Processor Upgrades

[ClearCom]

Just curious.  I am currently using an HP machine that is 3 years old and running an AMD 800mhz processor.  256 RAM, 50gig hard drive.

Is it possible to upgrade the processor or would it simply be easier to purchase another computer?  I'm not even sure the board can handle an upgrade.

[Chris Blount]

On a 3 year old machine, you probably will not be able to simply upgrade the processor. To see any real speed increase you will need a new motherboard, processor and case (the power supply that is currently in your HP case will most likely not be able to handle the addition power required for todays processors).

In other words, you might as well start over and transfer the hard drive and any other peripheral device from your HP to the new machine.

[marko]

AMD processor prices seem really low right now. Maybe it is just me, but it you could build your own machine right now, you could get a nice machine for a low price.

[lastmanstanding]

I am sure Evergreen or someone is making an upgrade, but just pumping the clock rate would be cheaper and give you as much gain. Look into overclocking. AMDs really lend themselves to overclocking.

Depending on your apps, I would suggest getting into an Intel P4 machine, which means a whole new rig. You can't even use the old case.

Check Tigerdirect.com for simple plug in processor upgrades.

[ClearCom]

I guess the real question is whether it pays to just upgrade the processor. I figured that with 256 RAM and a 133mhz bus, a processor upgrade would fit the bill for the short term.

[gcutler]

If it has been 2+ years, my Personal opinion is to get a new machines. Chances are your hard drive (size and speed), RAM (amount and speed), CD/CD-RW/DVD/DVD-RW choices are faster and less expensive, monitor will be cheaper for larger as well.

Just as an example (easy to customize to get a quick price, yes a self made machine would be more cost effective, but just using as an example) a Dell P4 2.2GHz 400MHz Front End, 256MB DDR-SDRAM, 120GB ULTRA ATA/100 7200RPM Hard drive, 48x/24x/48x Max CD-RW Drive , 17" Flatscreen (not flat panel) Monitor, With Modem and Network card, = 910-$100 rebate=$810. There are plenty of other web brands or local custom machines you can get for similar to that price. If you were going to spend $250 or more to upgrade 1 or 2 components, it is at least worth the look at a new machine. It may not be in your budget, but it can't hurt to at least look. And you might be able to sell your old machine for $100-$200 to someone to subsidize the cost.

[ClearCom]

Thanks for the advice.  I guess my only fear is moving files from one to the other.  I guess it would be easy to simply move my current 40 gig hard drive to the new machine and set it as a slave, or simply use a cable between NIC cards to swap all the files.

 

Thanks

[Chris Blount]

Originally posted by ClearCom
I guess it would be easy to simply move my current 40 gig hard drive to the new machine and set it as a slave.That usually is the best way to handle it.

[firephoto]

I think if you could put a faster processor on the board, around 1 gig would be the fastest that would work. I don't remember the numbers but I believe there is one faster chip that has the right multiplier to work, or be made to work but it might depend on your mobo too.

For around $300 you can build a really nice system that should suit your needs unless you want to get into some serious gaming. If you already have a big enough hard drive then it would be a little less, and you'd use your existing monitor, keyboard, etc. You'd use your current OS too unless it's older than win98se then I'd just spring for XP. You should be able to get XP reactivated on the new setup unless it's an OEM version, then you might run into some snags I've heard.

Here's a mini-ATX box I was thinking about building. It's not too good on expandiblity but takes up very little space. If you put any cards in it they have to be low profile ones.
http://secure.newegg.com/app/WishR.asp?ID=304926

[Mark Holtz]

I would go with a RAM upgrade first before a CPU upgrade. The more RAM that is available to the application, the less swapping to disk that will occur.

However, this requires that you have a fairly current version of Windows. There are memory limitation issues for Windows 98 and earlier.

[Chris Blount]

Originally posted by Z'Loth
I would go with a RAM upgrade first before a CPU upgrade. The more RAM that is available to the application, the less swapping to disk that will occur.

However, this requires that you have a fairly current version of Windows. There are memory limitation issues for Windows 98 and earlier. He already has 256MB of RAM so upgrading memory might be a waste of money. The most he could hope for is a 8 to 10 percent increase.

Here is an excellent article at PC Magazine about upgrading the memory.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,887932,00.asp

[CoriBright]

A socket A Athlon running at 800mhz runs off a 100/200 FSB. The fastest you could hope to achieve is with the very discontinued and very rare 1.4Ghz CPU. The motherboards that HP use do NOT allow any overclocking...

If you want to go faster, consider one of the combo motherboard and CPUs from somewhere like www.outpost.com and change both. If you are picky, you can find a board that will allow you to keep your SDR DIMMS but will also allow you to move to the faster DDS Dimms when you are ready. These boards have 2 SDR Dimm slots and 2 DDR Dimm slots (but they cannot be used simultaneously.

If you are running WindowsXP, changing the motherboard usually entails a Repair Installation (if you like installing XP over the top of itself) to ensure all the chipset changes are correctly recognized, and a reactivation. It also 'destroys' any updates you have gotten from the WindowsUpdate site and SP1. However the rest of the programs and data remain intact.

I had the HP Pavilion 8860 with its 1Ghz CPU and the A7V-7M motherboard. I changed it out in January with an ECS P4 motherboard (with 2Ghz Celeron CPU) for the grand sum of $89.00. It happily accepted my 512mb SDR Dimm. Although the Celeron is no where near as fast as a 'real' P4, it's a lot faster than a 1Ghz Athlon - and when finances allow, I can then move to a P4 and DDR Dimms. Frys/Outpost have weekly deals... check them out and make the move when you spot the right motherboard for you. The most popular board for homebuilds is the ECS K7S5A and it's more recent addition the K7S5A Pro which has the addition of the USB2.0 ports.

If you still have the original HP case and PSU, they'll have to go as well. My Pavilion came with only a 185watt unit. Far too low for anything useful. Even AMD recommend a minimum of 300watts for any of their CPUs. I went with a 420watt PSU... you never know what you may want to add in the future.

[lastmanstanding]

ClearCom,

After considering it further, get a new machine. This is a fantastic buyer's market right now, and you can get a real beast for not much money.

We have an ethernet network, so when I upgrade, I just connect the old and the new machines, pull off what I want, then purge the old machine's drive before giving it to one of my in-laws.

There should be some good deals on P4 machines popping up. Just this week Intel rolled out three or four new processors, so the old ones should be moving out cheaply.

Happy hunting.

[Mike123abc]

If you have a standard ATX motherboard in the machine now, just buying a new CPU/Motherboard/Ram can be a cost effective update. You keep everything else the same.

[Chris Blount]

Originally posted by Mike123abc
If you have a standard ATX motherboard in the machine now, just buying a new CPU/Motherboard/Ram can be a cost effective update. You keep everything else the same. I agree, but like I said before, a new power supply will be needed.