[CentOS] yum upgrade 4.3 -> current ?

Wed Jun 4 21:23:06 UTC 2008
Chris Boyd <cboyd at gizmopartners.com>

Got a box running 4.3 x86 and we're trying up get it updated to 4.6,  
but yum is consuming all available memory (1GB) and swap (2GB), and  
then the oom starts killing processes.

I've disabled all the optional repositories, done  yum clean all, and  
still have the same problem even if I try to just update a specific  
package.

Google got me this link, but no obvious resolution:
http://www.centos.org/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php? 
forum=8&topic_id=5588&viewmode=flat

Any pointers appreciated.

--Chris