PC HELP: CPU/motherboard compatability question

[MoD_Scotty]

I have a HP Pavilion a1600n (I know, I know...I usually build my own system from scratch but it was a great deal). Anyway, it's got an AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ processor (2gHz). I was wondering how fast of a processor could I install? I imagine I'll need to open the case and figure out exactly what motherboard I have, but what is probably the limit to what I can use?

I'm pretty sure I have an AM2 socket, and I see on Pricewatch that the 6400+ also uses AM2. Would I be able to use it with my motherboard?

[DigMe]

Originally Posted by MoD_Scotty

I'm pretty sure I have an AM2 socket, and I see on Pricewatch that the 6400+ also uses AM2. Would I be able to use it with my motherboard?

yeah, you should be able to use any AM2 proc. on an AM2 mobo.

bc

[MCBTunes]

CPU's are no longer a significant bottleneck. Really, I think your CPU is fine unless you are an extreme gamer.

I just built a system and I put a X2 4000+ CPU and an BFG 8800GT OC2 GPU in mine. The processor was 67 dollars and the GPU was 280, now the CPU does bottleneck a little when I play with high graphics on some games (UT3 for example) but the money was way better spent on the GPU than evening out the cost.

I suggest rather than going out and spending $250+ on a new CPU that you buy a heatsink, arctic cooling freezer 64 pro(like 28 bucks) is a good choice. Once you have that, go into bios and overclock a little.

Disclaimer:
Keep in mind there are warranty issues with overclocking as well as possible hardware damage. I suggest you do thorough research on the subject before you decide to go ahead with it. Also note that I take no responsibility for what you decide to do.

[joelb79]

Originally Posted by MCBTunes

Disclaimer:
Keep in mind there are warranty issues with overclocking as well as possible hardware damage. I suggest you do thorough research on the subject before you decide to go ahead with it. Also note that I take no responsibility for what you decide to do.

You can't overclock an HP computer at all! they use the CPU ID settings and lock at the multiplier settings for the CPU.

BTW- any AM2 Cpu that matches the Front Side Bus speed of your computer will work, but I will confess that I'm out of practice on hardware and have been avoiding hardware stuffs for over a year now. But generally, any CPU over the FSB speed of your computer will probably end up being under-clocked at the lower FSB speed.

[MoD_Scotty]

Cool, I'm glad I was pretty safe in my assumption. I do think my video card is a little bit of a bottleneck, it's a Ati x1300 w/256mb. I think eventually I'll add another 2gb of ram, go with a better video card, and the last thing I will probably due is drop in a faster CPU.

Thanks for the input!

[jsbass]

I don't know how AMD works, but as far as Intel, just because it's the same socket and same front side bus doesn't mean it will work. You're board could support LGA 775 (Intel socket T) with an FSB of 1333, but it doesn't mean it will support all the LGA 775 1333 FSB processors out there (such as the new 45nm duals and quads). So definitely find out EXACTLY which motherboard you have, and then look at the list of supported CPU's. I wouldn't jump the gun just with the assumption you have an AM2 socket.

If you are wondering, my PC I built myself is:

- Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 @ 2.4GHz (stock) processor
- Gigabyte P35-DS3L (rev. 2.0) LGA 775 motherboard
- 2GB (2x1GB) Patriot eXtreme DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) @ 4-4-4-12 timings running stable @ 2.2V
- Western Digital Caviar 250GB 16MB Cache SATA hard drive
- Thermaltake Toughpower 700W power supply
- LG 18X SATA DVD Burner
- eVGA 8800GT Superclocked 512MB (w/ fan revision)

All inside a black Thermaltake Armor case.

I highly recommend an 8800GT if you are looking into cards. Best bang for the buck right now (very very comparable to the GTX for over half the price).