Stan Sieler <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>Jeff asks:
>> My Vectra 486 -20 has an Intel 486SX-20 chip.
>>
>> Is it possible to replace this chip with a faster Intel chip without making
>> any other changes, except software?
>>
>> If so, what speed is available, and what is the Intel part & hp part
>> numbers, and approx. price?
>>
>> Any idea on where to get the part in the San Jose CA area?
<snip>..........
>I used one to replace a 486SX/25 successfully, although it didn't
>have a great impact.
>
>More than a CPU replacement, however, I'd encourage your father
>to look at replacing the entire box ... for 400 to 600 you can get
>a fairly powerful Pentium system (cpu, mem, disk, video card, etc)
>without a monitor ... and probably have much better performance
>and satisfaction!

The other possibility is to replace the motherboard and the CPU (I do this
all the time).  You can probably get a Pentium and motherboard for under
$200.  I suggest going to Art Multimedia in Milpitas.  I've bought from
them before and they don't give you the same hassle that Fry's does if it
doesn't work.  However, you will finish up with 3 or 4 PCI slots and  3 or
4  ISA slots, so you may find yourself having to buy a new PCI video board
as well (although these days the serial/parallel ports and the IDE
controller are on the motherboard, so you save one or two slots).  You may
also need new memory, so  Stan's suggestion of a new machine starts to
sound pretty good, especially if you want to upgrade to Windows95 and a
bigger disk, etc., etc.!  Art Multimedia is the place for that too - they
advertise in MicroTimes.

John D. Alleyn-Day
Alleyn-Day International
408-286-6421   408-286-6474 (Fax)
[log in to unmask]       http://www.Alleyn-Day.com
"The man that never made a mistake never made anything"