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Anybody know where i can get info on a packard hell pc, its old but im trying to upgrade it and the packardbell website has no info on north america, i've tried going into uk country (only one in english) but there is no info on my multimedia s605, not even on the chipsets intel 437vx. Any ideas,
any body, pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!thnx in advance
Out of the West comes the LONE RIDER! Ta Dah! ....
Anyway, Packard-Bell decided a year or two ago to completely get OUT of the US market place. I read an article that said they would continue marketing overseas. That is why you are finding NOTHING about your oldie on the internet.
If only life were so simple, right?
Now, I have repaired a few packard bells, and they were the older Pentium-75's etc.
I have even popped the lid on a few 486's, although I refuse to get into that old architecture...I didn't think anybody would still find a live Packard Bell around, but I guess, you found one : ) or have one : )They used to be the standard typical run of the mill retail store electronics computer.
And while most people hated PB computers, they were not that bad...not as bad as people have made them out to be...not as BAD as HP computers are! At least I was able to work on them and fix them...something you can't do with any kind of HP unless you jury rig it to death.So now, that I have told you I have repaired a few PB computers, might you enlighten us on what it is you are trying to do with it?
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Im trying to upgrade the processor & ram it up too.
It has intel pci set 437vx chipset, intel pentium w/ mmx tech processor (233mhz!!) & 24MB of RAM (max on ram i know it goes up to 128, but i want to know what kind of ram can i use). Windows 95.
thnx
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Well, at least its a 233 Mhz computer instead of say, an old 486DX2...lol.
I am pretty sure you need SIM RAM. In those days, before SD RAM, you needed paired SIMM's. This means, essentially, you needed to have a paired SET of RAM chips, what I called, LEFT and RIGHT chips (now called, STICKS).
Anyway, this can be a REAL REAL pain in the rear end TD, as trying in this DAY and AGE to find paired SIM's that will work together is a real nightmare. You might well try asking around to a few of those 1 man computer shops and see if they might still have a box of old SIM memory sitting around collecting dust. Sometimes, you can find good things in old dusty boxes...
Also, there are a FEW places that continue to carry SIMM memory...if you are out here on the West Coast, try Fry's Electronics.
There are also distributors out here who might help such as ENU Electronics. Here is
their site URL:http://www.enuinc.com/
I think your 233 Mhz was built right before or right at the time that the Intel P-II 300 Mhz processor was coming out...so just on the OUTSIDE slim chance...you might have SD RAM, it should say so on the chipset somewhere...and does not require paring.
By the way, Intel is an IDIOT, because their RAMBUS memory has gone back to this idiotic paired memory array AGAIN! I am completely and TOTALLY avoiding INTEL (I am building and using only AMD with DDR RAM) refuse to buy a P-4 or buy into RAMBUS memory...just because I think it stinks to demand that you use a LEFT AND RIGHT chipset for memory like in the old days...
Well, good luck, hope this helps you!
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You need EDO RAM, 60ns or 70ns. Add in pairs only!
Your current RAM will have markings as to the speed (60ns or 70ns)
On the processor, you have the fatest chip available for that mobo.
If you want to go faster, you will need to change the motherboard.
I have a Packard Bell with a Pentium 200Mhz MMX CPU, and 64 MBs of EDO RAM.
(Windows 95B) It still runs great.
Richard
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The original pentium and the pentium II both came in 233 mmx versions. You probably have the original since your bios would identify a p-II when posting. The original pentium maxxed out at 233 so that's probably the best you can do with the cpu.
It's possible but not likely you have a super socket 7 board that would handle an AMD K6-2 cpu. The best way to know for sure is to open the case and look for board frequency jumpers (50, 60, 66, etc) and multipliers (1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, etc). If the frequency goes up to 100 and multiplier more than 3.5 you can use one of the AMD chips.
The ram too should be self evident once you open the case. If your memory maxxes at 128 you probably have 4-72 pin sockets anticipating 32 meg modules in each. Those came in fast page (parity and non-parity) and EDO. Your computer would be able to handle any of those types. Parity memory usually didn't need to be installed in pairs while non-parity and EDO needed to be in pairs.
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needs to be non-parity for the pacbell
http://www.star-components.com/detail.cfm?pid=122&add=action&show=yes
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Hi TD :-)))
yeah your right lots of people complained about PB but i had a few and never had any problem....
My first puter wasn't a PB it was a Hyundai....lol
see i didn't have the money to go out and buy it so i rented it so they had a Hyundai and it was an office Puter but they made it into a home puter....
then i got a hewlett packard then i got a packard bell cos i change a computer every few months to keep up with the times...lol
then i got another packard bell but to be honest i was getting tired of PB and then i got a Trigent and i never heard of them but then i got another PB and then 3 years ago i finally got the money to buy a puter and i said the heck with dell and gateway and any other brand names and i built my own then in may 17th 2001 i went from a 550 ATHLON AMD 96MB RAMS and a Smart And Friendly speed racer cd burner and a AT case to a DURON AMD 800MHz to a 128MB RAMS to a GOLD STAR LG CD-RW CED-8083B I think its a 4 speed i know thats not fast but good enough for me i had a 2 soeed burner before, then i went to a ATX CASE and i got a 17inch monitor which i had a 15inch monitor before, i know i went off topic a little...lol but the few PB'S i had i never had any problems so i must have been one of the lucky ones....
i don't see any PB'S around anymore...
i am looking to upgrade my memory from 128 to 256 or 512 so i can install WINXP :-)))))
i ran the compatibility test on the WINXP cd and it said only problems i have would be software but that would be taken care of when i reformat the hard drive and install on a clean drive :-))))))
Good Luck TD i hope you find what your looking for :-))))))))))
sorry all for the long post, i actually fell asleep and when i woke up i seen all this typing...lmao
take care all and Merry Christmas and Happy New Years!!!!!!!!!!!! :-)))))))))))))))
Tim Alan
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Hey nothing wrong with PB's. I worked on a couple of them in my time. Once you get past the name, they format/install like any other puter. Of course in my case I needed to yank the cover to find what the sound card was so I could fetch the drivers from the internet. The ones I worked on were both 200mmx's. I set them up with win98SE. Took forever to boot, but once it booted was fine. And ya, they do take SIMM memory but it ain't that hard to put your hands on. Expensive ya, but easy to come by at any Market Pro Computer show. Runs about a buck a meg right now. I just yanked 208 megs out of a few machines and split it with the guy that was working on the machines with me. Dummy me, forgot to pair before I split, now we have to try and re-match them.
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I have a PB w/437VX. It is a 233 MMX. I have worked on this comp for several years. Mine has 2 DIMM slots for memory. You can upgrade each slot to 32mb using generic memory. However, in order to use 64mb DIMM you must purchase the PB memory. You cannot use generic 64mb DIMM. There are no charts on the motherboard specifying clock speed or bus speed. However, I do have specifications that may help. I believe that 233 is the max you can go with this motherboard. It is a standard Socket 7 as opposed to a Super Socket 7. You may contact me at tom@mckeon.com for any further questions or if you wish to purchase 32mb generic DIMM memory.
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I have the same computer and as far as upgrading (GIVE IT UP) that motherboard will support no faster processor than it has 233mmx and as far as the memory goes it is dimms but you cant use sdram, the chips are costly though and that particular motherboard is picky will alot of componets including memory, you can go to the pb site and e-mail them with your model # and serial # and they will tell you what the mobo will accept.
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