Processor Upgrade - Need advice

[TheJapan]

I unfortunately have an old system, and the highest speed my mobo can handle is 1.1Ghz. This may seem a little average, but I'm sure it'll handle better than the 866Mhz I have.

Now, my question is this: What is the difference between a Intel Pentium III processor and a Intel Celeron Processor?

I saw that the Pentium III series was much higher in price than the Celeron.. So I assumed this consequently implied that the Pentium III was significantly better.. But what confused me most was the fact that they were both 1.1Ghz...

Any computer-wiz out there help me out here? If I got a Celeron 1.1Ghz, would it be better than my PIII 866Mhz, or should I try and get a PIII 1.1Ghz?

I am grateful for any suggestions, advice, or information - Thank you in advance.

[Fire]

Personally, I would upgrade our motherboard and processor, but I dont know what your price range is. But if its rather low get the p3 not the celeron.

post your price range if ur intrested in a better upgrade.

[xarddrax]

http://www.pricewatch.com/
Go there and look at motherboard/CPU combos. Thats your best bet. And if i were you, i'd get an AMD instead of Intel. They are just as good (sometimes faster) and many times cheaper. Just remember, you also need to get a new CPU fan or at least make sure the one you have will work on the new CPU you get. (you can get them from your local computer store/COMPUSA for about $12-25)

[Fire]

a hsf (heatsink fan combo) is what u will need if you decide to go with a higher processor. A cpu/mobo combo would be a good idea atleast u know they will work together.

[TheJapan]

Let's put it this way: I can either get the PIII or the Celeron, and I know both of them are compatible with the current motherboard I have.

I do not have the budget to purchase a completely new motherboard, unfortunately.

So, back to the original question: Is the PIII processor better, or is the Celeron processor better (If both are at equal processor speeds)?

[Doppelganger]

new p3, 110 (done't go celeron), new athalon xp 2200+ w/ mobo+hs+fan = 130, go for the new shit

[Rubik]

I can see why you are getting frustrated - you asked a simple question and no one will answer it. There is a reason for that: I think you are throwing money away upgrading from an 880 MHz to a 1.1 GHz and I am guessing other people agree.

I think the reason people are balking at your question is because the value you will gain from going to a 1.1 GHz processor is really not worth even mentioning. I expect you will see very little performance increase. You would be better off adding more memory or going to a new video card. I was able to get a 2.4GHz P4 processor and a motherboard for $115. The board is not great but it works and will support me until my next upgrade. You should be able to do a motherboard, a processor, and around 512MB of memory (chances are you're using SDRAM now and you will need to move up to DDRRAM) for about $160.

HOWEVER, to answer the question you asked: Go with the Pentium. The Celeron is basically the ugly little bastard half-brother to the Pentium. There are all kinds of echnical reasons for this but the short answer is Pentium is better. This is especially true for gaming.

[Fire]

Well I did give you an answer in my first post.
"But if its rather low get the p3 not the celeron."

I did say it, sorry if u didnt read it the first time.

And he did ask for advice.

[Rubik]

Yup, and good advice it was - if you read into my "no one will answer it" comment (not saying that you did), I was indicating how he seemed to feel. There were, in fact, two previous direct answers to the question.

[Booola]

Originally posted by Rubik
[B] I was able to get a 2.4GHz P4 processor and a motherboard for $115. The board is not great but it works and will support me until my next upgrade. You should be able to do a motherboard, a processor, and around 512MB of memory (chances are you're using SDRAM now and you will need to move up to DDRRAM) for about $160.

Where did you find this please? I'm thinking of doing a similar upgrade, and it's looking to cost $250+ before installation.

[Fire]

Combo - ECS P4VXASD2+ 478Pin DDR with Pentium4 2.4Ghz 533FSB CPU & Fan $185.86
Combo - PC CHIPS M920 478Pin SDRAM/DDR with Pentium4 2.4Ghz 400FSB CPU & Fan $172.88

[sandman53]

Originally posted by Fire
Combo - ECS P4VXASD2+ 478Pin DDR with Pentium4 2.4Ghz 533FSB CPU & Fan $185.86
Combo - PC CHIPS M920 478Pin SDRAM/DDR with Pentium4 2.4Ghz 400FSB CPU & Fan $172.88

The problem with those is the fact the the FSB is low....you would get better performance from and 800 FSB than a 400 or 533....and the ECS board doesnt mention what kind of AGP it has...and the Pc chips only had 4X.......i guess they are ok if you are on a budget though.......

and TheJapan....Celeron no where compares to a pentium III, Rubix was right when he said that upgrading from 866 or w/e to 1.1 is just not worth it....you would be better off buying a whole new motherboard.

[Booola]

Thanks for the imput, he said he could get a motherboard/processor/and ram for $160 and that is just the motherboard/processor correct? Still it's cheaper than what I've been looking at. Do you think it would be possible for me to install a motherboard and processor without ever doing so before?

[Rubik]

Actually, I wound up with an ECS. I think it was an L4VXA2 but I am going from memory. It is true that the FSB is slow - just 533. The AGP is 8X though. Obviously an 800 MHz FSB would have been better but since I swore to myself 2 years ago when I bought my PS2 that I was done upgrading my PC (yeah right), the ECS turned into a reasonable solution. Some people have had issues with ECS boards and it took me a while to get the memory stable but at $115 for the board and processor, it was worth the hassle. I upgraded my old PC with a new case, mobo, 2.4GHz P4 processor, HSF, 1024MB RAM, ATI Radeon 9600PRO and did this all for under $700.

I picked everything up at Fry's Electronics. The downside to Fry's is that they are... well... a little stupid. They will sell you incompatable parts all day long. The upshot is the lower prices and decent return policy. If you don't have a Fry's, try:
http://www.computergeeks.com
http://www.outpost.com
or http://www.ebay.com :p
I am sure others can post some other options.

If you have ever played with Legos you can assemble a PC. You will probably have bad instructions to follow and have to figure some things out yourself. This was my first attempt to build a PC from the ground up and I got it working in a day or two with just a few return trips to the store My system runs pretty darn well at the moment - I am almost scoring 4000 (low) on the benchmark which is really decent for not having a better video card.

Word of advice - Do a few Google searches on your mobo and some of the equipment. You will learn not only what kinds of trouble other people have had and how to deal with it, you will probably also learn some tips on tweaking your machine. There seems to be a lot of really good help in this forum too.

[TheJapan]

Hmmm.. I see...

I guess I'll have to save up for a new mobo + processor then.

Thank you for all the information, and I apologize for missing that statement Fire. ^-^;

What I have right now is a 319MB SDR RAM, 866Mhz PIII Processor, Radeon 9600 PRO. FFXI runs fine, but I receive no music or sound;; I'll go with what many of you said: Getting a completely new motherboard and a new processor.