Slightly OT: Memory Requirement for Broadband

Hi,

I am about to put a PC together from bits and pieces I've got lying about,
it will have a P4 2.4GHz motherboard with 7200 rpm disks, the most amount of
memory I have got is 250Mb, will this be enough? If not how much do I need
to buy to get the best possible speed?

My broadband connection is 8Mb, although because of the distance from the
exchange I get about 7Mb on a good day.

Thanks

Graham Naylor

"Graham Naylor" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> Hi,
>
> I am about to put a PC together from bits and pieces I've got lying about,
> it will have a P4 2.4GHz motherboard with 7200 rpm disks, the most amount
> of memory I have got is 250Mb, will this be enough? If not how much do I
> need to buy to get the best possible speed?
>
> My broadband connection is 8Mb, although because of the distance from the
> exchange I get about 7Mb on a good day.

Your memory requirement will be dictated by the operating system and will
have very little to do with the available broadband speed.

The components you have will probably run Windows 2000 reasonably well.. I
would doubt the benefit of running anything earlier. I'm sure it would also
run Linux.

There's no point in running XP or Vista unless you have lots more RAM (at
least 512MB for XP, probably 2GB for Vista). Ordinarily you would have to
buy a copy of XP or Vista, and authenticate it once installed, so even more
justification for using Windows 2000 or Linux.

Then there is the choice of browser. IE may be necessary for some websites,
but other browsers such as Firefox or Opera may well perform much better.

--
Graham J

Thanks, I was thinking of putting XP on it to keep it in step with the other
PCs that will be on the same network, so it looks like I will have to throw
the moths out of my wallet and buy another 250Mb.

Graham


"Graham J" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:4872866b$0$2920$(E-Mail Removed)...
>
> "Graham Naylor" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>> Hi,
>>
>> I am about to put a PC together from bits and pieces I've got lying
>> about, it will have a P4 2.4GHz motherboard with 7200 rpm disks, the most
>> amount of memory I have got is 250Mb, will this be enough? If not how
>> much do I need to buy to get the best possible speed?
>>
>> My broadband connection is 8Mb, although because of the distance from the
>> exchange I get about 7Mb on a good day.
>
> Your memory requirement will be dictated by the operating system and will
> have very little to do with the available broadband speed.
>
> The components you have will probably run Windows 2000 reasonably well..
> I would doubt the benefit of running anything earlier. I'm sure it would
> also run Linux.
>
> There's no point in running XP or Vista unless you have lots more RAM (at
> least 512MB for XP, probably 2GB for Vista). Ordinarily you would have to
> buy a copy of XP or Vista, and authenticate it once installed, so even
> more justification for using Windows 2000 or Linux.
>
> Then there is the choice of browser. IE may be necessary for some
> websites, but other browsers such as Firefox or Opera may well perform
> much better.
>
> --
> Graham J
>
>
>
>

Graham Naylor wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I am about to put a PC together from bits and pieces I've got lying
> about, it will have a P4 2.4GHz motherboard with 7200 rpm disks, the
> most amount of memory I have got is 250Mb, will this be enough? If not
> how much do I need to buy to get the best possible speed?

My missus has a laptop which has 256MB and a 2.4Ghz processor. Works for
her, web, mail, writing docs, a bit of light DTP etc.

For about 12 months I ran a linux mail, web and fileserver on a Pentium
Pro 200 [yes, 200Mhz... not 2000...] with 192MB memory and a 20GB HDD.
Worked fine for me - a bit slow if you sent a big mail mind you.

It depends tho what you plan to do with it. If you plan to play online
other 3d graphics intensive games.... whahahaha!!

Graham J wrote:
> >
> There's no point in running XP or Vista unless you have lots more RAM (at
> least 512MB for XP, probably 2GB for Vista).

XP Home and Pro both work ok in 256MB. I agree 512 is better.
Linux will require 128MB, better 256MB, unless you go for a pocket
version but they're not for normal home use.
Vista is simply a waste of money IMHO.

(waits for flames)

Mark McIntyre wrote:
> For about 12 months I ran a linux mail, web and fileserver on a Pentium
> Pro 200 [yes, 200Mhz... not 2000...] with 192MB memory and a 20GB HDD.
> Worked fine for me - a bit slow if you sent a big mail mind you.

When I were a lad, t' big mainframe (VAXA) had 6 MB RAM. t' smaller
mainframe (VAXB) had 4 MB.

When I were a bigger lad and PCs had arrived, t' desktops were 386's and
t' server in t' corner were 486.

Do I come here often?

Owain

"Graham Naylor" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> Thanks, I was thinking of putting XP on it to keep it in step with the
other
> PCs that will be on the same network, so it looks like I will have to
throw
> the moths out of my wallet and buy another 250Mb.

You might as well just buy a single 1GB stick and be done with! It will
make the system run at its best with XP and give you a bit of RAM in hand.
A 1GB stick is around 25 quid these days......

> Vista is simply a waste of money IMHO.
> (waits for flames)

Flames ? for stating the truth ?

/me tosses kindling and can of petrol onto the bonfire

On Mon, 7 Jul 2008 22:30:54 UTC, Owain <(E-Mail Removed)>
wrote:

> Mark McIntyre wrote:
> > For about 12 months I ran a linux mail, web and fileserver on a Pentium
> > Pro 200 [yes, 200Mhz... not 2000...] with 192MB memory and a 20GB HDD.
> > Worked fine for me - a bit slow if you sent a big mail mind you.
>
> When I were a lad, t' big mainframe (VAXA) had 6 MB RAM. t' smaller
> mainframe (VAXB) had 4 MB.

Old one, obviously!

The VAX in the corner here has 32MB...

--
Bob Eager
Use the BIG mirror service in the UK:
http://www.mirrorservice.org

> The VAX in the corner here has 32MB...

vacuum cleaners have come a long way ;-)