Need advice on a CPU upgrade

[mscaulk]

Ok, I have an old computer that I want to give a kid from church. However, it is pretty slow, running on an AMD Sempron 150 CPU.

I wanted to put in a bit of an upgrade in the CPU, without changing out the MB.

I was thinking maybe an Athlon Ii x2 or X3 would be a good choice (not overly expensive).

It is a pretty basic computer, with 4GB DDR3, and running Windows 7.

The girl i am looking to give it to would just be using it for web surfing, and other basic things. She does play a couple of games online.

So, what do you think?

 

[popatim]

Sounds like she already has a computer...
AS for you, you need to find out which motherbd you have and use that to find which cpu's are supported. Then you can make an informed decision.

 

[mscaulk]

Sounds like she already has a computer...
AS for you, you need to find out which motherbd you have and use that to find which cpu's are supported. Then you can make an informed decision.

She uses her mother's computer, but could use one of her own.

I have one that I am not using any longer.

I have already checked what is compatable with the MB, and i can get an Athlon X2 or X3. It will take some of the Phenom II's as well, but I am not looking to spend that much.

 

[Avro Arrow]

An AMD Sempron 150 is actually an Athlon II X2 with one core disabled. That core isn't always damaged, sometimes it's just locked. The Sempron series CPUs are known to be able to be unlocked into Athlon II X2's. Here's a thread on how to do it. Now, the thread is for a Sempron 140 but the Sempron 150 is exactly the same chip with a higher stock clock speed. As a result, the exact same procedure would apply:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/254758-29-unlocking-sempron-asrock-790gmh
Now, not all motherboards support core unlocking, but if yours does, this would be literally a free upgrade to a dual-core Athlon II X2 250e running at 2.9GHz but still remaining at 45W which would be more than enough CPU power for this girl you're talking about.