Is this the right CPU for me

[airplaneman]

Hi all

It is now time to upgrade my CPU and i need some help determining right one

this one below, is a perfect price for me

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115206


My specs (currently) are

CPU: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.00GHz
CPU speed: 2.99 GHZ
RAM: 3 GB
OS: Windows XP service pack 3
Video card: NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS 320mb OC
Hard drive: 150 GB, (have 45 GB free as of now and can uninstall some stuff if I have to)
MainBoard: Dell Precision 370 w/ 775 LGA socket.

Also I'm a Battlefield fan and i play Battlefield 1942, Vietnam and 2 local coop w/ 64 bots and it lags like crazy (primary reason for upgrading). I understand these are older games so i dont know if they work the dual core. Someone told me BF would then only use one core but then i wonder if that one core is powerful enough to run 64 bots with no lag.

Any help is greatly appreciated. =)

 

[JDV28]

I am 99% sure that BF uses up to 2 cores. Well, depending on which one. I think BF2 does.

 

[Helloworld_98]

1) you'll need a motherboard to go with that CPU.

2) you'll have to install a new OS (the included one which came with the PC won't work) when you get the new mobo and CPU.

 

[airplaneman]

"1) you'll need a motherboard to go with that CPU."

did you mean a new mobo?

 

[megamanx00]

You'll have to check with Dell to see if there are any BIOS updates that will allow you to use the E7400 in that motherboard. Chances are, you won't be able to though. Most likely that board is limited to P4s so you will more than likely need a new motherboard for the E7400.

 

[indigoataxia]

Yeah your chipset is the Intel 925X which only supports Pentium 4's and Pentium 4 EE. Time for an upgrade.

http://compare.intel.com/pcc/showchart.aspx?mmID=103&familyID=10&culture=en-US

 

[apache_lives]

Its pretty much a new tower from the ground up if you want something quicker

You could use your cd/dvd drive, hdd and video card and buy a new CPU, Ram, Motherboard, Case and PSU - you would get alot more out of that video card to get you going and upgrade the rest later.

64 bots in any game = CPU intensive (most likely single threaded too), your video card is fine for those games otherwise so.

 

[airplaneman]

thanks for the help guys. it looks like ill be upgrading when i get some spare money.
though i though XP could use only up to 3GBs of ram?

 

[airplaneman]

also what sites would be the best for upgrading? should i just go to one of the sites that lets you build up your own pc?

and you say i will need to reinstall windows? i dont have an XP cd since i bought my PC used.

 

[dokk2]

Newegg.com free shipping for some orders,tigerdirect.com also free shipping if more than XXX$$$,might be able to score a discount on XP with the order..

 

[smithereen]

You can probably get an e7400 or Phenom II cheap in a bundle with a mobo. You should probably just use the Windows 7 RC for the next while, it'll save you some dough, or just pre-order it.

 

[sighQ2]

Definitely check w dell for a bios upgrade.

as for reinstall - quite possible
it would be fun to just drop the cpu in and see what happens - or uninstall everything in device manager, shut down, swap cpu, restart = moment of truth.

windows might no go for it

do the bios upgrade first tho

and back up all files you value first

it worth trying - perhaps some research on google would discuss a cpu upgrade withoout reinstalling windoze

if dell has no bios upgrade, tell them they are morons

if the board goes useless, look into Phenom II 550 Black Edition, plus Gigabyte MA790XT-UD4P on newegg.

pouring more money, other than a simple cpu, into socket 775 is an investment in an end-of-life scenario.

good luck
,

spintel does stuff like this - even tho the socket is the same, and should upgrade easily, they make changes that might prevent the newer cpu from working in the existing older mobo - it's complicated - check with dell first.