Can my P3 system handle XP?

[AK]

One of my computers is a Dell P3, running WinME as an upgrade to Win 98
(often wish I had never done that!). I'm tired of the frequent crashes
etc., and am considering installing a new 40 or 80 GB disk drive and Win XP
(the system originally came with an 8 GB drive which only has 1 GB free (I
use a second drive for most programs). I would rather start with a clean XP
install rather than upgrade from WinME and carry all the problems that may
have accumulated over the last 5 - 6 years with me. I use this for fairly
mundane tasks like word processing, Internet browsing, e-mail etc. - no
fancy gaming or corporate apps.

Given the prices of the disk and XP, this looks like it will run me about
$250, vs., say $500 for the lowest price Dell system (as an example).
Obviously, I'll need to back up my data and reinstall my apps. My computers
are networked at 100 Mbs, so no big problem with backups. But, like many
(all?) Dell systems, this has a Dell specific Nvideo video card, sound
card/system etc. Microsoft's utility for checking compatibility is not very
encouraging,
but seems to indicates that new drivers may be available for XP.

Assuming it XP can handle the hardware, does anyone have an
opinion as to whether a P3 has enough power to run XP well, or should I buy
a new system? (Also may save the time and heartache of trying to get XP
installed and running even if the compatibility test is positive)

 

[Voice of the Mysterons]

[snip]

Assuming it XP can handle the hardware, does anyone have an
opinion as to whether a P3 has enough power to run XP well, or should I buy
a new system? (Also may save the time and heartache of trying to get XP
installed and running even if the compatibility test is positive)

Dude, I run XP Pro on an old PII Tecra 8000 - works fairly well. A bit slow
for some tasks, but internet use, word processing, etc. are just fine. The
XP Install did a pretty good job with some drivers, though I had to find
some Tecra-specific ones for a few things like power management.

PIII should be fine.

HTH

 

[Plato]

One of my computers is a Dell P3, running WinME as an upgrade to Win 98

Since the Dell came with win98 it's prolly a PIII 400 or so. See if the
board supports the proper amount of ram you really need for XP. It may
not. And, since it came with just an 8 gig you are surely limited to a
30 gig HDD, if that. Dells are not to swift on bios upgrades for larger
hard disks on many models.

Being that, I'd surely go for a new system for XP rather than fart
around with what you have for XP.

 

[CZ]

I have XP pro running on one computer that is a first generation AMD K5
pr166 and 64 megs of RAM. It isn't fast but it does run and is fine for
the internet. (just to give you some idea of how low you can really go
with hardware requirements if you really want to install on a old computer.)

R:

We are in the same boat.

My main test 'puter has a P200MMX with 256MB RAM.
It is excellent for the Internet and Word 2000 and testing for the
following:
XP Home, XP Pro, Win2k3 server as a DC, and soon SBS2003

I smile every time I hear a Mac advocate try to tell me I need an Intel
Itantic to run the latest MS op sys.
Of course, I do find it necessary to remind him/her that none of my Macs
will even load OS X.
I love it when a Mac advocate wants to discuss TCO.

 

[Alex Nichol]

Assuming it XP can handle the hardware, does anyone have an
opinion as to whether a P3 has enough power to run XP well, or should Ibuy
a new system? (Also may save the time and heartache of trying to get XP
installed and running even if the compatibility test is positive)

A P3 can be fine - I ran XP on a P3 450MHz during the betas, and though
I would prefer a rather faster version that was enough. What may matter
more is RAM - you need to get up to 256 MB and ensure it is properly
matched.

You only need get an Upgrade version of XP, even if you want a clean
install; and probably a Home edition will be enough if your networking
worked in 98/ME, so it is at the $100 level rather than $250

 

[purplehaz]

Yes it should work ok on a p3 with 512mb.

Sorry - should have specified - its a P3-500Mhz. I have 512MB RAM. My main
problem is that my primary disk is so small. Sounds like it'll do the job
for me, though.


free