How Hard Is It To Upgrade Your Processor?

[healimonster]

I have a two year old Compaq P4 1.5mhz

I have added a new HD, and upped it to a gig of memory. I am also in the process of adding a new video card.

But the computers performance is not stellar and I just like tweaking this if the can be tweaked for a reasonable price.

So what is the next upgraded that I can do that will make a noticeable difference performance?

The processor? The mother board? The father board?

I have never built a PC and don't have a soldering iron so I don't want to get in over my head. But if there is something that I can do the would be slightly more challenging that adding a HD but less challenging than building a PC from scratch, I would like to do it.

[Billy_Dean]

The first thing to do is identify your motherboard, you should have got a manual when you bought it. Check to see the highest processor your board will take. If the processor speed is set by jumper switches, and you have no upgrade path, you will need a new mobo. If it is set in BIOS, you may be able to download a BIOS update. Two years is a long time in CPU land.

[SciManAl]

one pointer never get a soldering iron even remotly close to a mobo unless you know what you are doing and even then i ask WHY???

umm i am not a P4 expert, but you will most likely need a new mobo and proccesor and possibly ram, however that will be vary expensive, expect to pay a few huindred dollars for the CPU alone, then again if you want to switch to an AMD set up (your choise) you could get a mobo and a cpu for about the price of one of intels cpus, and then start stacking ram on that and your system will be nice, i suggest to you (if you go amd) to get the barton core 2500+ and a mobo to match(others will post with the mobo, these poeple at the board aren't as a lazy as me) and plop in some pc2700 ddr ram about 1, or 1/2 half gig...

Hope that helps

[healimonster]

this is the computer information that I know.

Presario 5000T 5PXE1.

Chipset Information:
=====================

North Bridge: Intel 845 (MCH)
South Bridge: 82801BA (ICH2)

---------------
Is that chip set information the MoBo?
If so is there a place online I can find out what processors it can handle?

I would doubt that I would be swapping out a mobo and a processor, which would require new memory as well.

Then I might as well just get a new computer. I am certainly not doing any of this for the challenge or for the fun of it, and I don't want my computer to be offline for more than a days worths of work.

I guess I am just trying to find out (under the theory that I can swap out the processor and add a better one) is that much of a challenge?

[Livy]

u will be able to uprgade the cpu to the boartds max pretty easy, u will find it out at the makers website.
also u may be able to upgrade ur motherboard and add a new cpu and keep your current ram, depending on what it is.

if its rambus, then ull have to ditch it, if its ddr, then u can get an amd/intel new system

and if its sdram, u can get a board that supports an amd, and also supports ddr and sdram, but not at the same time.

[Billy_Dean]

You haven't given us the make of your mobo, knowing Compaq, that may be difficult, they're not known for using name brand mobos.

One of the problems you will find is that you have to upgrade to what is available in stores, P4's may start at 2.4 or higher, the chances of a two year old mobo handling a much higher CPU is remote, unless you have a top of the line one, doubtfull in a Compaq. You may be better looking for an improvement elsewhere. Saying that, the 1.5 you have there should last you a good while yet.

[ZaZu]

A useful site B)

[healimonster]

I see that you want to upgrade the processor in your Presario 5000T
5SPXE1 Desktop. The motherboard present in this computer is Compaq OEM
Motherboard with the following chipset:

North Bridge: Intel 845 (MCH)
South Bridge: 82801BA (ICH2)

You can upgrade the processor upto 2.0 GHZ Pentium 4 processor. To
upgrade your Compaq computer's processor, I recommend that you take the
computer to the nearest HP Authorized Support Provider.

HP has a network of Authorized Support Providers for sales and repairs.
You can find the nearest HP Authorized Support Provider within the
United States by visiting the following Web site:

Thats what compaq suport told me about my mother board.

Not much help huh? or is it? They say I can upgrade to a 2ghz, but is that worth it?

[Keikan]

Thats why brand name computers suck ass..

Download a program called Aida 32 and look up your mobo

[clocker]

Originally posted by Keikan@18 November 2003 - 16:27
Thats why brand name computers suck ass..

Download a program called Aida 32 and look up your mobo

Keikan,

If that's an OEM compaq board, AIDA 32 isn't going to help much.

Healimonster,
My advice would be to sell the Compaq and start again with better parts.
Just putting in a faster chip or maybe better RAM isn't going to make such a difference that you will feel like you got your money's worth. You are completely hobbled by your stock board.

IMHO.