PSX5Central
Non Gaming Discussions => Off-Topic => Topic started by: CHIZZY on November 26, 2005, 02:06:59 PM
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I am looking to now upgrade my cpu from an AMD Athalon xp 1500 to an
AMD Athlon XP 3200+ / 512KB Cache / 400MHz FSB / Socket A / Barton Core / Processor, found here: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=586899&CatId=1953
I have never done a CPU upgrade before, but I have done minor upgrades like new HD, video cards, and assorted pci cards. I have a few questions:
What exactly is involved in this upgrade? Will I be able to do this myself? I don\'t know much about BIOS or anything. The company who put my computer together went out of business, otherwise I would just let them do it, they were great.
I also would like some feedback on where to buy from, I never went anywhere for RAM or HD\'s but my local place.
Thanks in advance. :beer:
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I\'ll say this right off the bat: without looking, I\'m near-positive you need a new motherboard to run that CPU. From experience (I once ran an 1800+) I can say the bus speed on the mobo you have is no more than 266MHz. (133x2)
The XP3200+ has at least a 333MHz bus. (it says 400MHz on the site, to confirm that)
So ultimately, given that you\'ll need to upgrade your mobo anyway.. I strongly suggest forgetting the XP 3200+ and going for a Socket 939 Athlon 64 instead.
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See, that\'s what I need...thanks, any recommendations on a good mobo? I don\'t want anything crazy, I only run 3 or four programs on my studio comp, but I need to run 2 progs at once. I also have pci usb cards & a pci video card. don\'t need much more than that. I also have 1G ddr ram that I don\'t want to buy again. Essentially, when I\'m running Reason & Ableton together, I\'m currently pushing 40% cpu usage on relatively bare-bones setups...(not running a ton of effect plug-ins, using economized reverbs, etc..) I\'d like to cut that down a bit...otherwise, I\'m cool. Do you think trying to up my RAM to 2G would chill out the CPU?
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1GB of DDR will do you well.
As far as mobos go.. I\'d go for the A8N-SLI (since it\'s cheaper now) but given your non-gaming (?) situation I\'m a little perplexed as to what the cheapest mobo/CPU combo is for the price.. and if you can use your current RAM with it..
What is your RAM? PC133 or PC2100+?
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hmm new mobo time, it may have been the best decision to hold off on the graphics card because now you\'re limited to AGP boards instead of PCI-Express. No biggie, but for upgradability PCI-e is the way to go.
upgrading the cpu/mobo combo should definiltely help though. Many of the multimedia programs benefit from SSE2/SSE3 instruction sets.
I\'ve been trying to find a decent socket 939 AGP mobo on Newegg but have been generally unsuccessful. :\\
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The ABIT AV8 is what I have and newegg still has it. Very stable skt 939 board, but I can\'t seem to overclock the CPU worth a damn. I\'m getting ready to upgrade right before or soon after christmas.
Anybody want to buy a BFG 6800GT? :)
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JBean: Is that a PCI-E 6800GT, and if so, how much? :)
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nope, it\'s AGP... making the switch to PCI-E while my AGP card is still worth a decent amount. Selling the MOBO too.
Ebay it is!
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Wait, wait! How much?
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i\'m not sure. They are going anywhere from 230-270 on ebay
How serious are you about buying it?
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Not very. I\'ll pass.
If it were PCI-E and under $200, I\'d probably consider it.
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JBean just tell him it\'s PCI-e and you\'re $200 richer.
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it\'ll probably fit in a PCI-E slot, you just have to push really hard
don\'t worry about any crunching sounds, it means it\'s well seated
;)
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Sold!