Upgrading processor.

[rubberman]

I have a Dell Dimension4100 which came with the Intel P3 733mhz (133mhzFSB). I know Intel P3 chips went up to 1.0ghz before going to p4 chips. Can i get a P3 1.0ghz chip and swap it out with the 733mhz? its a socket 370.

[budz]

I have a Dell Dimension4100 which came with the Intel P3 733mhz (133mhzFSB). I know Intel P3 chips went up to 1.0ghz before going to p4 chips. Can i get a P3 1.0ghz chip and swap it out with the 733mhz? its a socket 370.

Yes, technically you could just get a P3 1.0ghz processor but make sure the motherboard is capable of using it. Some P3 motherboards will only take up to 800ghz processors. If you know the model of your motherboard then you can do a search in google or on the motherboards website to see what processors can be used.

[rubberman]

where should i be able to find the MB model? is it posted on the MB or in device manager?

[ROF]

Your board uses the Via Apollo Pro 133a Chipset with support up to 1.4Ghz P3 Socket 370 CPUs.

[rubberman]

so i can auctally use a 1.4ghz chip in it?

[ROF]

Yep! In the last month or so I replaced a Dimension 4100 that had a 633Mhz Celeron with a Pentium III 1.4Ghz. I also repaired a 4100 and replaced a 733mhz (same as yours) with a P3 1.3Ghz. You will need to enter the BIOS and change the multiplier manually though.

[ranchhand]

Two things you might want to keep a careful eye on is your COU temperature and the Power Supply. Bigger chips make more heat and draw more power. If you don't have many peripherals you are running you are probably okay, but if you are like me and "pack the case with goodies" power could become a prob. Adding one more case fan wouldn't hurt either, they are cheap.

[ranchhand]

...Sorry, spelling mistake: COU should be CPU

[rubberman]

well i got a cd-rw drive, pioneer DVD-rw drive, floppy, plus i have 2 extra fans besides the one cooling the processor. I have the rear slot fan then an extra fan zip tied inside blowing on the MB.

so i gotta make sure its a slot 370 and should be good to go. Would i even see a difference between the 733mhz and a 1.3ghz? its almost doubled in speed so i should

[budz]

Would i even see a difference between the 733mhz and a 1.3ghz? its almost doubled in speed so i should

If your dvd burner can write at 16x spd you would probably be able to attain that speed with a 1.3ghz processor. Your computer may load faster with that processor.

[rubberman]

i have the old Pioneer 104 which only burns at 2x. Only thing it does slow is when i am converting AVI files to VIDEO_TS files. or using DVDshrink to shrink some video.

[rubberman]

would this chip work?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6807615419&fromMakeTrack=true

[budz]

would this chip work?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6807615419&fromMakeTrack=true

You would need to check if your motherboard supports Tualatin processors because not all socket 370 motherboards support it. You may want to upgrade your dvd burner as well. I had a old P3 933ghz processor that could burn up to 12x speed on a BENQ 1620 dvd burner.

[ROF]

Yes. That chip will work. Celerons beyond 1.1 are now Tualatin cores produced with the .13 micron process. You can ignore the heat and power consumption discussed earlier because the heat produce and power consumption of these newer chips is far less than the previous models. Older Celerons were basically disabled P3's. These newer chips are produced with usage of the full 256K L2 Cache. Your BIOS will also support the newer 100mhz FSB of this chip. You can change both the CPU multiplier and the FSB on the same page.

This processor will make zero difference in your burning speeds for your drives. It will load applications quicker, but will not adjust the speed of your burns. The speed of burning, even 48x CDs or 16x DVDs is far less than what your current processor and memory operate at anyways.

[BrainStorm69]

You can change both the CPU multiplier and the FSB on the same page.

My recollection is that all Intel chips are/were multiplier locked and the only thing you can change is the FSB.

[ROF]

I don't know of any menu on any CPU, I was referring to the BIOS. In the Dimension 4100 you must make the changes manually when inserting a new CPU into the socket. Because this chip supports the 100mhz FSB and the BIOS also supports up to 100mhz FSB, you can change it in the BIOS once you insert the new chip. Even if you memory is 66mhz, you can set it to 100mhz. You will gain a slight performance increase and will not harm your RAM by doing so. It's a slight overclock for the RAM, but the Dimension desktops can handle it without any additional investment(coolers, etc). Neither the processor core or the FSB is sensed by the motherboard. The changes must be done manually, otherwise the BIOS will still think you have a 733mhz chip installed.

Another addition you might want to consider when you purchase this chip is 100mhz SDRAM. You can use 133MHZ, but the memory will only function as high as 100mhz. SDRAM is dirt cheap now, so depending on where you can locate it, and which might be cheaper 100mhz or 133mhz SDRAM will both work in your machine. If you have the stock RAM that came with the dimension it's 66mhz. You will notice a performance increase by adding the new chip, but paired with faster RAM, you will really notice a difference. You will also avoid the need to overclock your RAM if you do what I said in the first paragraph.

[rubberman]

all my RAM is 133mhz