Upgrading 10yo old pc, possible??

Hey

I've got an old computer I would like to upgrade. (if possible)

The pc consist of an Epox EP-BX3 motherboard with Petium II or maybe III
(the processor is mounted like another card on the motherboard). It's using
PC100 168pins DIMM memory (128mb ram). 120W power supply... All parts are
mounted inside a tower cabinet (ATX)

The goal of this upgrade is to have an computer I can run Windows Server
2003 + MS Exhange + Sql Server 2005 on at home. So I can use this pc as
server. I have no problem running Windows Server 2003 on it today, but I
cannot run Sql Server 2005 or exchange on it. This is not a production
environment, I would like run this programs so I can learn to use them....

I doubt putting more memory inside the pc would increase performace. What if
I upgraded with a new power supply... then I could put a new motherboard
inside it and a new processor...Is that possible? The cabinet is 10 years
old, can that put some limitations on the upgrade...?

How can I spark new life in this box?

Jeff

"Jeff" <it_consultant1 RemoveThis @hotmail.com.NOSPAM> wrote in message
news:jbGdnYXCMrMqZFTbRVnzvQA@telenor.com...
> Hey
>
> I've got an old computer I would like to upgrade. (if possible)
>
> The pc consist of an Epox EP-BX3 motherboard with Petium II or maybe III
> (the processor is mounted like another card on the motherboard). It's
using
> PC100 168pins DIMM memory (128mb ram). 120W power supply... All parts are
> mounted inside a tower cabinet (ATX)
>
> The goal of this upgrade is to have an computer I can run Windows Server
> 2003 + MS Exhange + Sql Server 2005 on at home. So I can use this pc as
> server. I have no problem running Windows Server 2003 on it today, but I
> cannot run Sql Server 2005 or exchange on it. This is not a production
> environment, I would like run this programs so I can learn to use
them....
>
> I doubt putting more memory inside the pc would increase performace. What
if
> I upgraded with a new power supply... then I could put a new motherboard
> inside it and a new processor...Is that possible? The cabinet is 10 years
> old, can that put some limitations on the upgrade...?
>
> How can I spark new life in this box?
>
> Jeff

I hve in the past always built my own boxes. However the price of new basic
boxes and 2 gen old boxes coming off lease are so inexpensive at this point
I believe you would be better off buying. About the only component you have
that you could reuse is the case not including the power supply.

I believe you could get a very reasonable P4 desktop in the 2.5-3.0ghz range
with 100gb hd 512-1g mem with OS for $300.

Quick look at Dell outlet at the Dell site and lease returns at dfs direct
sales www.dfsdirectsales.com (dell lease return department) showed me dozens
of such computers in the price range of $250-400. Larger hard drives and
more memory push the price closer to $400 but you can still get 3.0 P4
512ram and 80gig HD with windows xp for less than $300.

Hope this helps
Howard