Should I upgrade?

[Alexk999]

I was looking for some upgrade advice. I am currently running a P4, 3.2ghz, 512k cache, socket 478 CPU. This chip was before the current numbering scheme from Intel. I was looking into the 3.2 dual core Intel 840 CPU. My biggest concern is: will I get a big enough speed jump that would warrant upgrading my CPU, motherboard and memory being both run at 3.2ghz? Would AMD X2 be any better? Any other suggestions?

 

[luminaris]

You can either Overclock your current CPU to gain more performance or buy another chip. The problem with the latter is, you have to basically buy a whole new system. Either of the two dual core chips you mentioned, you need either a socket 775 for Intel or socket 939 for AMD.

If you have the money and are in the market for a new chip right now, the AMD dual core will probably give you a little more bang for your buck. I just built one with an X2 3800 and so far, i'm very impressed with it. That's running it at stock speeds. I have my intel scotty overclocked and its performance is very good too.

 

[linux_0]

AMD64 is the way to go

http://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/Wishlist/WishShareShow.asp?ID=1890228

http://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/Wishlist/WishShareShow.asp?ID=184015


You should be able to reuse a number of components if they are good enough


If you have good PC3200 DDR SDRAM, a nice case / PSU and a decent HDD you should be able to reuse all those components.

 

[slvr_phoenix]

The question is what do you do that you're looking for a speed jump in? What software do you use the most?

 

[HardWareBoss]

What vid card are you using?