Processor upgrade?

[N8eb]

I have a Dell 4600 with the Pentium 4 running at 2.8GHz that has 512 k cache, 400 FSB, and I have 1 gig of ram.

I want to speed things up just a bit - not a big game player - so I have already bought two 1 gig sticks of RAM - will total 3 gigs when done.

I see Pentium4's at 3.2GHz that have 1 meg cache pretty cheap on eBay and several other sources. First off, will the Dell MB work with other, faster processors, and is this upgrade worthwhile? Would this be a "plug and play" upgrade, or would it be more involved?

I know I should probably add a couple hundered bucks and get a whole new box, but the wife is penny pinching lately. I can talk her into letting me "maintain" my current computer, but buying a new one right now is out of the question with her!

 

[aford10]

Here's someone with the same question. It appears there is a BIOS update for that board that would support the faster P4. It depends on the price you're willing to pay for a minimal upgrade.
http://forums.techguy.org/hardware/727339-replacing-dell-4600-microprocessor.html

 

[N8eb]

Here's someone with the same question. It appears there is a BIOS update for that board that would support the faster P4. It depends on the price you're willing to pay for a minimal upgrade.
http://forums.techguy.org/hardware/727339-replacing-dell-4600-microprocessor.html

Well first off, I have already gone to the Dell site and made sure I had the lateset bios and drivers on the tech support site. Still doesn't look like you can do much with it...

Yesterday cruising around this site and a couple of others, made me think I will give up the ghost on my baby that has served me so well all these years! Might risk pissing the wife off and buy a barebones special from TigerDirect and upgrade to a BioStar G31-M7 TE M/B and an E5200 dual core and move into the new millenium!

 

[aford10]

That is a rather outdated CPU and chipset. Though, it is a great CPU for overclocking. If you know how, you can get some extra power out of it. It will definitly be an upgrade to what you currently have. But for another $50 or so, you could get an AMD x3 setup. Just a thought...

 

[N8eb]

An AMD x3, huh? I haven't been keeping up with computer proc technolgy the last 4 or 5 years - got into ham radio to occupy my "tech time"....

But from what I have been reading the last few days I thought the Intel E5000 had the best OC bang for the buck, and AMD's ran kind of hot when OC'ed.

Now remember I am not a graphic game player - solitaire is the extent of my gaming.... However I do run 4 or 5 programs at once - a ham radio rig control program, Internet Explorer with multiple tabs always open(to look up radio call signs), a ham radio contact logging program, and while things on the radio are slow, a little solitaire.

This is why I have already bought 2 gigs of ram for this old Dell to total out at 3 gigs, and was thinking of moving from the 2.8 to a 3.4 Pentium - but I think that would top out all upgradability in the future for a 478 socket machine.

So I really have not been looking at ANY AMD budles - what's a good starting point?
Again, don't need extreme graphics - multi-tasking is more of my needs, with room for upgrading in the future.

 

[N8eb]

Oh - and if it could some how fit in my old Dell 4600 case so the wife doesn't know.....

 

[aford10]

Here is a decent combo that should suit all your needs. It's a little more, but it's an HDMI mobo (onboard graphics). It's a microATX mobo so it should fit inside your current case (you'll want to measure your current board to make sure). The AM3 socket allows for future upgrade options.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.254080
It's worth noting, that the mobo uses DDR3 RAM.