P4-2.8G cpu to P4-3.2G

[joy]

I am thinking of upgrading my cpu from a P4-2.8G Northwood to P4-3.2G which is the max speed that this motherboard can handle(either a Prescott or a Northwood). Will it be a wise thing to do? Will I gain something especially in video stuffs (editing and encoding) and some "lite" gaming?

Any idea will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[budz]

PRESHOT processors have HIGH HEAT TEMP PROBLEMS......It would be better to get the NORTHWOOD core.....

[erdons]

overclock that sucker, im sure you can reach 3.2ghz.

[joy]

overclock that sucker, im sure you can reach 3.2ghz.

Sounds like a good idea but I'm not familiar with "OC", do you have a particular forum to visit to inquire or familiarize myself about this subject?

[rallynavvie]

Overclocking depends greatly on your motherboard and your memory. If you've got a motherboard that's friendly to overclocking then it shouldn't be too difficult, but you'll also want to have some high-end RAM in order to relax the timings a bit and still be quick.

[rkr1958]

I am thinking of upgrading my cpu from a P4-2.8G Northwood to P4-3.2G which is the max speed that this motherboard can handle(either a Prescott or a Northwood). Will it be a wise thing to do? Will I gain something especially in video stuffs (editing and encoding) and some "lite" gaming?

Any idea will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

For me personally, it would be hard to justify the cost-benefit of going from a 2.8-GHz to 3.2-GHz CPU. At best, that's only a 14% speed increase. Also, I've read that a 2.8-GHz Northwood CPU with 512-MB L2 cache performs certain operations better that a faster Prescott CPU with 1024-MB of cache.

In my unqualified & personal opinion, I really don't think that you'd see that much difference in upgrading your CPU from 2.8 to 3.2-GHz. But if you wish too, my advice is to stick with the Northwood. Also, you may need to upgrade your heaksink-fan to accomodate the faster speeds and higher temperatures, especially if you upgrade to a Prescott which runs significantly warmer that the Northwood.

Good Luck.

[Soopafresh]

All great recommendations. Get yourself a decent CPU Heatsink

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835109119

and an 80 or 92 mm fan to mount on it.

3.2 should be fairly easy to get to via overclocking

Or the other option - get yourself a nice stick of 512MB RAM and enjoy a performance boost without having to mod anything.

[rallynavvie]

There is a 3.2 Northwood. It was linked in the other CPU thread near the top of this forum. I'd recommend that since there isn't much price difference between that and a 2.8 if you can still find one new. However if you're going to OC the chip then I'd get the 2.8 and spend the difference on cooling. Personally I'd rather just start off with the faster chip for my money.

[joy]

Thanks a lot for the input guys. Looks like I will be going the route of "OC" but not at this moment yet. I will wait until the warranty of this cpu runs out which will be at the end of this year.

For now I just have to develop my patience especially in the field of encoding videos and save the money for the major upgrade in the future.