Re: Upgrade CPU ?
- From: Paul <nospam@xxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 24 Feb 2009 19:42:57 -0500
GoldHawk wrote:
I am running a desktop machine with the following:
CPU: AMD Athlon XP2000+ at 1.6GHz
RAM: 1 GB DDR
Motherboard: ASRock K7VT2
It is used for little more than Office applications, surfing, e-mail etc.
I have just bought a new HP laptop installed with Vista and I’ve notice how (relatively) slow my desktop is running WinXP with SP3, even after a re-format and reinstall of the OS.
I’m interested in knowing whether an upgrade of the CPU on my desktop is a practical and sensible option. I’m not looking to buy a new machine, which in every other respect serves my purposes. Is the CPU integrated with the motherboard, or can the processor itself be upgraded ? If the latter, are there limitations of compatibility (with the motherboard, or anything else) ? Would the internal fan(s) have to be upgraded as well ?
The HP laptop is fitted with an Intel Core 2 Duo T5800. I don’t know if that is a sensible option.
Is this a very difficult job (something I might do myself) ? I have limited knowledge of the internal hardware, being confined so far to fitting extra RAM and replacing a DVD burner. Is there anywhere where I could get some fairly idiot proof instructions ?
With thanks for any guidance.
Regards.
Mike
I wouldn't try to upgrade your 2000+. I suspect the 2600+ with FSB266, may
be hard to find. There may not have been that many of them made when they
were in production. And anything slower just wouldn't be worth thinking about.
I have an S462 motherboard, which I recently retired and replaced with a
Core2. The processor in my board is a 3200+ with FSB400, and I was finding
that was getting annoying. One of the issues with the processor, is it is
a single core without hyperthreading. I find two cores can on occasion
be slightly smoother (my backup machine is a P4 running at 3.1GHz, and
I liked that a bit more than the AthlonXP 3200+, even though the respective
manufacturers think they're roughly equal).
I don't consider assembling computers to be that taxing. The downloadable
motherboard manuals will give you some information, and there are some
web sites that do "system builds" at various price points, to give you
some idea about how to do it.
My current build is an attempt at a cheap migration. I get a Core2 Dual
processor, I get to keep my old AGP video card. I'm using new RAM, but
could just as easily used the RAM from the old S462 board. This is the
motherboard I chose. The only thing I don't like about it, is the
amount of effort the manufacturer put into the BIOS. The board works
fine with stock settings (i.e. don't change anything, just turn it
on), but attempts to experiment with other settings haven't given
me any reason to praise the board. So right now, it "just works".
One limitation, is it takes CPUs up to FSB1066 and no higher. Many
desirable modern Core2 processors are FSB1333, so if you wanted a
higher end CPU, there are limits. I'd say, if you were skimping,
you might install this upgrade for about $250. The thing that
attracted me, was getting to reuse my perfectly good and trusty
AGP video card.
http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=4CoreDual-SATA2%20R2.0&s=775
If you're not trying to keep the video card, and you'd not a gamer
playing Crysis or Oblivion, then an AMD motherboard with integrated
graphics (video is inside the chipset) is another possibility.
Something with AM2/AM2+ socket, which takes cheap DDR2 memory.
You could probably whip something together for about the same
money as the previous suggestion. (You can replace a full sized
ATX motherboard 12" x 9.6", with a MicroATX 9.6" x9.6", since
the mounting holes are a subset.)
M3A78-EM AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G (DVI and VGA video connectors) $79
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131324
Processor with heatsink for $60
Athlon 64 X2 5200 Brisbane 2.7GHz Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103210
2GB low profile RAM for $23
(2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) CAS5 Dual Channel Kit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134117
You can spend a bit more on the processor if you want. I picked a
65W processor, as with that, it doesn't really matter what kind
of power supply is in your computer, it is likely to run the
new system. There are even quad core processors in the support
list, if you want to use one. But that would be overkill for
web surfing.
(Processor list)
http://support.asus.com.tw/cpusupport/cpusupport.aspx?SLanguage=en-us&model=M3A78-EM
Have fun,
Paul
.
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