Feeler: HP Compaq Presario desktop (SR1930Z)

[ajkula66]

Well, my in-laws have just upgraded their computer system, and I was asked to check whether the old one can be sold or just simply donated/recycled and forgotten about altogether...I'm not a desktop guy - never was - but this is what I know about the system...

Compaq Presario SR1930Z

AMD Athlon 64 3500+ CPU @ 2.2 Ghz

512MB RAM

160GB/7200rpm SATA HDD (fresh install from recovery disks)

Nvidia GeForce 6150LE

XP Media center with COA and recovery disks.

Original owners, all the paperwork, yada-yada-yada...



Opinions are invited, and welcomed, as are inquiries...

More details can be obtained if anyone is seriously interested.

PM or email me directly to tataslonATaol.com

[Atreides]

Could probably get $50 for it, I'd recommend ebay.

[automobus]

Pricing on eBay is funny. Sold as a good working mainboard, CPU, GPU combo, it might get as much as the computer all together. That is because there are so many sellers with truckfulls of HPs and Dells from businesses that have moved on. A whole computer will cost much more to ship than just its internals. But sale price, excluding shipping, turns out to be very close.

True, most people buy a whole new system every few years. But desktops, thanks to the ubiquitous ATX standard, are so easy to customize or upgrade. So there is a group of people who, or maybe a group of frugal users who ask their friends, to upgrade the computer. Think of how many millions of Pentium 4 systems exist, with AGP slots. The CPU is still "good enough" for almost anything these days, but they almost always have Intel "Extreme" Graphics, which is pretty poor. A good video card would help out a lot, but a PCIe GPU that costs $10 would cost at least twice as much in AGP form. I blame needless Web scripting and Adobe Flash for making old computers feel so slow. I believe the main bottleneck on all those Pentium 4 systems is graphics.

If I were you, I would try to find a local buyer. I do not like to ship a desktop computer. If nobody local wants it, then I would sell the internals together. Put all screws in a zipper bag or envelope. Include the OS CD and the COA sticker from the case. Include board with memory and CPU installed, HDD, video card, and cables. I would offer the power supply and optical drive for an additional cost, but not included by default. I promise you that there are people looking for such kits.

[virge]

What's the approximate weight of this thing (for shipping purposes)?

I'm not positive, but the integrated GeForce should be able to handle 1080p video. I just don't know what the "LE" means. Also, there's a good chance the CPU can be upgraded to an X2. This could be a nice start to an HTPC.

[craigmontHunter]

automobus - I feel the same way, I just acquired my grandfather's old desktop. Dimension 4500, p4 2.26ghz, it runs everything fine once I upgraded the videocard to a ~30$ used agp nivida - it will run fsx on medium settings, with some bumped up (for those who don't know, that is a feat). The biggest issue is the web scripting and flash - they clog one cpu core, so on a dual core system, there is not an issue. single core, the issue is self-evident. They should make a standards commitee for well written web sites (forum.thinkpads.com for example - no problems, even with a p3 500), to encourage better coding practices (would save battery life too)

[ajkula66]

My (limited and possibly incorrect) understanding is that this thing will take a X2 CPU, as well as a PCI-e card...

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/docu ... ct=3184119

No clue on weight, can find out if one is really interested, but at this point it's headed to Goodwill or similar center...

[amujee]

I'd pay $50 for it, unfortunately, I'm not local.

[MnR]

Hi,

You know that would make a good server for you or someone if you up the memory and put a second hard drive in it. That would be good for you also. You could store all of the different restore disks for the different laptops that you get and work on.

You would have no need to use CDs to load operating systems or software. I do that with my desktop You already have it to do with, But that would be up to you. It does save a lot of mess in the work and computer room.



MnR

[ajkula66]

MnR wrote:

That would be good for you

If the machine were coming from a different source, I'd agree with you a 1000%...however...

I already got what I wanted from that house and that's the mother of my three children. No interest in anything else... ...if you get my drift...

[Harryc]

You would have no need to use CDs to load operating systems or software.

This is an idea I never thought of. I certainly have many recovery discs around here. How would one load discs stored on a server onto a Thinkpad with a blank hard drive?

[automobus]

PXE, network boot from disc images. I looked into it several times, but it always looked like too much work for me. But if I ran some support company, or if I worked in I.T., it would be a routine procedure.

[RealBlackStuff]

In that context, could you not also put those CDs on a large (=>16GB) USB stick?
But then, how do you get the .ISO to behave like a CD without manual interference (mounting them etc.)?