Help!!! Upgrading Northwood System

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lee0539

[H]ard|Gawd
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Nov 17, 2001
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Below in my sig is my system stats (not overclocked because the CPU is worn out so running at 2.4). I don't want to spend too much money to upgrade this computer which will either be replaced by another desktop or a top end notebook some time next year depending on where or if I go to grad school (2 of the schools require notebooks in class, so I dont want to buy anything till I know what I need). However the dilemma is that this computer is running too slow for me atm. I need something to boost the speed a bit and also secondary is running games a little better (AGP, but dont really like the idea of upgrading vid card unless it will provide significant improvement for cheap price, I can live without playing games). I dont want to spend any more then 400 or so dollars with the cut off at 500. Any ideas? Thanks in advance for any help. I know to most of you it isn't really exciting to think about upgrading some old junk.

How does this sound?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116027
 
Save your money. That Prescott won't provide you with any noticeable improvement in games or general work.

Actually for $400 you can build system that has room to grow:
Intel Pentium Dual Core E2140 CPU - $69
Abit IP35-E Intel P35 Motherboard - $86
G.SKILL F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ 2 x 1GB DDR2 800 RAM - $66
Enhance ENP-5150GH 500W PSU - $69
Sapphire 100199L Radeon X1950GT 256MB PCI-E Video Card - $113
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Total: $403 Plus tax and shipping.

Just reuse your Raptor, case, and CD drive and you're set! The system I listed above is a much better use of $400 and does provide you with a nice base PC to upgrade from.

If you multi-task a lot, the E2140 is a good CPU for you since it is a dual core. Also, it's ridiculously easy to OC. It can hit 3.0Ghz on just the stock HSF along. And it's stock speed is 1.6Ghz!

The Abit IP35-E, like all P35 chipset motherboards, will support Intel's new Wolfdale Dual Core and Yorkfield Quad-core CPUs. The Wolfdales and Yorkfields are the faster and more refined versions of the Intel's current Core 2 Duos/Quads, the kings of CPU performance at the moment.

2GB of DDR2 800 RAM is all that you need for stock or minor OCing' in mind. And RAM is really cheap now. So I recommend getting 2GB of RAM ASAP. And don't worry about DDR3. It won't reach widespread adoption to late 2009, I think, when DDR3 prices have dropped, when DDR3 speeds are significantly faster than DDR2 and when CPUs/chipsets come out that take advantage of the extreme bandwidth provided by DDR3.

The x1950GT is significantly faster than the 6600GT you currently have and so you should notice a significant difference in video games. Though if you want to go a bit cheaper, the 7600GT is a good choice as well:
eVGA 256-P2-N615-TX GeForce 7600GT 256MB PCI-E Video Card - $90

The Enhance 500W PSU should have enough power for future video cards and upgrades. Right now the Enhance PSU I linked to can support up to the 8800GTX video card as long you keep the rest of the system relatively light.

So like I said, for $400, you can have a nice base system that'll be easy to upgrade when you upgrade sometime next year.
 
Danny Bui said:
Save your money. That Prescott won't provide you with any noticeable improvement in games or general work.

Actually for $400 you can build system that has room to grow:
Intel Pentium Dual Core E2140 CPU - $69
Abit IP35-E Intel P35 Motherboard - $86
G.SKILL F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ 2 x 1GB DDR2 800 RAM - $66
Enhance ENP-5150GH 500W PSU - $69
Sapphire 100199L Radeon X1950GT 256MB PCI-E Video Card - $113
---
Total: $403 Plus tax and shipping.

Just reuse your Raptor, case, and CD drive and you're set! The system I listed above is a much better use of $400 and does provide you with a nice base PC to upgrade from.

If you multi-task a lot, the E2140 is a good CPU for you since it is a dual core. Also, it's ridiculously easy to OC. It can hit 3.0Ghz on just the stock HSF along. And it's stock speed is 1.6Ghz!

The Abit IP35-E, like all P35 chipset motherboards, will support Intel's new Wolfdale Dual Core and Yorkfield Quad-core CPUs. The Wolfdales and Yorkfields are the faster and more refined versions of the Intel's current Core 2 Duos/Quads, the kings of CPU performance at the moment.

2GB of DDR2 800 RAM is all that you need for stock or minor OCing' in mind. And RAM is really cheap now. So I recommend getting 2GB of RAM ASAP. And don't worry about DDR3. It won't reach widespread adoption to late 2009, I think, when DDR3 prices have dropped, when DDR3 speeds are significantly faster than DDR2 and when CPUs/chipsets come out that take advantage of the extreme bandwidth provided by DDR3.

The x1950GT is significantly faster than the 6600GT you currently have and so you should notice a significant difference in video games. Though if you want to go a bit cheaper, the 7600GT is a good choice as well:
eVGA 256-P2-N615-TX GeForce 7600GT 256MB PCI-E Video Card - $90

The Enhance 500W PSU should have enough power for future video cards and upgrades. Right now the Enhance PSU I linked to can support up to the 8800GTX video card as long you keep the rest of the system relatively light.

So like I said, for $400, you can have a nice base system that'll be easy to upgrade when you upgrade sometime next year.
Click to expand...

I have 6800 128MB not 6600GT

Thanks, only issue is that I dont want to get something and have it unused when I upgrade. Will 350 watt PSU be enough or do I need to upgrade PSU? I want to get a good corsair when I upgrade. I also think I should upgrade my case if I'm going to get new MB, CPU, and rams. Probably should have said 300 dollars because I need to get a good sized hard drive (running out of space) and only 2 SATA connections so i'm really considering the idea.
 
What are you doing that makes your 2.4C system too slow? Cuz my old lan box has the same CPU, and it handles many things just fine. Maybe all you need is a fresh install of Windows?
 
enginurd said:
What are you doing that makes your 2.4C system too slow? Cuz my old lan box has the same CPU, and it handles many things just fine. Maybe all you need is a fresh install of Windows?
Click to expand...

Not sure what happened to my OC (blue screen and seems like its a memory problem possibly), but my CPU went from 3.2 to 2.4. So, yes it can handle things just fine, but not at the speed I want. I mean a 1.5 ghz comp can handle everything, but it will also be a lot slower.
 
lee0539 said:
Not sure what happened to my OC (blue screen and seems like its a memory problem possibly), but my CPU went from 3.2 to 2.4. So, yes it can handle things just fine, but not at the speed I want. I mean a 1.5 ghz comp can handle everything, but it will also be a lot slower.
Click to expand...

But specifically... what specific tasks aren't fast enough now?
 
enginurd said:
But specifically... what specific tasks aren't fast enough now?
Click to expand...

mainly ripping, converting wav to mp3, winrar (opening up zipped files), opening programs (bunch of large sized powerpoint and pdf files) take a lot longer to open than before, and game performance went down also.
 
Ok, so your budget is $400 for a full upgrade? or $300? Either way, you'll need to save a bit more money if you want to build a new system. And no, a 350W PSU won't be enough for when you upgrade, especially if you get a high powered gaming card. I say go with Danny's build and when you get more money, uprgade the HDD etc.
 
i'm not looking for a full upgrade. Just some advise if its a good idea to get a cheap northwood/prescott cpu... if its going to require a whole bunch of upgrades then I'm not going to do it. I'm not upgrading my computer till next year.. i just need some small stuff to hold me over.
 
In that case, the best upgrade you could do for better performance is more RAM, but look in the FS/FT forums instead of buying new, since DDR is overpriced. You could also look for a used CPU, but I found those to be overpriced as well. I think you'll be best served by saving your money for now, if you can.

If you want a stopgap solution, you can get the AsRock 4CoreDual-SATA2 board for $70 and an E2140 for $70, then re-use all your other parts. That should give you a slight boost over the P4C.
 
lee0539 said:
i'm not looking for a full upgrade. Just some advise if its a good idea to get a cheap northwood/prescott cpu... if its going to require a whole bunch of upgrades then I'm not going to do it. I'm not upgrading my computer till next year.. i just need some small stuff to hold me over.
Click to expand...

It's not worth it. Save your money for the full upgrade next year.
 
lee0539 said:
i'm not looking for a full upgrade. Just some advise if its a good idea to get a cheap northwood/prescott cpu... if its going to require a whole bunch of upgrades then I'm not going to do it. I'm not upgrading my computer till next year.. i just need some small stuff to hold me over.
Click to expand...

Not a good idea especially since you can get a dual-core CPU for $70 while a lot of P4s are still being sold for $60 to $80. And since you're planning on upgrading anyway next year, just wait.

Though, like I showed in my previous post, you can build a good base system to upgrade from. At most, you'll only be ditching your video card and CPU next year if you upgrade to a Penyrn CPU and whatever new Nvidia or ATI card they have out then.
 
Danny Bui said:
Though, like I showed in my previous post, you can build a good base system to upgrade from. At most, you'll only be ditching your video card and CPU next year if you upgrade to a Penyrn CPU and whatever new Nvidia or ATI card they have out then.
Click to expand...

Yah, but if he doesn't want to spend much and get a good performance boost, the AsRock and E2140 would be the best cost effective solution, depending on when he plans to upgrade next year.
 
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