Intel Pentium 4 640 CPU... still usable?

[rex000]

Hello,

I have an old Intel Pentium 4 Prescott 640 @ 3.2 Ghz (Single Core w/ Hyper-Threading) and was looking for opinions for whether or not I should put it to use.

CPU Specifications: http://ark.intel.com/products/27480/Intel-Pentium-4-Processor-640-supporting-HT-Technology-%282M-Cache-3_20-GHz-800-MHz-FSB%29

If I choose to use it, I only need to buy a motherboard (approximately ~$55), I have enough spare parts lying around to build it. I was wondering it was worth it or not to spend the money just to reuse this CPU...

The parts to be used in the system are:

MSI G41M-P28 MOBO (~$55)
Corsair Vengeance 1600Mhz RAM 4GB (2x2GB)
XFX 9600GSO OC 512MB DDR3 GPU
Western Digital 80GB HDD
Apevia X-Trooper Jr Case
Apevia 450W PSU

Thanks

 

[esrever]

Its not worth it to reused a p4, the cpu is worthless.

you can buy a cheap new celeron g530 for $50 and a new cheap board for $55 that will be 10x faster than the p4.

 

[thesnappyfingers]

+1 to esrever,

P4 is a poor cpu even when it was in its prime.

 

[CaedenV]

eserver is right, they are not that quick. They are good enough for a home server, or to give to a relative who is in desperate need of a computer to do word and email, but much more than that would tax the system a bit much.

 

[Shpati]

I still have a Dell E510 that had a Pentium 4 3.0 HT. It was slow. I found a cheap Pentium D 3.4 GHz on eBay (like $20). I upgraded, it was faster, but still slow.

Just saying, spending that much money on a Pentium 4 machines is not worth it at all.

 

[rds1220]

I wouldn't bother with the Pentium 4 it's so old it's not worth it. The Pentium 4 is slow and hot it's worthless.

 

[Guest]

looking at the supported cpus for that motherboard, you could get any socket 775 . .not just a p4.

but really like was said, you could upgrade considerably for the same budget since you do have ddr3 ram.

and omg an 80 gig HD? wow i remember when i could function with one . .long time ago.

 

[amuffin]

You've got a P4 @5.4ghz?

 

[rex000]

Thanks everyone for your replies, very helpful.

I understand that I could probably spend $100 and get a cheap Sandy Bridge LGA1155 CPU + MOBO.... hehe

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116409
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813135288

The reason I was still considering the Pentium 4, is that I was comparing it to the Intel Atom CPUs in netbooks (slow, but still usable, right?). Even so, most Atoms are clocked at less than 2.0Ghz are single-core w/ HT... So comparing that with the Pentium 4, clocked @ 3.2 Ghz... I thought the P4 would still be faster... thus usable for basic stuff.

My dad has been using a Intel Pentium 4 Northwood (single core @ 2.4Ghz) which has NO HYPER-THREADING... and it still runs regular everyday things quite quickly... iTunes, youtube, Microsoft Office, etc.

 

[wr6133]

5.4GHZ? Is it kept on pluto for cooling?

 

[ashdeman]

5.4GHZ? Is it kept on pluto for cooling?

Now that would be one monster extension cable!

 

[nforce4max]

Now that would be one monster extension cable!

Who needs a cable that long http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radioisotope_thermoelectric_generator

 

[wr6133]

Radioisotope thermoelectric generator Pentium 4@5.4GHZ Pluto cooled

Thats alot of effort for the amount of Pron he could fit on that HDD

 

[jitpublisher]

Hello,

I have an old Intel Pentium 4 Prescott 640 @ 3.2 Ghz (Single Core w/ Hyper-Threading) and was looking for opinions for whether or not I should put it to use.

CPU Specifications: http://ark.intel.com/products/27480/Intel-Pentium-4-Processor-640-supporting-HT-Technology-%282M-Cache-3_20-GHz-800-MHz-FSB%29

If I choose to use it, I only need to buy a motherboard (approximately ~$55), I have enough spare parts lying around to build it. I was wondering it was worth it or not to spend the money just to reuse this CPU...

The parts to be used in the system are:

MSI G41M-P28 MOBO (~$55)
Corsair Vengeance 1600Mhz RAM 4GB (2x2GB)
XFX 9600GSO OC 512MB DDR3 GPU
Western Digital 80GB HDD
Apevia X-Trooper Jr Case
Apevia 450W PSU

Thanks

It depends on what you are doing with it. If this is just a home office PC, a server, email, web browsing, Microsoft Office Suite, yeah a P4 will work just fine. Anything more though, and you are going find it a bit slow. However, a bit slow is not always a problem for many people if it means not spending money. A lot of office PCs in the world today are still running old P4's even slower than that. This forum was started with the enthusiast in mind who is wanting to maximize performance from every piece of hardware, so you are generally going to get the negative reaction to a question like yours.

 

[das_stig]

Just look at the length of the power plug to the sun, must have one hell of a vdroop and volt leakage.

 

[rex000]

Best answer selected by rex000.

 

[sideshow88]

Hello,

I have an old Intel Pentium 4 Prescott 640 @ 3.2 Ghz (Single Core w/ Hyper-Threading) and was looking for opinions for whether or not I should put it to use.

CPU Specifications: http://ark.intel.com/products/27480/Intel-Pentium-4-Processor-640-supporting-HT-Technology-%282M-Cache-3_20-GHz-800-MHz-FSB%29

If I choose to use it, I only need to buy a motherboard (approximately ~$55), I have enough spare parts lying around to build it. I was wondering it was worth it or not to spend the money just to reuse this CPU...

The parts to be used in the system are:

MSI G41M-P28 MOBO (~$55)
Corsair Vengeance 1600Mhz RAM 4GB (2x2GB)
XFX 9600GSO OC 512MB DDR3 GPU
Western Digital 80GB HDD
Apevia X-Trooper Jr Case
Apevia 450W PSU

Thanks

I had the same scenario a couple months ago with a prescott 3.2 and ended up buying a MSI CI-7536. really cheap board and supports DDR2 and PCI-E on a 478 socket!
Best board for the job if your still interested and can find one!
Theres also a beta bios for it that lets you overclock and it works really well