Need Computer Help -- Trying to Decide if I Want to Upgrade CPU

[NYC GOP Chick]

OK, I have a computer that's about 3 years old and I'm very attached to it. I've done lots of upgrades and improvements over the past year or so and instead of getting a new one, I'd like to do one more upgrade.

Having put in a Network Interface Card, doubled the RAM to 256K, installed a CD-RW drive and replaced the hard drive in my IBM Aptiva, I'm giving serious thought to updating the processor from a Pentium III 600 MHz to something like a P4 2G or something, and I have a few questions:

1) Do I need a new motherboard to do this?

2) How difficult is this to do? Will it become one of those "more trouble than its worth" things?

3) What issues and potential problems should I consider?

Here are some of the specs:

Pentium III 600
system board: V66M
system board chipset: Intel 82443ZX
system board form factor: micro-ATX
front-side bus speed: 100 MHz

[krizzy]

Yes you need a new motherboard, cpu, and memory. I do this all the time and get most of my stuff from http://www.computergate.com. I would also go with the AMD, more bang for the buck. Abit has some great Mboards with VIA chipsets for $100 or less.

You didn't say what OS you were using, but you may run into a few snags pluging your hard drive into a new motherboard. such as the OS seeing new hardware and old drivers etc. Be sure you do a full backup of your hard drive before you start.

good luck and have fun

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

Why AMD over Intel? Also, I do a lot of work with stuff like Flash and Photoshop, and have heard that Pentium is better for working with them, for some reason.

That used to be the case but by all accounts, AMD has caught Intel in graphics and performance. Any advantage Intel had over AMD is now slight and getting smaller with each new CPU both produce.

[dennisw]

What do you do with your computer? It could be that what you have suits you just fine. MS Word and the internet won't move any faster with a new computer. If you build you own (doubtful) I would get this motherboard at newegg: ASUSTEK COMPUTER INC.--Motherboard - A7N266-VM  on board sound, lan and video. I have one.

For the best deals go here and see what Dell is blowing out for $330 to $450 dollars w/ free shipping.

[ASA Vet]

I'm going though a similar decision taking process.
Should I upgrade from my old Vic 20 to a C-64?

[dennisw]

I like newegg too. I had to send back a motherboard and there was ZERO problem w/ doing that. Their rep is well deserved. What's cool there are the customer comments about items they sell. The comments have saved me time and money.

[ikka]

What video card do you have? You might find that getting a fast video card will make everything be much snappier.

[Ford Fairlane]

I have put in quit a few systems on the side in the last couple of years, & have used AMD for people who didn't care, because I get a better margin, & it seems like there are fewer instances of the dreaded "blue screen of death" & similar problems.

I personally have a P700 laptop, & 1ghz pentium & AMD workstations, the laptop locks up a lot, but i figure that is because it is a laptop, the pentium locks up some, but the AMD almost never locks up.

All are running windows ME (yes, I know I need to change that), and are mostly used for web browsing, Microsoft Office apps, and Autocad 2000.

Interestingly, it seems that outlook is what locks any of them up most often, but the pentium chips act finnicky while running autocad, while I rarely have trouble with the AMD machine.

[George from New England]

"doubled the RAM to 256K"

wow that must have cost a fortune !!!

[CFC__VRWC]

I was perfectly happy with my 550 PIII until the power supply went Kerflooey! and took the motherboard with it. As soon as the holiday cash hemmorhage ends, I'm buying a new board. I'm leaning toward the P4 - I had a old Duron system on hand and installed my old HD and it wouldn't boot up (I have Windows XP Pro) at all. I took the HD with me to work (that's another PIII machine) and it booted, but it wants me to reactivate the operating system with Microsoft.

Like you, I'm not ready to trash my HD, and I'm hoping that the P4 is similar enough to the PIII that the drive will boot. You may have to reinstall the OS, depending on what you're using and what your hardware configuration is. Before you start, definitely back up any data files that you want to keep. You will almost certainly need new RAM. Good luck.

[ptrey]

You may be better off starting with a barebones and keep your present machine for a backup. Check prices here:

www.pricewatch.com

[Ford Fairlane]

Check out http://www.kristamicro.com, you need a tax # to do business with them, but their systems are AOK & their prices are good (wholesale).

[NYC GOP Chick]

Wow! Thanks for the great insight and help!

[krizzy]

want my TRS 80?

[John Lenin]

By the way, it's real tricky to change a motherboard without reinstalling the OS. Best to start over and reinstall the OS and all your programs unless you know someone who has done it before.

[NYC GOP Chick]

What video card do you have? You might find that getting a fast video card will make everything be much snappier.

How/where would I find that info?

[gcruse]

Will it run as fast as my TI-994A?

[John Lenin]

Right click on my computer, L click on propertys, L click on hardware, L click on device manager, L click on display adapter and it will tell you.

[NYC GOP Chick]

OK, it says: SR9 Pro - 16MB SDRAM

[krizzy]

I think they were about the same. after all basic doesn't exactly push the limits of hardware.

[John Lenin]

You have a prety good card, 16megs is kinda small but a new card will not speed things up much unless you do a lot of graphics.