Upgrade from Pentium 4 2.0ghz

[Mutley]

Hi all,

I currently have an MSI motherboard with an SiS 645DX chipset.
The CPU is an Intel Pentium 4 2.0ghz, northwood.

I have the FSB OC'd to 125Mhz, pushing the CPU to 2.5Ghz, which is a reasonable overclock.

I'm thinking of buying a 2.8Ghz P4, which is the fastest speed I can fit in the motherboard (I think).

My question - is it worth it? Will I get a noticeable speed increase especially in FPS games with this speed increase, or am I better off saving my money for a full system upgrade later on?

Thanks!

Mutley

[darrensen]

If it was me....... and currently im doing the same thing.

I would save for a new system. If its for games, i would buy an AMD cpu as they are much better for that. If your machine is running at 2.5, thats not too bad really.

[Mike Fishcake]

Which model is it? Because I've got a PC with an MSI motherboard based on the 645 chipset and that claims it only supports 2GHZ (400FSB)

[Mutley]

Mike, the motherboard is the MSI 645 MAX2-LRU (MS-6567).

http://www.msicomputer.com/product/p...2-LRU&class=mb

According to the data sheet, the motherboard supports 400 and 533mhz FSB (as 100 or 133 Mhz quad pumped).

So, if I understand correctly, I ought to be able to stick in a 533Mhz FSB 2.8Ghz P4...or am I wrong on that?

Mutley.

[johnnr892]

probably buying a new p4 cpu for an extra 300mhz is not worth it, especially for p4's. I would stay with what you have for a while and save for a venice 64 amd.

[Mike Fishcake]

So, if I understand correctly, I ought to be able to stick in a 533Mhz FSB 2.8Ghz P4...or am I wrong on that?

You probably are right - i was assuming that the 400MHz limitation was on the chipset rather than my board... but as johnnr892 says, it's probably not worth upgrading for an extra 300MHZ anyway. I personally wouldn't.

[Mutley]

Thats what I was beginning to wonder. And my guess is that as you get more powerful CPUs, because its the same core technology, overclocking ability is going to be reduced.

Thinking about it, I'm not sure if my motherboard does support 533Mhz P4s. I *think* that is supports 400Mhz P4s at 100mhz quad FSB, and PC2700/DR333 at 133 Mhz quad FSB. I'm really no expert in this, and it gets pretty confusing!

[Smokey21]

Don't bother. Bite the bullet, save up some more cash, and upgrade the lot.

[mike_w]

I agree with what has already been said - a 300mhz increase isn't worth it, especially considering the cost. If I were you, I would just buy a new graphics card, and then wait a bit. By the time your computer wouldn't be able to run the latest games, prices should (hopefully!) have dropped a bit.

[Mutley]

Cool, that all makes sense.

I'll stick with what I've got I think.

Thanks for all your feedback, I really appreciate it.

Mutley.