Is my case ATX-windows 98, AMD K-6? How do i know?

wesa · 08-14-2004, 11:34 PM

I have a compaq presario. It's windows 98 with an AMD K-6 3D processor. I have taken the case apart, but i can't find any kind of form factor such as AT or ATX. Where can i find this on the case?

If I can find out if it is ATX, then I'd rather just upgrade it instead of buying a new computer.

**Praetor** · 08-15-2004, 04:27 AM

It's ATX as are 90% of computers you'll find.

wesa · 08-16-2004, 12:12 AM

Sweet! So i can just upgrade it?

**Praetor** · 08-16-2004, 08:07 AM

Yeah you should be good to go

Joefox · 08-16-2004, 08:11 AM

Let me try to clear a few things up: As the mod said a lot of motherboards are ATX form cases.

With that said, having an ATX form case does not enable you to upgrade things in your PC.

What you really want to know is what your motherboard can handle. How many slots of ram does it have, what type of RAM can it take, how fast is the ram that it can take, what kind of processors does it accept, does it have an AGP slot, is it 2x 4x or 8x? Many questions you have to answer in order to know about upgrading.

I will say however that it is easier than you'd expect with a little research you can upgrade your PC.

On the other hand, upgrading is not always the best solution. To explain, sometimes you will get more than you bargained for. A long time ago I had a compaq presario. I wanted to upgrade my Video Card, and I found out I had no AGP slot on my motherboard. What I did next was discover that they made PCI video cards for motherboards with no AGP slot like mine. However, it was not a good buy because the pipeline of a PCI slot as opposed to an AGP slot was huge. I ended up spending just as much money for an AGP card, and I got about 1/10th the quality and performance as I would have if I bought an AGP card (if my motherboard would have actually had it). And then even after that I found out I could not support the video card without upgrading the shoddy power supply that compaq provided in their presario. I think it was 65 watts (very sad) and I had to buy a new one of those too.

So, it depends what you want to upgrade and even then you may be better off buying a new pc (I would suggest going with something that you custom build: if you don't know about the different parts it's always good to do a little research and learn), or your BEST bet, is buying the parts and making your own. I would have no problem walking you through how to build one. They are quite simple: like a big lego set for adults.

At any rate, hope this explained something.

**Praetor** · 08-16-2004, 08:37 AM

Quote:

With that said, having an ATX form case does not enable you to upgrade things in your PC.

What you really want to know is what your motherboard can handle. How many slots of ram does it have, what type of RAM can it take, how fast is the ram that it can take, what kind of processors does it accept, does it have an AGP slot, is it 2x 4x or 8x? Many questions you have to answer in order to know about upgrading.

What I meant was that if you've got an ATX case, odds are you have a somewhat recent system meaning you can upgrade it (actually by the word 'upgrade' itself, you can upgrade anything really). If you've got an ATX case this simply means you've got an ATX mobo (well it doesnt but for damn near everyone with an ATX case, it does) and if you're running an ATX mobo, you've got a somewhat recent system which you can take in somewhere and it can be upgraded. Even if not, you can still 'upgrade' and use the same case.

Quote:

What I did next was discover that they made PCI video cards for motherboards with no AGP slot like mine. However, it was not a good buy because the pipeline of a PCI slot as opposed to an AGP slot was huge. I ended up spending just as much money for an AGP card, and I got about 1/10th the quality and performance as I would have if I bought an AGP card (if my motherboard would have actually had it).

I think finally someone mentions something i've believed in a long time!

PCI is a far super bus compared to AGP .... of course nowadays there are very limited cases where that's true (but still!

) Of course back in the day, comparing the 266Mhz core to a 66Mhz AGP was no contest and the direct memory access didnt make much of a difference (since the memory was slow anyways)

Joefox · 08-16-2004, 08:39 AM

Praetor, as I have said to few before you, you are the man

**Praetor** · 08-16-2004, 08:40 AM

LOL thx... but ya i suppose i was a tad ambiguous with my initial response heehee

08-14-2004, 11:34 PM	#1 (permalink)
wesa New Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 19	Is my case ATX-windows 98, AMD K-6? How do i know? I have a compaq presario. It's windows 98 with an AMD K-6 3D processor. I have taken the case apart, but i can't find any kind of form factor such as AT or ATX. Where can i find this on the case? If I can find out if it is ATX, then I'd rather just upgrade it instead of buying a new computer.

08-15-2004, 04:27 AM	#2 (permalink)
Praetor Administrator Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Canada Age: 25 Posts: 19,954	It's ATX as are 90% of computers you'll find. __________________ ASUS P5K Premium WiFi-AP, Q6600@3.7 / ASUS P5ND, E6400@3.8 4GB OCz Platinum XTC 8500 / 4GB CorsairXMS2 6400 5x500GB Seagate 7200.10 / 2x500 Seagate 7200.10 OCz 8800GTX 768MB @ 630/800 / 2x Galaxy 8800GT SLI

08-16-2004, 08:07 AM	#4 (permalink)
Praetor Administrator Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Canada Age: 25 Posts: 19,954	Yeah you should be good to go __________________ ASUS P5K Premium WiFi-AP, Q6600@3.7 / ASUS P5ND, E6400@3.8 4GB OCz Platinum XTC 8500 / 4GB CorsairXMS2 6400 5x500GB Seagate 7200.10 / 2x500 Seagate 7200.10 OCz 8800GTX 768MB @ 630/800 / 2x Galaxy 8800GT SLI

08-16-2004, 08:40 AM	#8 (permalink)
Praetor Administrator Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Canada Age: 25 Posts: 19,954	LOL thx... but ya i suppose i was a tad ambiguous with my initial response heehee __________________ ASUS P5K Premium WiFi-AP, Q6600@3.7 / ASUS P5ND, E6400@3.8 4GB OCz Platinum XTC 8500 / 4GB CorsairXMS2 6400 5x500GB Seagate 7200.10 / 2x500 Seagate 7200.10 OCz 8800GTX 768MB @ 630/800 / 2x Galaxy 8800GT SLI

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08-16-2004, 12:12 AM	#3 (permalink)
wesa New Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 19	Sweet! So i can just upgrade it?

08-16-2004, 08:11 AM	#5 (permalink)
Joefox Bronze Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Miami, Florida Age: 23 Posts: 62	Let me try to clear a few things up: As the mod said a lot of motherboards are ATX form cases. With that said, having an ATX form case does not enable you to upgrade things in your PC. What you really want to know is what your motherboard can handle. How many slots of ram does it have, what type of RAM can it take, how fast is the ram that it can take, what kind of processors does it accept, does it have an AGP slot, is it 2x 4x or 8x? Many questions you have to answer in order to know about upgrading. I will say however that it is easier than you'd expect with a little research you can upgrade your PC. On the other hand, upgrading is not always the best solution. To explain, sometimes you will get more than you bargained for. A long time ago I had a compaq presario. I wanted to upgrade my Video Card, and I found out I had no AGP slot on my motherboard. What I did next was discover that they made PCI video cards for motherboards with no AGP slot like mine. However, it was not a good buy because the pipeline of a PCI slot as opposed to an AGP slot was huge. I ended up spending just as much money for an AGP card, and I got about 1/10th the quality and performance as I would have if I bought an AGP card (if my motherboard would have actually had it). And then even after that I found out I could not support the video card without upgrading the shoddy power supply that compaq provided in their presario. I think it was 65 watts (very sad) and I had to buy a new one of those too. So, it depends what you want to upgrade and even then you may be better off buying a new pc (I would suggest going with something that you custom build: if you don't know about the different parts it's always good to do a little research and learn), or your BEST bet, is buying the parts and making your own. I would have no problem walking you through how to build one. They are quite simple: like a big lego set for adults. At any rate, hope this explained something.

08-16-2004, 08:39 AM	#7 (permalink)
Joefox Bronze Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Miami, Florida Age: 23 Posts: 62	Praetor, as I have said to few before you, you are the man