You are viewing a page from Ray's Packard Bell Web Site
 Almost Everything You Need to Know About Your Packard Bell Computer

This site made with this PB
Updated March 17, 1999
Packard Bell 680 System Types


 
 
Table of Contents
The motherboard
THE CPU
Memory Video
Hard Drive

Get a PB680 manual

What does PB NEC Europe say about the PB 680

PB 680 Troubleshooting Page

Read Upgrade Stories
from Other PB 680 Owners

Contact Me especially if you have information that I may want to add.




The motherboard

The motherboard is the center of any system, because it will determine what components your system will support. Everything from the CPU to your sound card is connected to the motherboard. The identification of which board is in your system is the key to answering questions relating to your system.

This page is dedicated to the PB680 system types.  There are at least 3 types of PB 680 system; the 680, 685 and the 688.  I have no ideas as to what the difference is between these three types of systems, if anyone knows please contact me.  My mother has a PB 685 with a P200 MMX, her system system credentials sheet says she has a PB 680.  This leads me to believe that all three boards probably have only minor differences.  This may mean the info on this page may vary depending on which version of the 680 you own.  Please verify this information from other sources and contact me when you find an error.

The PB 680 motherboard is said to be based on the Intel "Orlando/Tampa" motherboard.   Remember, even though the intel motherboard resenbles the 680, Packard Bell can and does change the design significantly from what intel offers them. 




The CPU

The CPU is probably the central part of the computer; it does most of the work. There are several types of processors on the market today. Intel is the leader with their successful Pentium Processors. Intel has just introduced a new Processor called MMX. Click here to see the insides of the Pentium chip (Large Graphic File).



Memory
UPGRADE TABLE 
SIMM 1,2 (Bank 0) 
SIMM Type
SIMM 3,4 (Bank 1) 
SIMM Type
 Total System Memory
SIMM 1,2 (Bank 0) 
SIMM Type
SIMM 3,4 (Bank 1) 
SIMM Type
Total System Memory
Empty 
1M X 32 (4 MB)
8 MB
2M X 32 (8 MB)
4M X 32 (16 MB)
48 MB
Empty 
2M X 32 (8 MB)
16 MB
2 X 32 (8 MB)
8M X 32 (32 MB)
80MB
Empty 
4M X 32 (16 MB)
32 MB
4M X 32 (16 MB)
Empty 
32MB
Empty 
8M X 32 (32 MB)
64 MB
4M X 32 (16 MB)
1M X 32 (4 MB)
40MB
1M X 32 (4 MB)
Empty 
8MB
4M X 32 (16 MB)
2M X 32 (8 MB)
48MB
1M X 32 (4 MB)
1M X 32 (4 MB)
16MB
4M X 32 (16 MB)
4M X 32( 16 MB)
64MB
1M X 32 (4 MB)
2M X 32 (8 MB)
24MB
4M X 32 (16 MB)
8M X 32 (32 MB)
96MB
1M X 32 (4 MB)
4M X 32 (16 MB)
40MB
8M X 32 (32 MB)
Empty 
64MB
1M X 32 (4 MB)
8M X 32 (32 MB)
72MB
8M X 32 (32 MB)
1M X 32 (4 MB)
72MB
2M X 32 (8 MB)
Empty 
16MB
8M X 32 (32 MB)
2M X 32 (8 MB)
80MB
2M X 32 (8 MB)
1M X 32 (4 MB)
24MB
8M X 32 (32 MB)
4M X 32 (16 MB)
96MB
2M X 32 (8 MB)
2M X 32 (8 MB)
32MB
8M X 32 (32 MB)
8M X 32 (32 MB)
128MB

Video
"Depending on the system you purchased, your Packard Bell system should include either the S3 ViRGE, S3ViRGE/DX or the S3 TRIO64V+ high-performance integrated graphics video accelerators. These accelerators feature a high-performance 64-bit graphics engine and S3 Streams Processor for enhanced video playback. The ViRGE and ViRGE/DX add DRAM-based 2D/3D graphics and accelerated video capabilities, and PCI bus mastering for Display List Processing and Video Capture Support." Packard Bell PB 680 Manual  To find out which chips are in your system you can use this utility from S3 incorporated.
I like the Video on the PB 680 motherboards, it is a great improvement over the PB 640.  Just check out the Wintune results from any PB 680 system.  If you want more information on the video in your system check out the manufactures site, S3 incorporated.

I got some email saying that if your PB680 is not supporting 800x600 display mode at 56Hz, then all you need to do is to download 1.00.05 Bios or later and update the video driver to version 2.02.05.  This little glitch was caused by the BIOS and Video driver.


Hard Drive

The Hard Drives on Packard Bell Systems are not uniform, each PB 680 motherboard can have a different size and manufacturer of the hard drives.

If you want more information I suggest you contact the individual manufacturer of your hard drive.



Get you own PB 680 manual

Copyright © 1999 Ray's Packard Bell Web Site; all rights reserved.
For a list of all my web pages or frames-free viewing see my Site Map.