Upgading pentium 3

[liningerj]

i have an old dell optiplex with a with a pentium 3 and would like to upgrade what can i upgrade to?

 

[mfarrukh]

You have three options depending on your budget

Core i3
Core i5
Core i7

 

[djcoolmasterx]

You have three options depending on your budget

Core i3
Core i5
Core i7

I think you are forgetting about AMD.

 

[outlw6669]

What is your budget and what do you use it for?

Also, take a quick read through This Sticky.
Posting back in the recommend format would be helpful.

 

[enzo matrix]

The pentium 3 is old. None were released past socket 478. All suggestions thus far would require an entirely new computer. However, upgrading with the current computer would not be cost effective in the least.

So I would recommend what everyone else seems to be assuming that you are doing and ask about building a new computer instead.

 

[enzo matrix]

I think you are forgetting about AMD.

I think you are forgetting about VIA (sorry, I couldn't help myself)

 

[LePhuronn]

You can't upgrade it. New computer time.

 

[ohmbuoy]

Donate it or use it for a print server or even a gateway with bsd or somesuch. Upgrading a p3 is like restoring an antique: expensive and really only for "old times sake"!

 

[daship]

Time for a new PC.

 

[liningerj]

see here you all think legacy's can't be upgraded and i think lets try it i have over a dozen legacy's in my house i wouldn't trade for any thing new. see i had a new pc and it crashed every other day my legacy's run like a dream

 

[liningerj]

thanks anyway

 

[SV_Bubbles]

thanks anyway

^fisher

 

[MU_Engineer]

see here you all think legacy's can't be upgraded and i think lets try it i have over a dozen legacy's in my house i wouldn't trade for any thing new. see i had a new pc and it crashed every other day my legacy's run like a dream

You can generally upgrade legacy equipment like Pentium IIIs. What people here are trying to say is that you will get a whole lot more performance for the same money if you got new parts as you would in trying to upgrade legacy parts. Most application crashing is due to software issues, not hardware issues. I am betting that your older computers are probably running a considerably different set of software than your new one and that is probably to blame.

If you still want to upgrade your Pentium III Dell, we'd need to know the model of the computer and what hardware it currently has in it to see if it can be upgraded. I'd probably post the specs of the other legacy computers that you have in case we find that some of that hardware is more amenable to upgrades than your Dell.

 

[enzo matrix]

The pentium III has models for slot 1 and socket 370, as well as mobile socket.

If you are using socket 370, the best you can upgrade to would be a pentium III 1.4GHz

However without your model number we don't know which socket you have or if the PIII 1.4GHz is on Dell's support list.

I would generally advise keeping old computers "as is" though because the performance gain/price (unless you find the part for free or for a low price from someone selling a used computer), is not worth it- assuming you are even able to find one.