Can I upgrade my old Compaq Deskpro?

I own a old compaq deskpro and I am wanting to upgrade it to its maximum. I have a 166 megahertz Intel Pentium w/MMX processor and a 2 gig hard drive. My question is what is the maximum speed processor I can go up to and can I install a standard hard drive or has compaq got there own size hard drive. Many Thanks Lee

This question was answered on December 11, 2002. Much of the information contained herein may have changed since posting.

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I really doubt you can do much in the processor department Every PC I have ever bought has had a processor installed which was already at, or close to the top of the range the motherboard could handle.

For manufacturers, the object of the game is to sell the most possible machine for the least possible money Therefore, it's not worthwhile installing a really hot motherboard with a hobbled processor Better to sell a motherboard which is already maxed-out, performance-wise, because great motherboards sell at a premium.

My guess is, you might be able to get away with a 200MHz processor, but you'll never see the differnce, performance-wise.

In the hard drive department, you can probably upgrade, but will need to run something like Western Digital's EZDrive software for your machine to see larger than a 2 gig partition (assuming it's compatable).

Memory-wise, you might also be able to upgrade, but be very careful specifying memory for that machine, especially the voltage rating.

Generally, Compaq PC's are so proprietary, it is not a good idea to upgrade them at all, unless you come across some used parts somewhere and would like to experiment around.

I hate to break this to you, but I bought a used PC very similar to yours recently I needed the processor to troubleshoot another machine, and thought I might get some other usable parts out of the deal After finding out what I found out about the rest of the machine, I wound up discarding it Even the floppy drive was proprietary! A friend of mine, already owning a similar PC, couldn't get any use out of it, either.

But I got my processor, alright

Total Cost on E-bay: 25 dollars

The Wisdom of Experience: Priceless

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Posted by Robert of Mesa Community College on December 11, 2002

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