra kosher during Passover dinner?"
Whoopee Goldberg: "Not if it leads to pork."
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08-18-2003, 01:46 PM
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#3 of 25
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I don't know that I'd say it would run like *shit*, but it would be fairly slow.
The combo of the slow processor and low ram would probably require frequent reboots, depending on what the machine is used for.
I have a 400 mhz running XP pro...I can't remember for sure, but it seems like it has somewhere around 256 mb of ram.....I threw a bunch of spare sticks in it, so it might be more, might be less. Anyway, about the only thing I use it for is storage, and playing Halo via XB Connect. For that it works well, but for much else, it's pretty slow. Web surfing is alright, and music playback is fine. I also use it to watch downloaded sitcom episodes, and it's fine for that, although a bit slow opening larger files.
I'd upgrade the RAM and see how it runs with XP.
My optimal suggestion would be to put Win2000 on it. Much better than Win98 and the sys requirments are more down to earth.
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08-18-2003, 02:25 PM
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#4 of 25
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I don't think there is a PII 450, I could be wrong, but I think the 450MHz is the low end of the PIII family. I ran XP Pro on a laptop with PIII 500 and 192MB and 20G (4200rpm) drive. It was fine, I can even play DVD with PowerDVD on it. I salvage old beat up computers, I have an old PII 366 laptop now (192MB 6.5G) that I may go XP Pro on it , just to see what happens..
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08-18-2003, 02:55 PM
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#5 of 25
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Quote:
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I don't think there is a PII 450, I could be wrong, but I think the 450MHz is the low end of the PIII family.
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There is actually a 450MHZ P2 and P3. 450MHZ is the highest speed P2 and the lowest speed P3.
P2
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Pentium II processor 450 MHz 450 MHz 100 MHz
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P3
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Product Highlights: The Intel Pentium III Processor is available at speeds ranging from 450 MHz to 1.33 GHz
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I have run WinXP on a 450MHZ P2 with 256MB of RAM and with all graphical enhancements it is bearable to work on, I wouldn't try running Doom3 on it though. 
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08-18-2003, 03:42 PM
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#6 of 25
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I was fiddling with a machine for a specific use, 600 mhz originally with 64 mb ram.
with 64 mb RAM it ran really poorly, I then upgraded to 192 mb (I know more than you have) and it runs quite respectably.
I would say that machine will be a little slow but should be fine, if it is poor, boost up the memory a little and you should be fine.
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08-18-2003, 03:43 PM
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#7 of 25
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Quote:
| There is actually a 450MHZ P2 and P3. 450MHZ is the highest speed P2 and the lowest speed P3. |
 Yup. My system was top of the line when I first bought it. I was so proud because I had this kick ass system. Fast forward a few years and today's low end systems are four times faster.
My sis just needs the computer for word processing, email and light internet use. No Doom3 or much multitasking. I guess that I am mainly worried about web page loads. Mike LS seems to get a lot more out of his 400 with double the RAM than what my sister would do.
However, based on the feedback and advice from my friend, I'm just going to go the easy route and load Win 2K.
Thanks for everyone's feedback.
GIR, UNLEASH THE MONKEY!
\"I am the Doctor of Death, and I have come to cure you of your life.\" --Endless Mike, The Adventures of Pete and Pete
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08-18-2003, 03:56 PM
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#8 of 25
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Michael Reuben
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Though late to the party, I'll add the following: My system is a 400Mhz PII with 384 megs of RAM, and it runs XP Pro just fine. When I first installed XP Pro, I had 256 megs, and even that was acceptable. In general, I find XP to be vastly superior to any prior version; so if you can, I'd recommend adding the extra RAM and going with XP. (It's not like Win2K will be all that great with 128 megs.)
M.
"Most people never have to face the fact that, at the right time and the right place, they're capable of anything." -- Chinatown
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08-18-2003, 03:57 PM
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#9 of 25
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2000 should be fine. I've got a p3 500mhz with 96mb of RAM running Win2000 and it runs great. No problems at all.
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08-18-2003, 04:17 PM
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#10 of 25
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PC100 RAM is getting increasingly difficult to find, and expensive when you do find it, so updating may not be viable. I'd say install Win2k and don't look back! I run it on my PII 350 w/ 128MB RAM and it's great, much faster than Win98. The only drawback is it takes forever to shutdown and my PC won't automatically power off after shutdown with Win2k.
Just tell your sister to run a tight ship and don't install/uninstall a lot of superfluous apps and it will be great!!
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