What is the diff between x2 550 and x2 4200+

[camronsmith]

I just bought a Phenom II X2 550 Black processor and realized I already had a dual core processor, the x2 4200+. Besides going from 2.2 to 3.1 Ghz, is there a big jump? By going from 3gb of 400 DDR2 to 4gb of 1333 DDR3 and from the 4200 to the 550 am I really going to see a large difference?

 

[intelx]

depends one what u user the computer for, there is a big jump going from 2 cores at 2.2 to 4 at 3.1 and triple ram speed, but if u just use the computer for basic stuff such as internet and chating then no, but if you use it for gaming or heavy tasks then yes and it'll be big, though that you didn't mention anything about the gpu.

 

[Outlander_04]

the x2 550 is two generations newer and a much more powerful cpu .

If your motherboard is AM2+ theres a good chance you can just swap out the 4200 and insert the x2 550 .
Check the motherboard makers webpage for the board for a cpu compatibility chart . You wont have to even change RAM

 

[camronsmith]

I don't do "heavy gaming" but I like games with detail. I had to turn fallout 3 way down in detail to play smoothly. I have a 256 or 512mb graphics card, Radeon x1300. The box says the 550 is dual core and my 2.2 is dual core so i wasn't sure if it was worth the 260 i paid for the mobo, cpu, and memory. I just want an overall performance increase and was expecting a decent increase. Multitasking on my setup now is weak. Should I wait until I can afford a quad core and just buy a better video card and more memory?