Hi,
> I have a hand-me-down SS20. I'm running SuSE 7.3.
Lucky you!
> upgrading it so that it becomes a more acceptable workstation
Please accept that it will never be as fast as a even 300MHz PC.
> I'm told that xwindows runs slow because my SS20 has only
> 8 bit graphics and that I could increase the apparent speed
> by upgrading the frame buffer.
Not entirely true. The onboard frame buffer can do 24bit, but it
needs a "VSIMM". The 24bit frame buffer available easily ("Leo") is not
faster. But I don't think frame buffer speed is your problem.
> RAM (128MB)
Should be ok, but don't even think about Gnome or KDE. They both are memory
hogs. Use a lean window manager/desktop combo like WindowMaker or XFCE and
you will be surprised how fast it appears compared to Gnome or KDE.
> The idea of getting a second CPU sounds neat, but I'm not really sure what
> speed CPU I currently have. [..] A sticker on the CPU module reads:
5012707000179
That's a late SM51. More than enough for a router, ok but not great fun for
a workstation. The crucial part to find in in the list mentioned above is
"501-2707". See http://mbus.sunhelp.org/modules/ for a list of all available
types.
Then get a matching one from somewhere (probably ebay). If you can, get two
SM71s (SM85 seem to be rare, HyperSparcs seem to be expensive and due to the
smaller cache not always faster than SM71s) and ditch your SM51.
>When the machine is turned on, I see the message 1 X 390Z55
>Serial #3638673 ROM Rev. 2.15
Then you might need a newer ROM for SM61 and higher. Can be had on ebay,
too.
BTW: "show-modules" tells you the speed, cache sizes of your cpu. But pay
attention on the module numbers, because you cannot mix different types of
cache controllers (6th column on http://mbus...).
> J0303, J0304, and J0305. There are also two smaller slots, labeled
> J0407 and J0406, that are also labeled VSIMM support.
That's what would give you 24bit graphics.
Good luck!
Ingo
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