[plug] need to upgrade? -was Re: [plug] kmail and the gigasecond bug

[Bret Busby]

On Sat, 08 Sep 2001, Steve Vertigan wrote:
> Bret Busby wrote:
> 
> > As I have said, already, I use a
> > Curix 6x86 CPU based system, with 64MB of RAM. On that, I can run Star Office
> > 5.2, several Netscape (4.61) browser windows, some kfm browser windows, kmail,
> > and, all of this on top of X-Windows, satisfactorily. If I have to upgrade to
> > one of these new-fangled, multi-CD versions of Linux, then, the hardware
> > upgrades required, would mean that I might as well spend the thousands of
> > dollars, and, buy a new computer, which makes upgrades too expensive.
> 
> I'm running Mandrake 7.2 quite happily on a P200 with 96 MB ram.  Before
> that I was running it useably (though not quite as happily) on 32 MB ram
> so I don't see why a later version of Redhat should cause you problems. 
> Just because a distro bundles more than one CD worth of packages doesn't
> mean you have to install them all and the kernel can be customised to
> size with a recompile.
> 
> Regards,
> Steve
> -- 

This Cyrix 6x86 is reated as being equivalent to about a pentium 75/90. It is a
fair bit less than a P200. To upgrade the RAM is relatively expensive - EDO
RAM, if it can be obtained, and, need pairs of chips, from memory (no pun
intended). Also, from memory, this CPU is supposed to use the 486 instruction
set.

We also have RH 6.2 installed on a 486 with 16MB RAM; one of the nodes of our
LAN. we use two Cyrix 6x86's in our LAN. Does RH 7.x run on a 486? Does it run,
with X-Windows, in 16MB RAM? Would your Mandrake 7.2 run on a 486 with 16MB
RAM? Is Mandrake 7.2 any more recent than RH6.2?

Bret Busby
..........