To maximise current system for CM

[IDF]

Guys I know I've posed something similar to you before but I just want to know what you rekon. I've got a P166 32MB RAM, 2MB video card(**** I know).

What upgrades do I need to make, to make CM playable (decently) with my existing system. We are talking less than $A500($US300) lay out?

Bear in mind that I'm not sure if I can (or where?)I can still get upgrades for my P166 as it's quite obsolete.

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lead by example!!

[howardb]

Depends a lot on the mainboard you got. If you got a decent mainboard you can buy a new cpu, you'll get decent video cards cheap (preferably one in the voodoo series as it get's you most bang for buck in lower end systems). Never hurts to get the (now) minimum 64MB RAM too.

I always build my own systems with parts from all over and I'm very conscious about upgradability. It's better to buy good soundcards, mainboards etc because it'll save you money in the next upgrade.

[IDF]

Where can I get this stuff from? The shops round here don't have this stuff.

[MadDog0606]

I don't know how much extra it would cost you but have you considered getting computer parts over the internet. I did this for the last computer I built. All I kept from the old one was the harddrive and the monitor and bought everything else over the net.

You could go here http://www.tccomputers.com/ and check out the prices. The cost is shown in US dollars. After you check out that site and have an idea what you want you could do a search on the net and see if you could find something closer to home.

[Papa Khann]

IDF,

I also have a P166. When I had a 2mb video card installed, I could not run CM in a usable fashion, even with 64mb RAM. Upgrading my video card to a Voodoo 3 2000 with 16mb VRAM made all the difference in the world.

Though I've since acquired a faster box, I've hung on to the P166 simply because it CAN run CM (as long as the map isn't too large... small and meduim sized battles are just fine though). When TCP/IP arrives, I'll set up a little LAN action.

As for upgrading your P166, as howardb noted, it really depends on your motherboard. I'm guessing yours is probably pretty old, which means you won't have a lot of options. It probably has 2 DIMM slots for RAM? Is it an OEM machine? If you can, boosting your RAM to 64mb may help also.

Papa

[Schrullenhaft]

If you can do the labor yourself you can apply the money saved to buying better hardware; if not then you will need to set aside some of your budget for labor costs.

Since you have a P166, I suspect you have an AT power supply. You probably have an older motherboard too, so you will not be able to support the faster CPUs that are SuperSocket 7 (the AMDs and Cyrixs). As "Papa Khann" suggested - your initial best bet is to get a faster video card. Either a Voodoo3 2000 (some users have been reporting some problems lately though) or a Guillemot Maxigamer Cougar PCI 32Mb based on the TNT2 M64 would probably be your best bet - and you may find them mail order for around A$200 or so (beware that there are AGP versions of this card that won't work with your current computer).

Buying memory that would fit your current motherboard may not exactly be the best investment (if you can afford another motherboard and CPU). There is a good chance that you have SIMMs instead of DIMMs (and the SIMMs could, ironically, be more expensive). If purchasing the video card leaves you cash strapped (as it will probably take a good chunk of your money), then you may want to consider another 32Mb for your current (if you have empty memory sockets to install it into). On machines of your type (with SIMMs) you will need to install two SIMMs of the same size and type (EDO is what most people would use - and it is the most commonly available type of SIMM memory). So upgrading to 64Mb from 32Mb would require you to have two empty SIMM sockets and you would need to purchase two 16Mb SIMMs. If, and it is a good possibility, you have only four SIMM sockets and they're all filled, then you have 8Mb SIMMs and in order to upgrade to 64Mb you will need to remove all of that memory and replace it with 4 x 16Mb SIMMs.

If you can afford it, you may want to purchase a SuperSocket 7 -based motherboard (in an "AT form factor") that can support the faster AMD K6-2s (the K6-3s are significantly more expensive - it would be worth it to by an Intel Celeron or Duron instead), hopefully 500Mhz range or faster. However, this motherboard would need different memory than what you have now (in other words your current memory couldn't be used), so all new memory (100Mhz DIMMs) would be required with this board also.

So to summarize my overlong and confusing post. Your best bet is to get:

1) A new, faster video card with more memory on it. I highly suggest the two cards mentioned previously as they will work with either your current computer or a future one (though AGP is the preferred bus now).

2) More memory.

3) If you can afford it, another motherboard and CPU. This will basically also require more, and different, memory.

4) Depending on your motherboard, you may be able to upgrade to an Intel 200 or 233Mhz CPU. Or possibly even an AMD K6/233. These chips will be a bit harder to come by, but they can still be found. Admittedly they will offer only a small boost in performance.

[IDF]

Fellas,

Thanks for your input. I recently changed the power supply on my system and while doing so wanted to know which motherboard I have, but I didn't know where to look to find out can someone help me here?

Also My CPU has a seven socket hole what does that mean?

Thanks I appreciate your help.