help me choose a cpu upgrade

[whistleclient]

i have a dell xps i bought a year or so ago. i don't have the money to buy/build a new system but i'd like to upgrade my processor before half-life 2 comes out. could you help me figure out what the best cpu is for this? i'm confused about prescott/northwood/etc. also, i don't know what clock speed dell's xps series will take.

thanks for any help you can provide....



from my purchase receipt:

Dimension XPS
PROCESSOR, 80532, 2.8G, 512K, 800FSB, SOCKET N

from wpcpuid:

[ WCPUID Version 3.3 (c) 1996-2004 By H.Oda! ]

Processor #1 : Intel Pentium 4 / FBC822A5
Platform : Socket478 (mPGA478 Socket)
Vendor String : GenuineIntel
CPU Type : Original OEM Processor (0)
Name String : Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.80GHz

 

[goshdarnindie]

I don't know jack about Intel anymore, but I will atleast bump your question to the top

 

[LTC8K6]

That's a pretty good chip, 2.8C Northwood with HT, and you probably aren't going to notice much improvement even if you drop a 3.2C in there.

I wouldn't upgrade that processor.

What video card?

 

[o1die]

You would get more bang for the buck by changing the video card. I recommend the cheaper version of the 6800. They run about $266 (pricewatch). Or the 9800 pro has dropped dramatically in price. It currently starts at $135 for the 128 meg version. I have a 2.8 "c" northwood cpu, and overclock it 33% for a free upgrade. Unfortunately, Dell motherboards have no overclocking options in the bios.

 

[Weeeman]

2.8 is fine, i run a 2.2ish [3200+] and I rarely wish I had more, and then I see the price of the better processors and I cry

Grab a better video card, save yourself $300

I have the evga nvidia 6800gt - it holds a very special place in my heart :laugh:

 

[Fern]

Originally posted by: LTC8K6
That's a pretty good chip, 2.8C Northwood with HT, and you probably aren't going to notice much improvement even if you drop a 3.2C in there.

I wouldn't upgrade that processor.

What video card?

What he says

 

[whistleclient]

i have an ATI 9800 non-pro

i was thinking of upgrading to this:

SAPPHIRE ATI RADEON X800 PRO Video Card, 256MB GDDR3, 256-Bit, DVI/VIVO, 8X AGP, Model "TOXIC X800 PRO VIVO" -RETAIL

then flashing it to an X800 XT PE

what do you think?

 

[Shenkoa]

I would wait for a little while before upgradin but if you want it now then go with a 6800 GT.

 

[HiDeAtHfInItIoN]

i would get the 6800GT...and if ur getting the gt get the Gainward 6800GT Golden Sample. That card will oc to ultra speeds with ease. I owned an ATi x800PRO and wasnt that impressed, and im a fan of ATi...but not a fanboy.