P4 CPU upgrade...

[infocus]

I am thinking of changing my 2.6ghz with L2 cache of 512,to a 3.2 ghz with L2 cache of 1ghz.Will I need to change settings in the BIOS,will I need to flash the BIOS to accept the changed Processor.All info is welcome...

[newtekie1]

You need to make sure your motherboard even supports the new processor.

Since you have a P4 with 512KB, I assume it is socket 478. Only the later socket 478 motherboards supported the 1MB(Prescott) processors.

What motherboard do you have?

[infocus]

I have a 478,according to the list this processor is is a 478 pin..Maybe the guy who has it listed is wrong about the L2 cache size,and its a 512..

[infocus]

I have a northwood 478 ..Thanks for that information..

[lemonadesoda]

Dont waste your time upgrading a P4 to another P4. If you already have Northwood, you will get just as good speeds by overclocking the 2.6 to 2.8 or 3.0. HOWEVER, IMO, it isnt worth it. For "office" applications, you really dont need the extra 10% speed. You wont notice it. For modern games, that 10% is pathetic compared to a new system.

Last year I upgraded a P4 2.8 to a P4 3.2EE and was very disappointed.

Do you realise a new Atom 330 is faster than your P4? Get an Atom 330 for something cool and quiet. If you want more raw performance then just buy the CHEAPEST Core 2 set up second hand off ebay and you will get a major upgrade in performance.

Some stats here: http://forums.techpowerup.com/showpo...76&postcount=2 and http://forums.techpowerup.com/showth...=agp+benchmark

[Mussels]

seriously, as has been said dont bother with a 478 chip. even if you get lucky enough to find one at a good price, not all 478 CPU's work on all 478 motherboards - its very luck of the draw.

Either go intel core 2 duo if you can afford it, or a cheaper alternative would be AMD's AM2 lineup.

You'll be needing a new board, CPU and RAM either way, possibly PSU as well so in the end its mostly an all-new PC.

[infocus]

Thanks, I'll start saving for a new system ......

[LittleLizard]

as mussels said, get something cheap as a am2 dual core system.

i will make u a list and post it here

[LittleLizard]

here is the list for your pc

use your current case, optical drive and hard drive.

[p_o_s_pc]

I loved my P4 but even overclocked to 3.4-3.6ghz it couldn't even touch my x2 4600+ at stock speeds let alone my 5kBE at 3.1ghz or my 4850e at 3ghz. The P4 northwoods are great clockers. You can get 3ghz easy out of that chip. just clock it up and save up for a C2D or a C2Q maybe if you want to go AMD side a X2 7750 or a PII 920 or 940

[infocus]

I'll pick up something new probably in the summer .There's a company out of Canada called LU Computers.They build overclocked rigs on the cheap.I'll check with them...Thanks again.

[JrRacinFan]

If you need someone to build for you there are many many users here that would be willing to do so. I myself as one.

[infocus]

Thanks, I'll start a new thread when the time comes.I think by summer prices will come down a little.

[Itoshunzo]

Good enough，not necessary to the pursuit of speed

[infocus]

Here are the specs. on just one of their units,let me know what you think...
Intel Core 2 quad Q9400 2.66 g FSB1333 6mb
Asus arctic square cooler
8gb Kingston memory
Asus P5N-D nvidia 750i motherboard
seagate 500 gb 32 cache sata 2
2 LG sata optical drives
2 nvidia Geforce 9800gt 1gb each SLI
Realtec ALC883
Thermaltake CS M9 mid tower
650w coolermaster SLI RP659PCAR
(OS not included)
C $1499.00
US $1200.00
I'm probably not willing to pay this much,but this gives you an idea of what they are offering..

[JrRacinFan]

That is actually not bad at all. Basically your going to be paying like $200 for them to put it together for you. Plus whatever warranties they give you.

[p_o_s_pc]

Originally Posted by JrRacinFan

If you need someone to build for you there are many many users here that would be willing to do so. I myself as one.

I would also be one of them willing to build one and overclock it for you. BUT i'm knowledgeable in AMD not Intel but i would be more then happy to learn


if you bought the parts and sent them to me paid to ship everything back i would do it for ~$50(just to be cheap for you) i would need about 2days to a week to get it done.(setup everything and overclock stress test)

[JrRacinFan]

Originally Posted by p_o_s_pc

I would also be one of them willing to build one and overclock it for you. BUT i'm knowledgeable in AMD not Intel but i would be more then happy to learn


if you bought the parts and sent them to me paid to ship everything back i would do it for ~$50(just to be cheap for you) i would need about 2days to a week to get it done.(setup everything and overclock stress test)

Heck, I would do it for free (pay ship to and from) and do a couple stability tests to make sure there isn't any problems

[p_o_s_pc]

Originally Posted by JrRacinFan

Heck, I would do it for free (pay ship to and from) and do a couple stability tests to make sure there isn't any problems

i'm just trying to make money and save him some money.