The beginning of my upgrade

A

amber_dad

New Member
Hi everyone,

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So I've decided to upgrade my computer, and I'm quite the newb when it comes to anything passed plug and play. There's no timeframe at all and the budget is pretty much any money left over in my pocket. Currently I just want to get my com cleaned up and running efficiently stock. I'm doing the research and I gotz the cpu-z thing-ama-jig from www.cpuid.com. From what I've been reading up on my current rig(which is a hand-me-down), I should be running at 2 Ghz. I know there is some kind of multiplier. But I'm not sure if it's already understood,or if I'm running at half speed? Any help would be much appreciated. Oh yeah and here are my specs.

Name:AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+
Code Name:Windsor
Brand ID:4
Package:Socket AM2 (940)
Technology:90nm
Core Voltage: 1.118V(sometimes this jumps to 1.318V)
Family:F
Model:B
Stepping:2
Ext. Family:F
Ext. Model:4B
Revision:BH-F2
Instructions:MMX(+), 3DNow!(+), SSE(1,2,3), x86-64, AMD-V;
Core Speed:1004.76 MHz(sometimes jumps to 2008.65MHz)
Multiplier: x5.0(sometimes jumps to 10 this is the part I don't understand, is it supposed to be like this?)
Bus Speed: 200.9 MHz
HT Link: 1005.1 MHz
L1 Data: 2x64 KBytes 2-way
L1 Inst.: 2x64 KBytes 2-way
Level 2: 2x512 KBytes 16-way
Level 3 : (blank)
Cores: 2
Threads: 2
 
Not sure what your asking. Your processor runs at 2.0ghz. If you have cool & quiet enabled in the bios it will clock it down when not under a load.
 
As far as the different speed goes, you must have AMD's cool n quiet software enabled. This will downclock the cpu when not needed so it keeps your system cool and will up the speed when needed.

What operating system are you running and how much system memory is installed? Also, what do you use your computer for?
 
That explains the fluctuatiion then, cool thanks.
Well it's pretty much just for browsing, but I do want to start gaming since I sold my Xbox. Some online games and this game I got Oblivion, slow down quite a bit. So far I'm just planning on getting some ram and a new cooling fan.
I gotz Win7 Ultimate, and ram is Samsung 512 MB x 2
 
You'll definately need more memory. Windows 7 don't run well on only 1gb of memory. Can you tell us what model of pc you have if its store bought or what model of motherboard if its a custom built pc?
 
HP Pavilion a1700n
Motherboard: NodusM3
I'm sure it was store bought, no kind of customization. Now it's got 4 slots for ram, I wanna just drop in 2x1GB Crucial that they say is guaranteed compatible. Should I swap out, or can I have both sets together?
 
If your running windows 7 then you better get 4 x 1gb sticks. You'll get better performance. Then I would start saving up for a better system as yours is getting kind of old. That system came out 6 years ago. Your gonna need about $500 for a decent new build.
 
Yeah I haven't had much use for it other than browsing. Now that I sold my Xbox, I'ld like to use it for gaming.
So for the meantime do you think I could have the 512MBx2 and 1GBx2 together and be alright?
 
Depending on the games you want to play, most likely you'll need to build a new machine. Most games require a dedicated card and decent power supply and right now your processor would bottleneck the video card.
 
The motherboard has it's own video card right, but it's not to great. Would getting a GCU before ram help, or is ram bigger priority?
 
amber_dad said:
The motherboard has it's own video card right, but it's not to great. Would getting a GCU before ram help, or is ram bigger priority?
Click to expand...

Well you cant reqlly game with that much ram and win7 so ram would come first. Really if you can just try to sell that comp to a friend or something for 100 or 150 then drop 5 or 6 hundred on a new comp and youll be much better off.
 
HaHa I wish I had $50 to spend!
The plan right now is to just upgrade little by little. I'm gonna have to work with what I got. Hang with me guys I know we can do this! :P
 
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