upgrading a processor

silkyuk9

I have a athlon AMD 2800 processor in my pc, my pc is a 32bit.

i need advise on which processor i need to update my pc. ive seen a processor on ebay 3500 amd 64. but can i put in a 64 when my pc is a 32.

hope you understand my question, im not really up on hardware, software and internet is my field on the pc.

my processor is.

mobile AMD athlon XP-M 2800+ 1.60GHz, 2.00 gig ram

Oneday77

You have an old Socket A Athlon processor which I am pretty sure only went upto the 3200XP model. You will need a new motherboard and probably memory on top of the processor.
Obviously budget comes into this but it is possible to buy new MB, processor and 2GB RAM for about £110. None of it high spec but much more than you have now.
I will list links in a sec.

silkyuk9

Oneday77 wrote: »

You have an old Socket A Athlon processor which I am pretty sure only went upto the 3200XP model. You will need a new motherboard and probably memory on top of the processor.
Obviously budget comes into this but it is possible to buy new MB, processor and 2GB RAM for about £110. None of it high spec but much more than you have now.
I will list links in a sec.

i have a bit of memory in mp pc. i also put in some extra sticks but dont know how to find out how much i have

Oneday77

2GB (2x1GB) Corsair Value Select, DDR2 PC2-5300 (667), 240 Pin, Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 5-5-5-15
Gigabyte GA-M52L-S3P, NF 520LE, S AM2/AM2+, PCI-E (x16), DDR2 1066/ 800, SATA 3Gb/s, SATA RAID, ATX
AMD Sempron 140, Sargas Core, Socket AM3, 2.7GHz, 512KB L2 Cache, HT 4000MHz, 45W, Retail

£113 delivered.
£20 extra per item would give even better performance. If you want real cheap though used gear on ebay can be a snip but you need to know what your after.

silkyuk9

Oneday77 wrote: »

2GB (2x1GB) Corsair Value Select, DDR2 PC2-5300 (667), 240 Pin, Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 5-5-5-15
Gigabyte GA-M52L-S3P, NF 520LE, S AM2/AM2+, PCI-E (x16), DDR2 1066/ 800, SATA 3Gb/s, SATA RAID, ATX
AMD Sempron 140, Sargas Core, Socket AM3, 2.7GHz, 512KB L2 Cache, HT 4000MHz, 45W, Retail

£113 delivered.
£20 extra per item would give even better performance. If you want real cheap though used gear on ebay can be a snip but you need to know what your after.

can you have a quick look on ebay for me and see what im looking for please.

Oneday77

Look for a socket 939 motherboad and processor, along with DDR2 Ram(assuming the MB says it supports it) if your going used. Better still if you see AM2 socket stuff. Your existing machine will be PC2700\3200 DDR RAM

silkyuk9

I have 2 gig of memory

exup

Like oneday says - new processor (CPU) usually means new motherboard and also new RAM too but you may need to check other things aswell. You may need new harddrives too.

Also if you have an add on graphics card it may need a PCI-E (express) graphic card as not many new motherboards have the older AGP slots (or even older PCI slots).

turbobob

Yes agree, there's no upgrade for Socket A that would be worth doing. I used to run a Mobile AthlonXP 2500+ at about 2.2ghz with no real effort required, just changing a few BIOS settings.

However for a significant upgrade you will need a new motherboard.

BillScarab

To be sure what you can put in your PC you need to kjnow the maker and exact model of your motherboard, also the BIOS revision.

You can download Belarc whoch will tell you this.

Then you can go to the motherboard manufacturer's website and find out what CPU's will fit.

Alternatively do what Oneday77 suggested and buy a motherboard bundle. It's a lot simpler!

Bear in mind that if you go down this route you will almost certianly have to re-install Windows as it will be a significant change to your hardware.

Incidentally the parts Oneday77 has suggested looks pretty good for the price.

Oneday77

I just had a scan about on ebay. Tbh the prices seem to be too close to new stuff to warrant buying them. The parts I listed aren't the most upto date and aren't high spec, but it gives you a platform that will upgrade a bit more in the future. Basically the processor is the weakest link in the new kit I listed.
The ebay kit looks ideal if you need to replace one part to keep an aged system running ie a failed part but as you need 3 parts minimum its not worth the £10-£20 savings.
As mention as well previously you may need extra kit too. But that is less likely.
What ever you choose to do, before bidding, handing over cash or ordering from anywhere ask if the chosen parts will be compatible together. Also if buying a processor make sure it comes with a heatsink and fan other wise thats more cash to spend.