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

[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.co...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...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/...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 )

[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

[mwb1100]

I took a look on NewEgg for the Intel Core Duo (E6320) you said to get, and its only 1.86Ghz

-wreckedcarzz (May 17, 2007, 09:22 PM)

Be careful comparing raw clock rates.  The Core 2 Duos are faster than Pentium 4's at any given clock rate.  If you look at Tom's Hardware CPU Comparison (Call of Duty 2 benchmark here: http://www23.tomshar...l2=433&chart=165), the slowest Core 2 Duo they benchmark is the E6400 at 2.13 GHz.  It's faster than the fastest P4 they benchmark, the P4 EE at 3.73 GHz.

You can really only compare clock speeds within a chip family.

[dk70]

Think you should either get a used socket 478 cpu or dont upgrade. New motherboard also means new video card and new memory - perhaps also new power supply.

If going new do get Core 2 Duo or a cheaper AMD X2. If you want to assemble and save money look for a motherboard/cpu bundle and get a case with installed power supply. Also a nice way to get rid of bad products but you can get lucky. Add may be 90-100$ for decent video card and 40/70$ for 1GB/2GB DDR2 ram and you can compute/game a lot faster.

May be set up an account at Newegg and use their wishlist feature to get on top of total cost and relationship between different combinations. 1300 is a slow card so may be the very best onboard video will be ok until you have money for real card. Must pay a little extra for motherboard then.

[mwb1100]

Here's another take on Pentium 4's vs. newer dual core CPUs:  http://www.codinghor...archives/000867.html

As dk70 indicates you probably have a socket 478 CPU (Willamettes came initially on socket 423, but yours is probably socket 478).  To get a short-run upgrade cheaply, you might want to look at an inexpensive socket 478 CPU upgrade (http://www.geeks.com...ducts_sc.asp?cat=271) - though I'm not sure that dropping in any socket 478 CPU will necessarily work - you may need to do some research.

In the longer run, Mouser's advice of saving for a new system makes sense.  If you do decide to go for a bigger upgrade now, DDR2 RAM prices seem to be dropping nicely right now - there are a lot of opportunities to pick up 2 1GB modules for less than $80.

Also, as others mentioned - you might get more bang for the dollar upgrading video.