Advice for updating my old system (Pentium D)

[giorgosh]

Can you give me your suggestions for upgrading the system below? It runs Win7 64bit with 4giga RAM (2,75 identified) however it runs really really slow especially on multitasking (office work) and on videos, compared to when it had Win XP.
There is a max budget of 200-250 usd, however the less the better 😉
I dont really know if i can upgrade CPU without replacing motherboard so please give me ur advice on that too. (I got a 3,9 Windows Experience Index 🙁 )

Motherboard Name HP Compaq dx2300
Motherboard ID 05/25/2007-Broadwater-6A79LM4FC-00
CPU Type DualCore Intel Pentium D 925, 3000 MHz (15 x 200)
Package Type 775 Contact FC-LGA6
North Bridge Intel Broadwater i946GZ
Device Description NVIDIA GeForce 210
Memory Size 1 GB
HD Device Type SATA-II - Buffer 8 MB

 

[ryanrich83]

I wouldn't recommend a CPU upgrade on that socket of MB.

Is the system used mainly for what you listed?(multi tasking, videos, etc.) Do you do any gaming?

If not a gaming PC, a SSD to replace the HDD would help system speed greatly.

Otherwise, if used for gaming, new mobo/CPU/GPU are recommended.

 

[Fire2251]

According to this link, you can upgrade to core 2 duo with the fastest CPU is E6700 which you can buy on ebay for less than $20. Not sure if you need to update the motherboard bios or not in order to use E6700. If you don't know how to do it, go on youtube to watch it. A lot of people put instruction video on youtube to help people like you and me. I upgraded from E2140 to E6750 for less than $20. If you get E6700 it will double you performance. http://h18000.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/12668_div/12668_div.HTML

Intel Core 2 Duo Processors
Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 Processor (1.80-GHz, 2-MB L2 cache, 800-MHz FSB)
Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 Processor (2.20-GHz, 2-MB L2 cache, 800-MHz FSB)
Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 Processor (1.86-GHz, 2-MB L2 cache, 1066-MHz FSB)
Intel Core 2 Duo E6320 Processor (1.86-GHz, 4-MB L2 cache, 1066-MHz FSB)
Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 Processor (2.13-GHz, 2-MB L2 cache, 1066-MHz FSB)
Intel Core 2 Duo E6420 Processor (2.13-GHz, 4-MB L2 cache, 1066-MHz FSB)
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Processor (2.40-GHz, 4-MB L2 cache, 1066-MHz FSB)
Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 Processor (2.66-GHz, 4-MB L2 cache, 1066-MHz FSB)

 

[Mahisse]

You may want to invest in a SSD, which will allow your PC to read information on your storage drive much much faster. I would actually think this would be the only way to go since upgrading at this point would mean a new motherboard and CPU if the upgrade should make sense.
Also you may want to buy a bit more RAM if not too expensive. 2.75 usable RAM is not much. Have you turned off integrated GPU in your BIOS? Otherwise you may want to check if your RAM sticks are working or re-seat the processor.

 

[giorgosh]

Investing on an SSD while i got such low performance CPU? I;d prefer the CPU + RAM solution, however i will definately need a new motherboard. Will I have any problems with my PC case since it is old if i get a new motherboard? Will I also need new fan or cooler?

You may want to invest in a SSD, which will allow your PC to read information on your storage drive much much faster. I would actually think this would be the only way to go since upgrading at this point would mean a new motherboard and CPU if the upgrade should make sense.
Also you may want to buy a bit more RAM if not too expensive. 2.75 usable RAM is not much. Have you turned off integrated GPU in your BIOS? Otherwise you may want to check if your RAM sticks are working or re-seat the processor.

Ive installed 4 Gigs or RAM but only 2,75 are identified and maybe the problem is the motherboard which might not support them, since i could not find such option in my BIOS menu!

 

[Calvin7]

There are Barebones systems from Tiger Direct that are in your price range. AMD would likely be lower priced than Intel.
Barebones› AMD Based Kits
http://www.tigerdirect.com/