Processor upgrade.

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by loves160, Nov 5, 2007.

  1. loves160

    loves160 Private E-2

    Hi all,

    I have recently bought a few new games but they run slowly on my pc. So I have decided to upgrade my processor to fix this. I currently have an Intel Pentium 4 2.8GHz and would like something around 3.0 - 3.20GHz. When buying one, how do I know which ones are compatible with my PC. I have been told it is something to do with the motherboard. Here is the info on my motherboard -

    Motherboard ID 07/29/2004-P4M266-8233-6A6LWM4FC-00

    Motherboard Name MSI P4MAM-V (MS-6787 v2.0)

    Please help me!

    Regards, Andy.
     
  2. InYearsToCome

    InYearsToCome MajorGeek

    While a processor may be the cheapest upgrade (depending on availability), i doubt you will see too much increase in performance in your games.

    I would recommend upgrading your video card instead. It looks like your motherboard has onboard video, but you also have an AGP slot for AGP video cards. Since the current video card interface is PCI-Express, you should be able to find a good AGP video card for relatively cheap, especially if you get one used. If you need help finding one or have questions as to which one would be best, feel free to ask.


    To answer your original question, your motherboard only supports p4 CPU's with 533mhz FSB (not worth any upgrade in my opinion). Here is the list of supported CPU's http://global.msi.com.tw/index.php?func=prodcpusupport&prod_no=577&maincat_no=1#menu
     
  3. ibbonkers

    ibbonkers First Sergeant

    as inyears said look at video but also how much ram are you running? that may also help performance to a large degree
     
  4. loves160

    loves160 Private E-2

    I ran Everest and this is what it said.
    Field Value
    Total 511 MB
    Used 352MB
    Free 158 MB
    Field Value
    Utilization 69 %
     
  5. loves160

    loves160 Private E-2

    I am currently using a NVIDEA GeFORCE 6200 A-LE (256MB) video adaptor. If I replaced this one would that solve my problem?
     
  6. InYearsToCome

    InYearsToCome MajorGeek

    you have a lower end video card, which is primarily the problem. First look to upgrade that. You should easily be able to find an Nvidia GeForce 6800 series AGP card for cheap, if not a better card (GeForce 7800, 7900, or ATI Radeon X1900 series). At bare minimum i'd recommend a GeForce 7600 series or Radeon x1600 series.

    Also as ibbonkers mentioned, you have only 512MB RAM. While that is sufficient to run the games, you would definetly benefit from at least 1GB of RAM (another 512MB stick). Most likely it is DDR-400 (PC-3200) RAM.
     
  7. loves160

    loves160 Private E-2

    Cheers guys. I have already looked into increasing my memory. It is currently 2 x 256MB. I require DDR SDRAM 184PIN DIMM PC2100.
     
  8. loves160

    loves160 Private E-2

    Looking at the different makes of geforce 7600, does it have to be nvidia? There are lots of other makes and cheaper too. But are they inferier to nvidia?:confused
     
  9. ibbonkers

    ibbonkers First Sergeant

    ati or nvidia will work just fine for you they perform a little different from eachother and thats about it. Both are good for games. the 1600 series from ati is roughly equivalent to 7600 nvidia :)
     
  10. InYearsToCome

    InYearsToCome MajorGeek

    Unless you get a good deal on pc2100, I would shoot for pc3200 or pc2700. They will work just fine in your board and are faster and usually cheaper because they are more common now.
     

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