Where to get old parts?

[Booky]

Anyone know where I could get some old parts. I am in the process of finding out what this onld thing really is and once I get the MB identified I am going to see what I can upgrade it too. I think I would want maybe a pentium 200 or so if it can handle that. This pc is just for my parents to get online and to do word doc's. Nothing real fast needed. If I cant upgrade it, what form is the desktop case's? It is like a old 486 or something, its not a tower it sits flat on the desk. I never really played with these old things so it is kinda a learning experiment. I know if all else fails I can get a cheap duron system or celeron. But this is way too fun. Please any suggestions on what to look for to identify some of this stuff, and possible places to get older parts.

Someday I will stop asking all the questions!

 

[Crashman]

http://sysopt.earthweb.com/mboard.html
Several ways to identify the motherboard on that website and web addresses for the manufacturer. If it's a 486 board, the best performing processor you can use is the Pentium Overdrive from Intel, hard to find, but I have one here.

Suicide is painless...........

 

[Booky]

Do you think it would be better to just buy a new board? I mean I dont even know what kind of board to look at for those kind of cases. Do the take ATK or what? I am sure if I new what board to get I could probable get a celeron or duron and mobo for real cheap.

Someday I will stop asking all the questions!

 

[Crashman]

It depends on what it is. If it is a 486, sure, go for the new motherboard, or just buy them a used system. For general adult uses (web browsing, word processing, running a scanner), I recomend a Pentium 166 with 24MB RAM a 56k Lucent 1646T00 chip modem (the cheapest modems that work on a machine that slow), and a 1GB hard drive. My customers are happy with them. If they plan to do more, they may need more, but most older people don't do more than that.

Suicide is painless...........

 

[Unolocogringo]

you most likely have the NLX form factor board, if you need a new motherboard Asus makes a board of this type.also a place for cheap older parts is Ebay.com .this is an auction site so use a little caution about who you buy from and it can be a good deal

 

[dhlucke]

First of all, what kind of budget are you working with? Sure a really old computer will work, but don't you think they will maybe want to download music or watch a movie trailer or do anything besides look at html 1.0 pages and word docs?

Those old computers are great for basic typing, but they have so many limitations when it comes to the net. Any audio and video on those machines will not work. Before you invest money to fix a 486, make sure you find out exactly what your parents are expecting. An old computer will not be able to even run a Flash site without the animations going so slow that you'll pull your hair out.

It doesn't get much better until you're around a pentium 166 or higher. I'd spend the 85 bucks on an integrated board, 45 on a decent duron, a cheap $40 microatx case, and the 30 on generic PC133 128 MB if you can budget for that. Get a cheap harddrive. You might have one sitting around, or a friend might.

The only reason I suggest this is because I just built my mom a computer and although I really didn't think she'd use it, she really does. You know your parents best though. Find out what they expect. And then decide on what they'll expect in a few months when people start sending them web addresses to look at. Or they see really cool sites on the news, etc...

"I think I brained my damage"

 

[Booky]

Thx for the help everyone. I think I may just build a whole new, low cost system. I figured out that I will need a new HD and MB and memory so I mise well just go the whole nine yards and build a duron system. THX again.

Someday I will stop asking all the questions!