Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (
More info?)
Benchmark against Ebay & choose carefully:
o Do a google search for any compatibility issues
o For example, if you need USB what level (if any) is supported etc
Despite what many think, a P4-Celeron will run most office apps fine.
Economics wise, one chip is often overlooked:
o Skt-370 - P3-Celeron Tualatin - 1.1Ghz & 1.2Ghz
o The P3 architecture is efficient re clockspeed & the pipeline is short
o So the 256KB cache on that chip & the clockspeed goes a long way
Unfortunately PC133 memory is a bit steep compared to modern DDR.
However the PSU demands are small, onboard graphics is common & ok.
For a home server or general office it will be fine - and one reason why
Microsoft couldn't drop Windows98 support since so much of the
planet is quite happy using it - on P2 & P3 systems very probably.
One reason why P3 (not Celeron) CPUs still hold their value well, with
the P3-1.4Ghz being somewhat overpriced - Tualatin 1.2Ghz are v.cheap.
So you need not go as far back as P1 or P2 systems, careful self-build.
--
Dorothy Bradbury