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CPU/mobo (and maybe more upgrade)...anyone know a lot about hardware?

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wreckedcarzz:
Quick summary:
I am trying to upgrade my CPU (and if required, mobo). If anyone can help at all it would be greatly appreciated!

OK, here is what I have and what I am trying to get...
I have a
Intel Pentium 4 Willamette 1.6Ghz CPU
and want to get an
Intel Pentium 4 (don't know name) 3.2GHz CPU (Socket 775)

I have my generic system mobo from Gateway and the only info I can get on it is that it is an El Paso 2 motherboard and what it supports. I have tried to find out what socket it is to see if the new CPU I want will match it, but there just isn't any info I can find. It only supports AGP 4/8x and PCI, no PCIe, have DDR RAM and only USB 1.1- I am unsure if that helps anyone. I just eed to know will it work? Will it not? It might if I do something? Any ideas?

A couple of links...
The CPU I am wanting to get: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116197
A mobo I found that may or may not work with a P4, but I don't know if my existing one will work either... http://www.overstock.com/Electronics/MSI-Intel-Platform-Socket-775-DDRII-Motherboard/2466550/product.html?IID=prod2466550

And a couple other things...
Please do not post about getting anything newer (Celeron, Pentium D, Core duo, Core 2 Duo, Xeon, AMD anything...) because its better or uses less power or whatever...my PSU only supports P4/K8 and I am low on cash.

I am happy to provide more info if someone needs it- I know probably almost every detail that you would need to know (except the mobo info, conveniently); if anyone is wondering WHY I want/need a new CPU, I am an avid PC gamer (migrating over to it 100%, slowly...) and my 1.6Ghz simply isn't cutting it anymore.

Thanks everyone,
-Brandon

mouser:
speaking with very little knowledge of hardware, but some general experience.  save your money and wait until you can upgrade to a whole new pc.

wr975:
Just wondering... if you've a generic system, is the graphics adapter on board or an AGP card? Your CPU isn't that slow actually. With a nice midrange AGP (like GeForce 6800 or 7800) card you could still play most games (not at max detail settings, but still).

For a P4 3.2 GHz you'd need a new motherboard, because according to http://www.geek.com/procspec/intel/p7consumer.htm your current CPU is on a 423 or 478 socket. This CPU also has a high energy consumption and gets quite hot, so expect a noisy system.

IMHO I'd get or replace the graphics card or save some money and get something better. Your current selection (Mobo + CPU) would cost 150. For 230 you could get an ASROCK motherboard (4CoreDual-VSTA) and a Intel Core Duo (E6320). Your P4 compatible PSU would work just fine, no need to be replaced.

wreckedcarzz:
I have an ATi Radeon X1300 512MB onboard RAM (AGP 8x) in my system currently. I don't mind the noise, and have a couple fans newly installed. I found a mobo for 90 and a P4 CPU for 80, so yea 170 isn't cheap, but I am playing games that the CPU doesn't even support anymore (NFS Carbon is supposed to have a P4 at 1.7Ghz with HT and a couple other things that I don't have). I took a look on NewEgg for the Intel Core Duo (E6320) you said to get, and its only 1.86Ghz :(
The main problem is that the prices for the Core 2 Duo CPU's are still WAY to high for the speed I need (NewEgg only has 2.4Ghz and those are 225 by themselves :o)

Grorgy:
i dont know the figures but i think you'll find a dual core processor would work on the games, after all you get the best part of 2 processors both running at that clock speed, and ht was an intermediate step on the way to dual core so you dhould be fine, if i were you i'd go to the library and check some of the reviews of core 2 duos and their performance in games.  that would probably give you a good idea of what you need

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