Computers & Networking

[Wheresmycake]

Hello, I was wondering if someone knew an answer to my question.

I just received a desktop about a year ago and whats new about it is that its not so great when it comes to CPU speed. This is my desktop info.

Interl(R) Celeron (R) CPU 450 @2.20 Ghz (Thats my main issue right there)

Ram : 3GB

System 64-bit

Device is a Geforce 7xxxx/neforce 620i ( I'm pretty sure its intergrated due to not seeing)

So my main questions I guess are, How would I go about with upping it to a dou core processor and what might have to change with it? 

Any help would be greatful and thank you for your time

[CrystalWoW Community Veteran]

What is the model number? Honestly depending on what you want to do it might not be the most cost effective to upgrade. Say for example you are looking to game you would need to upgrade way more than just a processor and it may not be worth it. So to start off with, whats the model, whats your budget, and what do you ultimately want to be able to do with it? and last but not least how comfortable are you with changing out parts.

[Wheresmycake]

Well my model is a ...eMachine model numer ET1831, yeah I know a emachine >_>; beside the point! lol, budget wise I might as well just buy a gaming computer but the thing is I don't play major big games mostly I'll play Vindictus and thats about how far Id go for gaming wise on my desktop.

More so I kinda just want to upgrade to be able to play Vindictus on at least decent setttings but the FPS rate is so slow I have to put it on its lowest setting @.@

Ah I'm ok with changing parts out I know its like work with a baby don't wanna be to rough or drop it

I hope that answered what you were asking me, If not I can try again.

[RedWyv3 Best Buy Employee]

I'd like to chip in here because I would of answered this a different way (through Crystal is 100% correct, IMO)

All this assumes a DESKTOP unit.

Inside your computer you have a motherboard. On that motherboard sits your proccessor, the celeron. That celeron sits on top a 'bus'. That bus is not interchangable, it's soldered onto the board and has supporting chipsets. The bus is also rated for different proccessors. 

Used to be, a wide variety of proccessors would fit on the bus. These days, it's a very slim selection, and I would suspect that as you have a celeron proccesor, that you would not be able to upgrade that to an Intel Dual Core or above. You might squeeze another higher celeron on it, but that wouldn't do you much good. You'd need to check your model's motherboard specifications for more detail, if it's even available.

If I myself were going to do this upgrade, I would budget myself about $300 to $350. I would replace the motherboard with a motherboard/processor bundle. Use the bundle *or* do the research so you get a compatible proccessor.

I would then procceed to purchase a bigger power supply. The reason being is that the power supply contained in factory computers is rated exactly for the old equipment, and is extremely weak. Add anything and it's likely to strain and eventually blow. 400 watts is cheap, go 500 to 600 watts if your budget allows. Do not go below 400 watts, which is pushing it no matter how you look at it. The power supply you have now is probably 240 watts or similar.

Then I would add a decent graphics card. How do you know what is decent? Look at the games you are playing consistantly. Poke around the internet and see what video cards seems to work well with that game - most manufacturers have a list, and cross reference that list with user comments through the net.

'But Red, I could just buy the most expensive one out there and it'll work fine!'

No, not true. You'll find that the game must support the card - so that high end video card you bought might be a very bad decision and freeze up/lag the game. Take your time and do your research. When shopping for an upgrade for my own machine I only had to spend $69.99 on my card. That's all I needed for World of Warcraft. If your playing Crysis (1 or 2), your situation is MUCH different.

Cost analysis: Essentially, you're replacing all the vital componets in your computer save the memory and hard drive. If you buy cheapest, $300 to $350 is still lower then buying a new machine and each part is essential - you simply can't do with doing this piecemeal over time and still playing games. If you find your video card requirments are higher, you'll end up having to up the power supply. If the new board does not support your existing RAM, that can be a budget over run too.

If you're not confident in doing these tasks, which will take several hours and require you to do research on motherboard cabling, processor installation, and the complete reinstallation of Windows (in most cases, since your OEM version of Windows will no doubt 'break' with such a hardware change), you might be suited to just buying a new machine and using this one for it's original intent - non-heavy-gaming use.

None of this should be done without a call to your manufacturer. If they have 'tatooed' your version of Windows to ONLY operate on original factory equipment, you may be talking a $200 cost to replace Windows 7.

So, bottom line - this is how you do it. However, upgrading a computer designed for one purpose and making it capable of another purpose requires so much more then a mere chip change - there are supporting chips, supporting hardware, etc, that *must* be changed for it to work.

I would recommend that you purchase a new machine instead of this proccess, unless you are skilled enough and advanced enough to do the proper research - and the hardware your looking at is low enough not to exceed the cost of a new machine. 

[RedWyv3 Best Buy Employee]

Looks like your motherboard WILL support the Core 2 proccessor!

http://www.e4allupgraders.info/dir1/motherboards/socket775/ecsMCP73VT-PM_cpu.shtml

Thanks for the model info, by the way! 

You can just upgrade the proccessor. If that doesn't work, you can always use the new proccessor with a new motherboard that you purchase later on down the road. Remember, your Windows 7 will break if you change out the motherboard.

[CrystalWoW Community Veteran]

For that specific game your processor and your graphics don't meet the minimum. Your power supply is only 250w so you would need to upgrade that in order to upgrade the graphics. There is an available pci express x16 slot for the graphics card upgrade which is good. Honestly adding the cpu upgrade on top of all that is going to be rather expensive. You don't really need anything fancy for that particular game but something with at least 512 dedicated is recommended. You could most likely upgrade to a 350 to 400w power supply that would suffice and not cost an arm and a leg. What is your internet speed like as it is an internet based game which can add to fps problems.

[Wheresmycake]

Wow ok thank you both for replying..I'll need some time to read and figure things out then I can reply

[Wheresmycake]

Ok I think I understood what you both said, so just to clear it up for me.

So Red your saying that I could just upgrade my proccessor and try that if that does not work then get a motherboard? and If I change the motherboard I lose Windows 7 hmm

and Crystalle your saying that I would need to upgrade my power supply before I could up my grahpics?

I checked the internet thing but they ment how well the game runs with these bar colors and mine was below 30 @.@

I can see why thou >_>

Seems like I would just have to buy a new semi gaming desktop -.-;, So is it better power supply means I can upgrade more to my desktop? I mean if my power supply sucks then that would have to upgraded first no? then I could move onto the proccessor and such correct or am I worng

[RealGeorgeW Emerging Expert]

You could most likely get along with the current power supply if all you were doing was the CPU, but any graphics card worth it's weight will need a more powerful one.

[NoNoBadDog]

Keep in mind that if you do upgrade the processor successfully, it will still be bottlenecked by the slow Front SIde Bus on your current motherboard.  It would be equivalent to adding a 500HP engine to a car that has only a 2 speed transmission...not much power makes it to the wheels where it is needed. 

Your motherboard may "support" it, but it will not give you full benefit of the speed that a Core 2 is able to deliver.