1.4 Willamette --> New P4 or Celeron???

Twsmit

Senior member
Nov 30, 2003
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Currently the family is using a Dell Demension 8100, 2x 256 PC800 RDRAM, GF2 Ultra, Dell i850 mobo and original case PSU, ect....

I was thinking of upgrading some of the parts. Before i moved onto bigger and better computers, I upgraded the PC600 into PC800. Right now im am thinking of a CPU upgrade.

The computer has a socket 423 1.4ghz Willamette. Would upgrading to a 400FSB P4 with a powerleap adapter be best? Or should i consider a Celeron? The current celerons have 128k cache, and this CPU has 256k.

I was thinking a 2.4 - 2.6 P4 400mhz off the FS/T forums or picking up an uber cheap celeron.

What you guys think?
 

Twsmit

Senior member
Nov 30, 2003
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ya already saw that ... but thx. Anyways that is a P3 celeron. Im talking about a first generation P4 with low clock speed vs either a medium clockspeed P4 or just getting one of those new crippled celerons.....
 

Booster

Diamond Member
May 4, 2002
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I guess just leave it alone... Any upgrade won't bring a noticeable performance gain since other components stay the same. Using a Celeron will only slow it down, 400FSB P4 would be an upgrade but with the same old components (old motherboard, RAM, hard drive) it would be in the same speed department IMO.
 

Twsmit

Senior member
Nov 30, 2003
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Originally posted by: Acanthus
You dont want a pentium 4 based celeron...

$35 AMD durons stomp them into the ground, its sad.


Well this is a dell, and not a socket A machine, so no go......

I know the new celerons are bad, but im talking about a pre northwood crappy P4 @ 1.4ghz. Would an $80 - $100 2.8+ghz celeron be an upgrade and how much? Im going to spend probably over $100 if i go for a decent speed P4.
 

Twsmit

Senior member
Nov 30, 2003
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Originally posted by: Booster
I guess just leave it alone... Any upgrade won't bring a noticeable performance gain since other components stay the same. Using a Celeron will only slow it down, 400FSB P4 would be an upgrade but with the same old components (old motherboard, RAM, hard drive) it would be in the same speed department IMO.


I was also thinking of picking up a new video card.
 

Acanthus

Lifer
Aug 28, 2001
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ostif.org
Originally posted by: Twsmit
Originally posted by: Acanthus
You dont want a pentium 4 based celeron...

$35 AMD durons stomp them into the ground, its sad.


Well this is a dell, and not a socket A machine, so no go......

I know the new celerons are bad, but im talking about a pre northwood crappy P4 @ 1.4ghz. Would an $80 - $100 2.8+ghz celeron be an upgrade and how much? Im going to spend probably over $100 if i go for a decent speed P4.

I guess you could go for a 400fsb northwood? I would honestly change platforms.
 

Twsmit

Senior member
Nov 30, 2003
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Originally posted by: Acanthus
Originally posted by: Twsmit
Originally posted by: Acanthus
You dont want a pentium 4 based celeron...

$35 AMD durons stomp them into the ground, its sad.


Well this is a dell, and not a socket A machine, so no go......

I know the new celerons are bad, but im talking about a pre northwood crappy P4 @ 1.4ghz. Would an $80 - $100 2.8+ghz celeron be an upgrade and how much? Im going to spend probably over $100 if i go for a decent speed P4.

I guess you could go for a 400fsb northwood? I would honestly change platforms.


Here is what im thinking......

512PC800
2.4ghz P4 northwood
Radeon 9600 Pro (maybe i will go cheap and pick up a 8500 or 9200)

It isnt the fastest thing around, but for Call of Duty, CS and the games my 14 year old brother is getting into, it should be more than enough.


Edit: if i get a celeron, i can go for a better video card, if i get a northwood, i will eat more of the budget.
 

Lonyo

Lifer
Aug 10, 2002
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Just buy a cheap XP, 1800+ or something, a cheap nForce 2 motherboard (Shuttle) and 512MB RAM, should be quite cheap and much better. Unless you can't use the HDD with a different mobo (I have a Dell HDD that wouldn't work in another machine :( - might have been fixable though, somehow), but you could buy a cheap case, reuse the CD drive etc. See how much it would cost.
 

mooojojojo

Senior member
Jul 15, 2002
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Originally posted by: Lonyo
Just buy a cheap XP, 1800+ or something, a cheap nForce 2 motherboard (Shuttle) and 512MB RAM, should be quite cheap and much better. Unless you can't use the HDD with a different mobo (I have a Dell HDD that wouldn't work in another machine :( - might have been fixable though, somehow), but you could buy a cheap case, reuse the CD drive etc. See how much it would cost.
So basically you're saying he should get a new PC?
 

CZroe

Lifer
Jun 24, 2001
24,195
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OK, don't forget that he can run a 533FSB CPU at 400FSB. An underclock isn't the end of the world
rolleye.gif


Also, should you decide to upgrade the system, I could use 512MB PC800 RDRAM on two sticks ;)

Already have 512 on four but I'm aiming for a gig in my 1.3GHz Williamette fileserver someday...
And what's with all the people saying performance will suck? 400FSB is hardly a bottleneck and PC800 RDRAM is more adequate for it than even today's DDR400 (Lower latency). The memory probably even overclocks to PC1066 even though the motherboard probably can't (Early i850's couldn't). With a little overclock, you can come somewhat closer to 533FSB performance.
 

Twsmit

Senior member
Nov 30, 2003
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well i cant overclock it since i got it in december 2000 and it probably has no head room..... not to mention its a dell. .... lol Also, if anyone bothered to read my posts this is the kids family computer my brother uses. Im not going to go spend money on a new system just yet... yikes!
 

Twsmit

Senior member
Nov 30, 2003
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Originally posted by: mooojojojo
Originally posted by: Lonyo
Just buy a cheap XP, 1800+ or something, a cheap nForce 2 motherboard (Shuttle) and 512MB RAM, should be quite cheap and much better. Unless you can't use the HDD with a different mobo (I have a Dell HDD that wouldn't work in another machine :( - might have been fixable though, somehow), but you could buy a cheap case, reuse the CD drive etc. See how much it would cost.
So basically you're saying he should get a new PC?



Lets see, around 50+ for the CPU, 60+ for the mobo, 60+ for the case, 60+ for the ram, 100+ for new video card.
Total = $330 +


or i can get a $75 CPU and a new video card..... hmmmmm lemmy see?
 

AIWGuru

Banned
Nov 19, 2003
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You need to buy a cheap asus mobo and a cheap athlon XP and a cheap stick of DDR. It will RAPE that system.
 

CZroe

Lifer
Jun 24, 2001
24,195
857
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Originally posted by: AIWGuru
You need to buy a cheap asus mobo and a cheap athlon XP and a cheap stick of DDR. It will RAPE that system.

And it'll never work with the Dell's keyed PSU, proprietary "power button + front mounted port cable" etc.

Also, keep in mind that Dell does not use a standard HSF and the case is only designed to exhaust their colling apparatus.

You really are simplifying it too much ;) It's only that easy if you originally built it yourself with standard components.
 

CZroe

Lifer
Jun 24, 2001
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So you're saying "build and entirely new computer sans the drives"

And a $30 case/PSU combo would be of risky quality I'm sure. The HSF would also need to be purchased.

I guess it'll need a few fans too, as Dell's 120mm don't usually move to the cheapie $30 cases very well ;)

What about cables? They may be custom length and therefore probably too short. The floppy would have to be moved with no bezel unless it, too, is replaced (or ignored/left out).

Too many factors when dealing with an 8100 ;)
 

AIWGuru

Banned
Nov 19, 2003
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Originally posted by: CZroe
So you're saying "build and entirely new computer sans the drives"

And a $30 case/PSU combo would be of risky quality I'm sure. The HSF would also need to be purchased.

I guess it'll need a few fans too, as Dell's 120mm don't usually move to the cheapie $30 cases very well ;)

What about cables? They may be custom length and therefore probably too short. The floppy would have to be moved with no bezel unless it, too, is replaced (or ignored/left out).

Too many factors when dealing with an 8100 ;)

That's silly. Most case/ps combos, even the cheap ones are fine for most people - that's why they're common.
The cables will come with the motherboard.
The HSF will come with the processor. Who buys OEM processors?
You're worried about a $10 fan? We're talking about an upgrade here, not a free substitution. The total cost would be around $250USD and about twice the performance + standard form factor for easier future upgrades.

 

Cerb

Elite Member
Aug 26, 2000
17,484
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Aside from video card, there is no maningful ugrade for that system.
Sure you can get a new CPU (if your mobo supports it--check that), maybe memory...but it's small and expensive steps.
(Newegg's case section is now Evil!)
In any case, you're best off to save until you can spend $300 on hardware. It's just too old to bother with baby steps.
 

styrafoam

Platinum Member
Jun 18, 2002
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Buy the video card and install it in the system as it stands. The GF2 is for sure holding back video game performance, you may not get top of the line numbers from the current processor but there will be a definite boost for games. If you are happy with the performance then good. If not the video card will always carry over into an upgraded system.

Going cheap on the card now(8500 or 9200) just means that you will have to deal with it again soon, and it sounds like the next upgrade will be the rest of the system
 

dexvx

Diamond Member
Feb 2, 2000
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Buy a S423 -> S478 adapter + P4 2.4GHz / 400 FSB Northwood. That combo should run you about $100.

As for video card, you can pick up a radeon 9500NP 128MB for very cheap.

The above should make it possible for you to run any current game respectfully.