486/33 help please
- Thread starter stephen
- Start date
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
Put as much RAM as you can in that poor little guy. That's really the best advice I can give you. Don't spend any money on it, though. A 486 really isn't worth the effort. Storagewise, the newer and the bigger, the faster your PC will be. Most 486s hit a BIOS-enforced wall at 500MB or so. Unless you move to a 16-bit ISA SCSI-2 card and a SCSI drive (2GB 7200rpm SCSI2 drives cost about $10), or you can find an enhanced IDE controller for your machine, your only choice is something like WD's EZBios, which probably makes all the other techies here cringe.
Does your 486 have any PCI slots? 72-pin memory?
Realistically, the best advice I can give you is to save up $100 or so for a 300MHz lease-return machine. Those are readily available on ebay. Even $10 might get you a pentium motherboard and processor from anyone who has one laying around (heck, I gave all mine away). Comb ebay. You might be able to find something that's substantially better than what you have for $20 or $30.
What's going to hold you back the most is that you've probably got an AT-style case. "Fast" hardware for AT style cases is in the process of being hunted to extinction and costs far more than it's really worth. You'd have a lot better pickings if you could get an ATX case someplace.
Software-wise, I can't suggest anything but Windows 95 (if you can shoehorn 16MB RAM in your little buddy). Win95 is do-able on as little as 4MB, but its "sweet spot" for RAM is 32MB, and at the 4- or 8MB point, it's really not pleasant. Disk space concerns will likely prevent any version of MS Office but the 95 version from being installed
You could also build a serviceable Linux box on a 4MB 486, if you aren't all hung up on useless crap like graphics.
If you're really interested in a challenge, you could try making a functional DOS-based PC out of your guy. It'd be a lot of work, but all the programs folks expect a computer to have are out there, including web browsers (arachne) and email software (pegasus mail).
Does your 486 have any PCI slots? 72-pin memory?
Realistically, the best advice I can give you is to save up $100 or so for a 300MHz lease-return machine. Those are readily available on ebay. Even $10 might get you a pentium motherboard and processor from anyone who has one laying around (heck, I gave all mine away). Comb ebay. You might be able to find something that's substantially better than what you have for $20 or $30.
What's going to hold you back the most is that you've probably got an AT-style case. "Fast" hardware for AT style cases is in the process of being hunted to extinction and costs far more than it's really worth. You'd have a lot better pickings if you could get an ATX case someplace.
Software-wise, I can't suggest anything but Windows 95 (if you can shoehorn 16MB RAM in your little buddy). Win95 is do-able on as little as 4MB, but its "sweet spot" for RAM is 32MB, and at the 4- or 8MB point, it's really not pleasant. Disk space concerns will likely prevent any version of MS Office but the 95 version from being installed
You could also build a serviceable Linux box on a 4MB 486, if you aren't all hung up on useless crap like graphics.
If you're really interested in a challenge, you could try making a functional DOS-based PC out of your guy. It'd be a lot of work, but all the programs folks expect a computer to have are out there, including web browsers (arachne) and email software (pegasus mail).
Tea
Storage? I am Storage!
Hi Stephen. There are several points to make.
a: As you say, there ain't much get up and go in a 486-33. But this doesn't make it unimportant to tune it for best performance - quite the opposite. It is much more important to get every last drop of performance out of it than it is, say, to tune up Tannin's Athlon 1900. Hell - given the workload it has, that thing has so much power already that it's not worth bothering even to tinker with the BIOS settings.
b: Your question is sort of backwards. You don't get performance by running programs. You get it by not running programs. Simplicity is the key. The leaner and meaner you can make your software setup, the better it will go. Think of it this way: that 486 is your engine, it gives you a certain number of horsepower, and there ain't nuffin you can do to increase the performance of a 486-33. But what you can do is not reduce your performance - you've only got 33 horsepower, so you want to spend a bit of time unbolting every pound of surplus metal you can find. Thow away the fenders, if you don't carry passengers, throw out all the seats bar one, that sort of thing. The less weight it has to push around the better.(What OS are you using?)
c: It just happens that it's really, really easy to upgrade a 486-33. Even Tannin could do it. In 95% of machines, all that you have to do is find yourself a 5 Volt Intel 486DX-66 (or even a DX-100) and plug it in. Don't pay more than US$5, they are worth nothing at all these days.Plug in: no wires, no jumper settings, no voltage adjustments, no BIOS changes, no nuffin. Plug in and you have twice the power.
d: Err .... There izn't any "d".
a: As you say, there ain't much get up and go in a 486-33. But this doesn't make it unimportant to tune it for best performance - quite the opposite. It is much more important to get every last drop of performance out of it than it is, say, to tune up Tannin's Athlon 1900. Hell - given the workload it has, that thing has so much power already that it's not worth bothering even to tinker with the BIOS settings.
b: Your question is sort of backwards. You don't get performance by running programs. You get it by not running programs. Simplicity is the key. The leaner and meaner you can make your software setup, the better it will go. Think of it this way: that 486 is your engine, it gives you a certain number of horsepower, and there ain't nuffin you can do to increase the performance of a 486-33. But what you can do is not reduce your performance - you've only got 33 horsepower, so you want to spend a bit of time unbolting every pound of surplus metal you can find. Thow away the fenders, if you don't carry passengers, throw out all the seats bar one, that sort of thing. The less weight it has to push around the better.(What OS are you using?)
c: It just happens that it's really, really easy to upgrade a 486-33. Even Tannin could do it. In 95% of machines, all that you have to do is find yourself a 5 Volt Intel 486DX-66 (or even a DX-100) and plug it in. Don't pay more than US$5, they are worth nothing at all these days.Plug in: no wires, no jumper settings, no voltage adjustments, no BIOS changes, no nuffin. Plug in and you have twice the power.
d: Err .... There izn't any "d".
blakerwry
Storage? I am Storage!
I agree with the RAM statement Merc made... more is always better. Infact, I have too many 4MB 72pin sticks, I could send you some for the cost of shipping(make sure you ahve free RAM slots). WinNT 4 and win95 both need atleast 16MB to operate well... win98 needs a math co processor (a 486 DX) to install so your SX won't cut it.
And I also agree with Tannin's statement that it's pretty easy to just "pop" another CPU and more RAM in there... and if you break something you're only out a toy(as opposed to alot of cash)
But I don't agree with the storage limitations... I have a couple 486's (one still runs as a server)... neither have PCI slots, but they both can support drives larger than 2GB... I think 2GB or 8GB is going to be your limit... only 286's and 386's have had under 1gb storage capacities that I've seen. Even if the board doesn't support the full capacity of the hard drive you use, that's OK... it will recognize up to the board's limit and the rest of the drive will just be unused.(a little wastefull, but no harm done)
But, as you have probably noticd, you can't buy anything new under 20GB... and even then, the best deals are around the 60GB capacity. What you might look for is an older hard drive (~2 to 10GB).. maybe at a computer repair shop... friend... ebay... or lastly at a trade show.
Nobody has mentioned video yet... alot of 486's top out at 256 colors... this makes web browsing piddly... I recomend 16bit color or better(this means 1-2MB video RAM).
and on a last note... for DOS and win3.1 there is a program called smartdrive.. (i believe this is built into win9x).. basically this is a caching program that fits into a couple MB of RAM and acts as a Input/output cache for your disk drives.... in desktop use it more than doubles your computer's speed, so it is a good thing to have.
And I also agree with Tannin's statement that it's pretty easy to just "pop" another CPU and more RAM in there... and if you break something you're only out a toy(as opposed to alot of cash)
But I don't agree with the storage limitations... I have a couple 486's (one still runs as a server)... neither have PCI slots, but they both can support drives larger than 2GB... I think 2GB or 8GB is going to be your limit... only 286's and 386's have had under 1gb storage capacities that I've seen. Even if the board doesn't support the full capacity of the hard drive you use, that's OK... it will recognize up to the board's limit and the rest of the drive will just be unused.(a little wastefull, but no harm done)
But, as you have probably noticd, you can't buy anything new under 20GB... and even then, the best deals are around the 60GB capacity. What you might look for is an older hard drive (~2 to 10GB).. maybe at a computer repair shop... friend... ebay... or lastly at a trade show.
Nobody has mentioned video yet... alot of 486's top out at 256 colors... this makes web browsing piddly... I recomend 16bit color or better(this means 1-2MB video RAM).
and on a last note... for DOS and win3.1 there is a program called smartdrive.. (i believe this is built into win9x).. basically this is a caching program that fits into a couple MB of RAM and acts as a Input/output cache for your disk drives.... in desktop use it more than doubles your computer's speed, so it is a good thing to have.
I've come across Pentium mobos that wouldn't take more than 500 megs. I would just save $50 and buy some sort of Pentium system like a 200MMX or similar - at least those are useable for Internet browsing etc whereas the 486 is rather limited.
jtr1962
Storage? I am Storage!
You might also try to find one of those Evergreen 486 upgrades on EBay that turn a 486 into the equivalent of a Pentium 75, or perhaps even look for a Pentium or Pentium MMX motherboard+processor instead. Many of these come in the AT form factor, and you can usually get them fairly cheap(<$20). Some even come with RAM, but if not I'm sure many members here have 72-pin RAM that is just sitting in drawers, or you can buy it fairly cheaply at some places online. One place(I think its Memory Liquidators but I'm not sure) always has 32 MB 72-pin RAM for under $10/stick. Even counting odd bits here and there, you should be able to build a halfway decent machine for under $100.
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
Tannin, of course, forgets the nasty little detail. If you're thinking about upgrading the CPU on a 486, understand that a lot of manufactuerers chose to solder the damn things to the motherboard, instead of providing a ZIF socket. That happened less often with the 486SX (where the "math coprocessor" upgrade was really a full-fledged 486), but it did happen quite a lot, especially when the machine had a name brand label on it.
I dug around a bit and found an AMD K5-133, which IIRC is some kind of 486-on-steroids. Sadly, I don't have a motherboard or anything else for it (in fact, since I never bought a K5 and don't recall working on any, I'm not sure where I got it).
I dug around a bit and found an AMD K5-133, which IIRC is some kind of 486-on-steroids. Sadly, I don't have a motherboard or anything else for it (in fact, since I never bought a K5 and don't recall working on any, I'm not sure where I got it).
Tea
Storage? I am Storage!
Only about .... oh ... 20% of them, I guess. Most 486s have a socket and can be chip upgraded. And if it's got a brand name on it, it's not a computer anyway, it'z juzt a vomit box.
You are thinking of the AMD 5x86, Mercutio. The K5 was AMD's Pentium Classic and 6x86 Classic competitor. You can refresh your memory at http://www.redhill.net.au/c-4.html
You are thinking of the AMD 5x86, Mercutio. The K5 was AMD's Pentium Classic and 6x86 Classic competitor. You can refresh your memory at http://www.redhill.net.au/c-4.html
Cliptin
Wannabe Storage Freak
Tea said:
I ran one of those in my socket 5 computer for a couple years or so. In fact, I skipped for this right ove the pentiums to the PII. It worked fine in Win95 and it's powering my firewall right now.
Tea
Storage? I am Storage!
Funny it should come up in conversation just now. I had several of the 166MHz ones in our office machines for quite a while, but I hadn't seen one for yonks. Then, just this week, one came in to be upgraded.
Cliptin
Wannabe Storage Freak
Cliptin said:
Er. It took me a couple readings to figure out what I intended to say.
"It fact, I skipped from this right over the pentiums to the PII."
That's better.