PC Peripherals Planning to convert an antique to a download rig

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The Dark Knight

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I have an antique with me.

Configuration:

PSU - Zebronics 250W

Mobo - BIW2B VER1.1 | Specs here -> http://www.elhvb.com/mobokive/archive/Procomp/manuals/biw2b.pdf

Processor - Pentium II 233MHz | Specs here -> Intel® Pentium® II Processor 233 MHz, 512K Cache, 66 MHz FSBwith SPEC Code(s)

RAM - SDRAM 64 + 32 = 96MB

HDD - 8GB (Yes you read it right.. Its not a pen drive / thumb drive.. Its a hard drive)

LG CD RW 52x 32x 52x

FDD

Endura Cabbie

My queries:

Can it be converted to a download rig?

If so, which OS do you recommend? (last time I started it, I remember installing Win ME on it)

Why did I even think of turning it into a download rig? Because my friend was telling me that he bought a new Buffalo router and it has a processor in it and you can directly hook up your hard drive and download content onto it. So, will I be able to connect a 640GB / 1TB external HDD to it via USB and use it as a download rig?

Another thing, the mobo has an extra vertical processor slot (Processors like these would go in there I guess -> File: Pentium II.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). Can we install two processors and utilize their power in parallel?
 
Yes any rig can be run as a download rig.

If your rig has working USB ports, nothing stopping you from connecting a large external HDD.

Win 2000 or Win XP.

Better USB support + NTFS.

Your motherboard supports either Socket 370 *or* Slot 1 processors. Both cannot be used at the same time.
 
My 2 cents,

This is going to be a power hungry monster. A purpose of a dedicated download rig is typically to save power/offload tasks like file downloading/decompressing/serving files over the home network etc. Unless you don't have a single modern day machine in your house, or the other machines are too taxed to handle any more work I'd recommend spraying the hardware with a nice coat of WD40 followed by liquid wax and send it to a museum.
 
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Sell off this rig and go with ur friends plan...either baffalo or asus router...flash firmware(TomatoUSB for Asus RT-N16 )... hook the external ...viola..
 
Crazy_Eddy said:
Yes any rig can be run as a download rig.

If your rig has working USB ports, nothing stopping you from connecting a large external HDD.

Win 2000 or Win XP.

Better USB support + NTFS.

Your motherboard supports either Socket 370 *or* Slot 1 processors. Both cannot be used at the same time.
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Thank you for your response. A friend of mine was suggesting DSL or Puppy Linux to go with it (What do you say?). Anyways, as you said, Win 2k has better USB support and NTFS for large files. I remember having installed Win 2k on it before Win ME. But, I am looking forward to some flavor of Linux just to experiment with.

Another thing that you can bet on with your eyes closed is that I have a 15" CRT monitor which would break any modern day computer stand with its sheer weight. So, if I covert this to a download rig, how do I check on the status.. without using that monitor. I was thinking in the lines of a cheap 7" LCD monitor as it does not take much space and is light on the pocket too. Another solution would be to connect the same monitor (I am currently using a BenQ G922HDL), keyboard and mouse with a switch to the two rigs (the old one and the relatively new one). What do you suggest in this regard?

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sarang said:
This is going to be a power hungry monster. A purpose of a dedicated download rig is typically to save power/offload tasks like file downloading/decompressing/serving files over the home network etc. Unless you don't have a single modern day machine in your house, or the other machines are too taxed to handle any more work I'd recommend spraying the hardware with a nice coat of WD40 followed by liquid wax and send it to a museum.
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Well my current rig specs here is going to become an HTPC. In a few weeks its replacement will be an i3 / i5 based rig. Now, please correct me if I am wrong. A rig with 250W PSU would consume less power than a 450W rig right? So, what is the harm in converting this to a download rig rather than put it up for display in the museum?

--- Updated Post - Automerged ---
manuvikram007 said:
Sell off this rig and go with ur friends plan...either baffalo or asus router...flash firmware(TomatoUSB for Asus RT-N16 )... hook the external ...viola..
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Your suggestion is perfectly apt however, there is a catch. Well, my friend bought the Buffalo router as he upgraded to a better internet connection (a fiber optic based connection which is definitely faster than my 512 kbps Ethernet based connection. Hence buying the router in this case is justified). I am not planning on upgrading my connection anytime now and given the availability of a spare rig, hence the post. I am sure I will be taking up this approach when I upgrade. Thank you.
 
Throw the antique away. use your HTPC to do the downloads. thats it. Avoid this router funda.

I tried several things. Atom PC, Atom netbook, Dockstar, Router. All are a hassle, just once machine to downloads is no go for me unless it does something else like a 24*7 fileserver or HTPC or something like that.

So HTPC cum download rig + Main PC is a good combo. Not HTPC and Download rig and main PC.

Just my 2 cents.
 
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i use a zotac mag for downloading +htpc

best bang for the buck, runs w/o monitor via logmein on windows 7 for queuing downloads

runs xbmc on pendrive for htpc functions
 
The Dark Knight said:
A friend of mine was suggesting DSL or Puppy Linux to go with it (What do you say?).

Another thing that you can bet on with your eyes closed is that I have a 15" CRT monitor which would break any modern day computer stand with its sheer weight. So, if I covert this to a download rig, how do I check on the status.. without using that monitor.
Well my current rig specs here is going to become an HTPC.

A rig with 250W PSU would consume less power than a 450W rig right?
Click to expand...

I was going to recommend trying a light-weight linux distri like DSL too, but no idea on which good distris are out there now.

You can use any remote desktop tool to check on your rig and do away with a monitor. Of course setting it up and configuring it initially will temporarily need a monitor.

A 250W or 450W PSU doesn't directly mean higher power consumption, it just indicates the peak power the PSU can supply. Power consumption depends on the components in your rig. If the rig running on the 450W PSU needs only 100W, thats all the PSU will draw from the socket (plus AC/DC conversion losses of course).

Of course as the others say if you intend to have a 24 x 7 HTPC rig running as well, then makes sense to use it as a download rig too.
sarang said:
This is going to be a power hungry monster.
Click to expand...

Although its fairly outdated and the PII was made on a 350nm manufacturing process, it won't really be power hungry. Specs say the TDP is ~35W. So I assume overall system power consumption should hover at ~50W ?
 
Crazy_Eddy said:
Although its fairly outdated and the PII was made on a 350nm manufacturing process, it won't really be power hungry. Specs say the TDP is ~35W. So I assume overall system power consumption should hover at ~50W ?
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Eddy saar, I was actually running a PIII 733 Coppermine till late 2009. And I doubt it'll be as low as 50watt. With little to none power management on the older platforms, I am a little skeptical. The snb i3 with a mini-itx running off a pico power adapter has been run at 17watts. Coding Horror: Revisiting the Home Theater PC and a paltry 22 watts on a normal PSU.
 
Agreed it won't go as low as the i3 due to lack of power management, but I don't think it will be that high either. How high do you estimate it to go?

The one factor I forgot was the PSU efficiency, which would probably see it consuming more at the socket.
 
Crazy_Eddy said:
Agreed it won't go as low as the i3 due to lack of power management, but I don't think it will be that high either. How high do you estimate it to go?

The one factor I forgot was the PSU efficiency, which would probably see it consuming more at the socket.
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Agreed, the PSU is another factor and I missed the point of it being headless so the overall draw would probably be sub 50watt mark.
 
sarang said:
^
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Crazy_Eddy said:
^
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Thank you very much for your valuable suggestions. I must admit that I did not know my oldie would consume almost as much as a ceiling fan does. I had actually given it away to my cousins but since they left it on the attic for quite sometime, I thought why don't I get it and do something with it. I was also thinking of case modding as having a Zebronics Lava cabbie (the one where my HTPC components reside) in or near the TV stand would look awful. So, a trial on the oldie would give me some experience at case modding and an opportunity to learn from mistakes if any. I am planning to use an acrylic board probably 4mm thick. Would it suffice?

For the new case to be sleek, where can we buy the PCI riser cards (with flexible cable). I searched here and found only one thread and that did not have info on where to buy. Please suggest some online store or a store in Hyderabad.
 
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