[Cossack]

How are you doin'? I'm fine too. OK, you guys, here comes a question for ya' - I got a WIN XP HOME and an AMD Athlon (tm) processor which is 1.30 GHz.
I think it's a little bit slow, so I suppose I could upgrade my speed by bying a newer processor. But I don't know which is the best for me. I know AMD's are great, but they are darn expensive >:(, so I don't know.
Which processor is good and not very expensive. I mean, what would you guys buy if you were me? It's not like I need the fastest processor out there, just a good one, you know. Thanks guys. I really appreciate your help. ;)

[psi42]

First you'll need to find out what processors your motherboard supports (unless you want to upgrade that as well).

[ecborg]

Cossack,

Before recommending an processor upgrade for you computer, I need to know what motherboard (MOBO) you currently have installed in your system hosting your 1.3GHz AMD Athlon processor.

What is the MOBOs manufacturer and model/part number?

-ecborg

[Cossack]

OK, now this is gettin' confusin' :-/. How do I find that out? Cause, you see, we bought this PC just as it is right now, you know, so I didn't buy the motherboard.?

[ecborg]

You can determine the motherboard's manufacturer and model number by installing a PC audit utility like Belarc's Advisor.

Belarc Advisor download site:
http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html

Install this PC software and hardware profiling utility on to your system. After you have successfully installed the utility, run it and the Belarc Advisor will produce a detailed hardware and software profile for you computer displaying the results in your default web browser of choice.

Under the Main Circuit Board section detailed in the generated Belarc computer profile summary you will find the motherboard information that need to know to help me determine what AMD Athlon processors the MOBO supports.

-ecborg :)

[Cossack]

One more thing - I got some burnt programs on my PC, is it possible that Berlac detects them somehow? :-/

[ecborg]

Belarc Advisor generates a computer profile summary of your system locally.

Therefore, the program doesn't send your generated computer profile summary to any remote web server on the Internet.

To answer your question more directly... the Belarc Advisor program doesn't identify (nor care about ) pirated software present on your system.

The programs only function is to generate a hardware and software system profile snapshot of your system configuration to be used locally on your system and that is all.

The program does not send any of this profile information about your systems configuration to any remote network systems on the Internet. (No worries!)

So, whom is the manufacturer of your computers MOBO and what is its mdoel/part number?

-ecborg
8)

[Cossack]

Hey, dude, I just noticed I got ASTRA 32 installed, so I ran it. That's what I got - SYSTEM NAME - "Via Technologies, Inc. VT 8363", MOTHERBOARD OEM - "Chicony Electronics Co., Ltd.", BIOS VERSION -"Award Modular BIOS v6.00PG", CHIPSET VENDOR - "Via Technologies, Inc.", CHIPSET - "VT8363/5 KT133 System Controller", DMI/SMBIOS VERSION - "2.3".
Is this enough? Thanks in advance.

[ecborg]

That is just the information I was lookin' for about your system. Your system's motherboard will support any speed Socket-462 AMD Athlon Thunderbird and Duron with 200 MHz bus central processing units.

The socket-462 (Socket A) Athlon Thunderbird line of processors maxs out at 1.4 GHz with a 133 MHz front side bus. In my mind, there really isn't a significant enough of a performance gain to be had by upgrading your system from a 1.33 GHz Athlon to a 1.4 GHz Athlon to justify you spending the $50 to $60 expense.

I my humble opinion, I would just take that money that you would spend to get the 1.4 GHz Athlon cpu and invest it in to a new motherboard to replace the one you currently have in your system.

Question(s):

How many expansion slots (AGP + PCI slots) does your current system motherboard have?

Do you have a micro-ATX or ATX case?

Whay kind of ATX power supply do you have in your system?

-E

[Cossack]

It has 4 PCI's and 1 AGP. As for the ATX's - :-[I was looking through the whole report, and didn't find that. Nothing about ATX.

[ecborg]

What is model and power rating in watts of your systems power supply?

I need to know if your current system power supply will have enough juice to power a newer AMD Athlon XP based motherboards.

-E

[Cossack]

Um... Sorry about being so lame :), but how do I find THAT out? I even downloaded the Belarc Advisor, but I still don't see anything about ATX's or power supplies. :-/

[ecborg]

Open up the case and take down the model number of the power supply. The power rating should be printed on the side label affixed to the power supply itself.

:)

-E

[Cossack]

Can I get your e-mail, please, I want to send you a copy of the label.

[ecborg]

Sure, send your email to [email protected].

-E

[Wendy225]

I would suggest an Asus A7NiX-E Motherboard with at least an Amd Athlon 2500 barton.

And 1 gig of Ram at least 2700 speed.

You can get great service and solid pricing at www.newegg.com

;)

[Nez]

Whilst on the subject of upgrades.Try http://www.ebuyer.com for reasonable hardware/software products.

Then check out http://www.gamers-depot.com/index.asp for one of the best sites on the web.Not just lists of new products,but brilliant reviews,recommendations,feedback,guides,editorials ,and help desk.

A must see site.Five ***** guys! :cool:


Happy surfing,
Nez

[Wendy225]

My suggestion is, as cheap as mobo's are right now, why not get a good solid new Mobo along with a CPU upgrade.

For price and combo, I like the Amd 2500 barton, around $90 or so, I like to buy from www.newegg.com

And for motherboard, I like the Biostar M7NCD Nforce 2, for around $50 or so.

So for around 150, you have greatly upgraded your system.

If you want to spend a little more, I suggest the Asus A7N8X-E, also Nforce 2, but it includes Gigabit lan and Sata, and better on board sound.

:D