|
Believe it or not, in many cases speeding up your computer may not be as costly or as hard as you might think. While all the ills of a poor system cannot be cured with a processor change, it is possible however to speed up a decent working system a bit ( and and a pretty low cost in many cases ) with a processor upgrade. You will need to be comfortable with working with computer hardware to undertake this job but it is not impossible to have good results if you have done things like add memory to your system or add a hard drive. So here is the low down on how to go about this job. The first thing to consider is how much speed you want to get. There are some preset limitations you have to realize. Not every motherboard ( motherboard is the main system board used by the computer ) will accept every processor chip nor do older systems have the same card slots as do the newer systems. All these factors need to be considered. It is also very true that processor clock speed is not the only factor that determines the speed of the system. Installed memory, operating system settings, and installed software generally all effect the system speed as much or more than the clock speed of the processor. Checking for installed software that runs at the start up of the system is perhaps the biggest thief of system speed as well as the cheapest fix. Look for items that run at start up that are not used, and if they are not set them to only run on demand, or uninstall them in favor of other software that does the same thing. The next speed problem normally see is file management problems such as over loaded hard drives, ( you should have at least 25% free ), too many temporay internet files, too long since the drive was defragmented, or Windows Registery errors. The other thing to look at is memory upgrades. If your system is using "virtual memory" in Windows and you can add more memory you will see a good return on the money spent on memory in most cases. Many older systems were built with near lower limits on the installed memory but now thanks in part to the low memory prices it is an excellent return to add memory to a system you plan on using for a while yet. See my Memory Install Page for a bit more detail about adding memory to your existing system. All these items should be looked at and corrected before you give up on your existing hardware. If you are still determined to consider a processor change read on. Keep in mind however processor changes require a bit more than adding memory. The processor is very static sensitive and can be damaged very easy. You should always use a static wrist strap when handling a processor. You will also need to carefully follow socket or slot types and voltage on the processor as well as see if your bios supports the speed of any upgrade. So you must do a bit of sluth work on your system before you even can decide if you can use a processor upgrade, as well as if your existing hardware supports it. I for one do not recommend the supposed " processor upgrade cards " that fit into a card slot and use a driver to run the processor functions thur a card mounted processor. The overall preformance of these are poor compared to a full upgrade of the motherboard, and generally cost more money. So before you consider a processor on a card upgrade do a bit of research and see what the cost of an entire motherboard and processor is. The next thing to be aware of is some systems also have other functions included on the motherboard. Many have Video and Audio functions placed on the motherboard also. If this is the case before you decide on a motherboard upgrade keep in mind you will have to replace these functions also with card mounted units for video and audio. If you are working with a pretty old Pentium 1 generation or older system you will also need to be aware of the power supply type. There are " AT " type suppies, and "ATX" type supplies. Also many older cases do not have provisions for newer motherboard which may have some ports attached to the card. The Good News is that you can often speed up a system with a processor change. The bad news You will have to use your own judgement if it is worthwhile however. I would however say if you are not going to see at least a 25% increase in clock speed chances are you are not going to be totally happy with making the change. Look to additional memory or perhaps a larger video card for more speed. You would most likely see more results for your money spent. The Bad News is in most cases you have to stay within the "Generation" you are with currently. For example as general rule you cannot put an AMD processor in a motherboard designed for an Intel processor. Also you will have to do a bit of research before you can even consider buying a processor chip. The processor all have unique sockets or slots for their generation of processor chip. There are also voltage and bios support considerations to be looked into but in roughly 70% of cases I would guess a processor upgrade is possible. Items to be checked would include current processor in use, motherboard maker, bios version used, ( and if it has support in it or can be upgraded by a download from the motherboard maker ) cooling provisions and of course the overall cost of the upgrade in CPU and/or cooling products. Below you will find a table to get you started Intel Chips
AMD Processors
Ok to get the information about what you have for a system board ( motherboard ) and the bios information on your system. I generally suggest http://www.sisoftware.demon.co.uk/sandra for SiSoft Sandra myself. The shareware version gives you enough as far as the make and model of motherboard to seek out the makers webpage and check for bios revisions as well as any manual for setting voltages and so on that may be required. I recommend getting all the data possible for your motherboard and printing it out if you can even if you do not plan on doing the upgrade we are currently talking about, so you can have this information on hand for any service person who may be called upon to work on the system in the future. A word of warning about Bios upgrades ( commonly called Bios Flash Upgrades ) that being you should take steps to avoid any power outage or power interruption before installing this type of update. If the Flash process is stopped due to power failure it could result in a ruined motherboard that cannot be repaired on a cost effective basis. Slot types seen commonly are ISA, PCI, and AGP. Others seen from the past include VESA for video and even older 8 bit slots. It is also important to note how many slots are free. Most current board are made with 4 or 5 slots. With Serial ports, mouse port, Printer port all built onto the motherboard the connections to the rear of the case may not be the same as used on some older case styles. Good cases also have provisions for additional drives and so on provided as well as good cooling provisions. All these matters really need to be considered on upgrades too or the cost versus a full replacement is not going to be clearly seen. Under Construction Close This Browser Window Search results shown in new browser window. |