GXa 233 Performance and capability.

dubbin,

Thank you for using the Dell Community Forum.

You may want to put the max amount of memory in the system for better performance. The system should work fine for internet use. I cannot say about Office 2000. Install it to see if it works fine on this system.

Memory
Architecture	64-bit (non-ECC) or 72-bit (ECC), noninterleaved
DIMM sockets	3
DIMM capacities	16-, 32-, 64-, and 128-MB ECC or non-ECC SDRAM
Minimum RAM	16 MB
Maximum RAM	384 MB
BIOS address	F0000h

Updating the Bios to version A09 and then Adding a 40 Gig hard drive along with at least 256 Megs of Ram will be more than adequate.

Some games may require OpenGL and Directx compatable video drivers.

98SE,ME,2000,XP drivers for the video card here.

http://mirror.ati.com/support/products/pc/ragepro/rageprodrivers.html

I actually use Windows XP on systems upgraded in this manner.

256Megs is minimum I would recommend.  512Megs is max useable with WIN98.  WIN98 Blue screens on more than 512Megs of ram.

768 is max for 2000 or XP

If you buy GX1 ram you can use it in a GX1 later on should you require a faster system.  If you buy PC133 Ram for a GX1 then you can use the ram later in a GX150 or GX240.  PC66 Ram is all that is required but PC100 or faster ram from crucial will allow you to reuse the ram in a faster system should you decide to upgrade.

http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.asp?Mfr%2BProductline=Dell%2BOptiPlex&mfr=Dell&cat=RAM&model=Optiplex+GX1+with+350MHz+-+600MHz+processor&submit=Go

http://www.pcretro.com/webstore//catalog/default.php?cPath=31

http://www.wegotdells.com

 

 

Thanks for the response. Is this memory the same as pc66??

Thanks for the comments. Sounds like these older pc's have life left in them. I can manage the extra ram ok, not sure about anything else. If I just up the RAM, do you think this will be a reasonable pc for mostly internet and word processing use (the kids already have playstation). ??

 

 

PC66 is a slower version of ram. Nobody carrys it anymore.

PC100 is faster but will only run at PC66 Speed in a GXA and may complain about the newer ram unless you update the bios to A09

PC133 is even faster but again will only run at PC66 speed in a GXa

The reason to get the ram is for use later on in a faster system without having to buy ram over again.

PNY and other vendors now say that PC133 ram is not backwards compatable with PC66 and PC100 but crucial has specific parts for the GX1 and GX150 that
will work. The PC133 parts are slightly more expensive but easier to find.


In either case you should not go past 512 Megs unless you are going to use
Windows 2000 or Windows XP because WIN9X and WINME does not like having more than 512megs of ram.

I understand the ram issue now thanks. Do you know how to change the bios??

 

Thanks.

I recently bought a gxa, and it works great.  It came with a 233MHz cpu, and I put in 192MB of ram, and it runs heavy programs easily.  MS Office 2000 as well as Matlab 12 (a  work perfectly.  For a reliable cpu upgrade, you can easily find a 300MHz processor on EBay for around $10.

That sounds good. How is it on internet performance??

 

Thanks.

Internet performance is directly related to what kind of link you have.

If you have a modem then use an EXTERNAL modem not a pci modem that uses your cpu.

With a cable modem or DSL it works just fine and is quite fast even with a 233mhz processor.