Slow computer, and looking to upgrade.

[rah]

First here is my info.

Processor
450 megahertz AMD K6-2 w/3DNow!
64 kilobyte primary memory cache
512 kilobyte secondary memory cache

MOBO
Board: VP3-596B-DD
Bus Clock: 100 megahertz
BIOS: Award Software International, Inc. 4.51 PG 04/12/00

Model number
VIA Technologies, Inc. VT82C597

Drives
20.48 Gigabytes Usable Hard Drive Capacity
19.22 Gigabytes Hard Drive Free Space

AOPEN CD-RW CRW4048 [CD-ROM drive]
Generic floppy disk drive (3.5")

Generic IDE hard disk drive (20.48 GB) -- drive 0, No SMART Driver

Memory
256 Megabytes Installed Memory

Slot 'BANK_0' has 64 MB
Slot 'BANK_1' has 64 MB
Slot 'BANK_2' has 64 MB
Slot 'BANK_3' has 64 MB
Slot 'BANK_4' is Empty
Slot 'BANK_5' is Empty

Video card.
3D Blaster TNT2 M64/M64 Pro [Display adapter]
SCEPTRE D98A [Monitor] (18.3"vis, March 2001)

Comunications
3Com EtherLink XL TPO 10Mb Ethernet NIC (3C900B-TPO)

FYI I dont know alot of what that stuff means.  the problem with my computer is that Ebay is very very slow. Im unsure if this is because Ebay has expanded so much in the time Iv had my computer.  That its obsolite, But ebay is the only thing this computer is used for.

First I would like to upgrade my Processor, but im unsure how to figure out my "Chipset"(Guy at the computer store just tried to confuse me i think )
Second it was meantioned to me that these problems may be a bios kerfuckle.  How can i check this?

Any help on speeding this buzz box up would be greatly appreciated. Thanks folks

[Flame]

Your processor is extremely slow. I'm not sure if your motherboard could handle anything better though... How much are you willing to spend?

[glb]Flame[/glb]

[rah]

At the Comp store today they said I could get a 2200 AMD processor.(comparable to 1.5g celeron) Though my memory is fuzzy from what he was telling me.
The mother board is the newest part of the computer. I replaced it just a few years ago.
Price isnt a big deal, but im not going to go out and buy the whole shabang.(not till I can get a decent 64bit system(thats what the kids tell me anyway))

I plan on buying everything off of ebay as iv got paypal money to blow. So hopfuly I can get a deal.

[Flame]

As long as the processor is compatible with the motherboard, you're good. For Windows XP, you will need more than 256 MB RAM. I suggest anything higher than that.

[glb]Flame[/glb]

[rah]

I use Win98se or 2000 when i can get a copy.

Is there a way to check if my bios is setup correctly?
Also how do I find out which processor will work on my MOBO?

Also when I did that hardware detector, it said their were 2 empty slots, could I get more ram aswell? And how do I find out which kind of ram will work?



So is it normal for Ebay to run so slow on a computer of this size. Im preaty sure it used to run good.

[dl65]

 rah........ First of all , what operating system are you running on that box ?
Do you have a anti-virus program installed ? and do you use it ?

I would download and run the CCleaner ......
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4191.html

dl65  

[rah]

I run Win98se and AVG anti virus. both are fully updated, and i scan for virus's regularly. Tho i have never had a virus(All this computer is used for is Ebay(And this post))  No games, porn or MP3s.

I also do formats a couple times a year.

Once again how can I find out what chip set im using for my processor?

Peace, Rah.

[rah]

Chipset 1
Model : VIA Technologies Inc VT82C598MVP Apollo MVP3 System Controller
L2 External Cache : 512kB Pipeline-Burst Write-Thru
Front Side Bus Speed : 1x 100MHz (100MHz data rate)
Total Memory : 256MB SDRAM
Memory Bus Speed : 1x 66MHz (66MHz data rate)

[GX1_Man]

Dial up or cable/DSL is more important to internet speed than processor. I have a PII-400 with 128 RAM and Win98 that is just as speedy on the internet as my son's PIV 3 Ghz with 768 of RAM.


If you have 256 RAM and cable/DSL then there is another bottleneck to your speed. Let's determine that.

[rah]

I use High speed cable internet

I still want to upgrade some what, mabey put the maximum amount of ram and the best Processor that will fit.

[GX1_Man]

I don't believe that motherboard will take a 2200 processor. If you get a new motherboard, you will need to get a new processor, and then some new RAM as PC100 will not work for newer boards. You will be on an upgrade cycle that will end up b eing cheaper to just get a new machine.

I think that machine should be fast enough for what you want to do until you get your next one. It just may need to have Windows reinstalled and be configured appropriately. More memory will not make it appreciably faster.

[rah]

>"I don't believe that motherboard will take a 2200 processor"

how do I find out which processor will fit?

I found somthing about "socket 7" is this the info I need to figure out which processor will fit.

[GX1_Man]

I believ that is a DFI board that maxes out at a K63-550. Upgrading to that procesor will not make it appreciably faster either.

WIndows 98 should do fine on that. Do you have a legal WIndows98 CD to reinstall from? It may just have a bunch of gunk it has accumulated over years of use. You could probablyh debride a lot of this, with the tools we always recommend - AVG Free, AdAware, Spybot and CCleaner (free if you google for them) or a fresh install and then load these for maintenance.

Windows XP certainly will not improve your situation.

[rah]

The last reformat i did was a month or 2 ago.  And no its not the legit version its a pirated version of 98se.
Does anyone else have problems with Ebay?  Everyother website I got to is much faster.

I did a adaware scan, avg scan, CCcleaner and Si software scan.  

[GX1_Man]

Are you running a wired or wireless connection? Have you checked for spyware/adware?

eBay is a little slower but not much at all. It depends on traffic at the site as well as your setup.

[rah]

I am running 2 computers threw a Switch.  I also have 2 IPs from my internet provider.  Both are just wired with Cat 5 cable.

Adaware never finds anything but Tracking cookies.

My computer is actualy running much better after running CC cleaner and SiSoftware.
I would still like to upgrade alittle But dont know the types of Ram or processors that will fit.  And I know not to buy cheap Ram off of ebay.  Iv had problems with bad ram in the past, I just dont know whats good. And whats crap.








Merry Christwanzica yall

[GX1_Man]

Again, I don't think more RAM will help. I think you are realistically maxed out for that system. Save your $$$ for the next computer. Merry Christmas.