CPU upgrade

[CoolGuy90]

Currently I have a P4 2.60GHZ 800FSB Northwood CPU in my Dell 8300. On newegg they have a OEM P4 3.0E Prescott for $92. Is it worth an upgrade?



Thanks

[stinger608]

You should see a pretty good performance gain with that upgrade.

You should post the link though, so some of us can take a look to make sure.

also, if you can, post your system specks in you signature. Or at the very least post them in this thread.

And welcome coolguy90 to the forums. Every one is real friendly here, so you should be getting a real warm welcome from most of the members

[stinger608]

Well coolguy90 I am to assume that the cpu that you were looking at is the following:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116175

By the buyer reviews, it looks to be a fantastic deal :D

[One4yu2c]

Originally Posted by CoolGuy90

Currently I have a P4 2.60GHZ 800FSB Northwood CPU in my Dell 8300. On newegg they have a OEM P4 3.0E Prescott for $92. Is it worth an upgrade?

I'd really advise skipping the upgrade for the following reasons:

• 1) You're looking at just a 400MHz jump, which really isn't much on the P4 side of the fence. Even with the efficient A64 processors, you'd be hard pressed to notice much of a real-world difference in most areas outside of benchmarking with the same kind of speed bump (400MHz), and with Pentium 4 processors, the performance gains per MHz are less defined.
  
  2) Depending on the application, that 2.6GHz Northwood on an 800FSB could keep up with a higher clocked Prescott. The Precott's don't really start to shine until around 3.4GHz+. That transitional phase in the 3.0ish GHz range really didn't separate itself from the Northwood cores, and in fact the Northwoods actually outpace equally clocked Prescotts in some areas.

All in all, IMO you'd be far better off pocketing that $92 and applying it elsewhere for a more tangeable performance dividend.

- my 2 cents

[Capper]

I agree with Paul. Save the $92, get a bigger allowance built up, the switch to a dual core processor......it'll most likely run faster and cooler

[yurimxpxman]

Can the CPU in that PC even be changed without frying any hardware? I'm not sure which parts are propeitary in that particular model.

[Lead Head]

It SHOULD be able to handle a 3.0Ghz P4 fine, but like others have said, 400 Mhz jump is that great

[CoolGuy90]

Thanks for the help guys. If the upgrade will not be a improvement over my current cpu, I'll probably not get it. I am actually thinking in late '07 to build my own pc with dual-core and such.

[drew and not u]

or a quad core!

[CoolGuy90]

I don't think I need 4 cores