Upgraded my CPU from 2.2 to 3.2 but no improved performance

M

mnby9rpj

New Member
Hi

I upgraded my phenom quad core 2.2ghz processor to a 3.2ghz Phenom X4 955. The device manager shows all four cores and the system properties recorgnise the CPU as 3.2ghz. Also when the computer loads up it states 3.2 as does the CPU-Z utility. Unfortunately however I have seen no increase in performance after this significant upgrade- it's as if I've got the old chip in still.

I have tried turning off the 'cool and quiet' setting. Prior to installing the CPU I updated the BIOS to 1.5 as instructed on the website of my motherboard manufacturer. The bios shows as 1.5 when it loads up.

My motherboard is fairly old but it lists that it supports the processor in the support list. However this list is a bit confusing as I am a novice. The motherboard is an ASROCK K10N78hSLI-GLAN

Here is a link to the motherboard http://www.asrock.com/mb/overv...Model=K10N78hSLI-GLAN

The temperature of the CPU is running at 42 degrees and the CPU fan at around 4200 rpm - is this normal?

I am running windows xp SP3. Please tell me if you need any other information to diagnose the problem.

I have read that an reinstall of windows might work. This would be an absolute last resort for me as it would take many hours to reinstall all the software.

Thank you in advance for any help you can give me.
 
Have you defragmented your hard drive recently? I would also download and run Ccleaner.

You can download Ccleaner here:
http://download.cnet.com/ccleaner/

I had the same problem as you when I upgraded my processor. I had to uninstall and reinstall Windows XP to see a difference in processing power. Before you try this back up all your valued data to a separate hard drive or flash drive.
 
As in what way does it seem not any faster? Just in Windows there is not going to be much difference.

Your board.
This MB supports AM3 CPU by upgrading the BIOS version to P1.20 or later versions. For the 955 it needs P1.50
 
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Processor upgrades are some of the most disappointing. Your general Windows (Or whatever OIS you so desire) experience is affected primarily by your hard drive access speed and your RAM. Processor upgrades become apparently beneficial when doing more CPU intensive tasks, like compressing files or playing games.
 
you want really see a big boost in performance, there both quad cores just higher clocks.how much ram you got?because ram upgrades show more boost in performance IMO.if you can list full pc specs that would give use more information to see where your at.
 
Thanks for your help. Here are the specs of my system:

3.20 gigahertz AMD Phenom II X4 955
Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 3 (build 2600)
Hitachi HDT721075SLA380 [Hard drive] (750.15 GB) -- drive 0, SMART Status: Healthy
Board: ASRock K10N78hSLI-GLAN
Bus Clock: 200 megahertz
BIOS: American Megatrends Inc. P1.50 07/02/2010

3072 Megabytes Usable Installed Memory:
Slot 'DIMM0' has 2048 MB (serial number SerNum00)
Slot 'DIMM1' is Empty
Slot 'DIMM2' has 1024 MB (serial number SerNum02)
Slot 'DIMM3' is Empty

-----------------------------
I am very surprised that the processor speed doesn't speed up Windows. I was expecting all the day to day functions like loading programs, browsing through files etc. to be lightening fast with the upgraded CPU. I should have done my homework! Is there anything in my specs that is limiting my system's performance? I'm just so sick of seeing that little egg timer and an overall slugish performance!

I have just reinstalled Windows XP. Obviously the performance a bit faster due to there being less programs running etc. but it's not noticably different to when I reinstalled Windows the last time (about 12 months ago) with my old 2.2ghz processor.

Cheers
 
i think that configuration of ram does not support dual channel, i think that is why things seem 'slow' you need the same densities and speeds to take advantage of it. your currently running in single channel, and its bottlenecking the cpu heavily. match some sticks up like two 2048mb sticks, at the same speed and it will give you a kick in the pants
so say, buy another 2048mb stick and another 1024mb stick, and you will see more performance, and for the hell of it, if you have the change, since you upgraded the ram, put win7 on it. the 64 bit version that is. to take advantage of the extra memory
 
Yeah, again, as I said before, your problem in general computing speed does not lie in your CPU. If you really want that lightening reflex and snappy feeling, you'll need a SSD to install windows on. Keep in mind if you go for the upgrading RAM route that you need to match the speed of the ram as well as the size (1024mb of ram at 1066Mhz vs at 800Mhz for example). Last but not least, windows XP is kind of a dinosaur at this point. I stood by it too until I tried windows 7, and its really worth the upgrade.
 
like what CardboardSword said, xp is pretty much died and could be part of your system running slow.if you got a 32bit OS than theres no point in getting more ram as 32bit limites you to only 3-3.5gb.a SSD will really help you out,loading your OS in 20 sec. and apps at 1-2 sec.
 
You can run dual channel with a 2gb and a 1gb stick, but they have to be in the correct slots!

Move your 1gb stick over to the slot beside the 2gb stick, they should be in the same color slots. After that you will be in dual channel mode which I believe will help some but as others have said most of your issue is the hard drive. Spinning drives are slow, simple as that. Solid State Disks (or SSD's) have no moving parts and .1 ms access time. The only problem with SSD's is the price per GB you pay for them.
 
Thanks a lot guys you've really helped me out.

I now understand I need to upgrade the RAM, the OS and the hard drive. I spent £100 on the CPU so I can only really justify 1 of these extra upgrades- what would be your order of preference?

1. Hard drive
2. RAM
3. OS

??
 
Well the best upgrade would be the SSD, but unfortunately, since XP is almost 10 years old now, it doesn't properly support them and you'll likely have a huge headache trying to get it to work properly. So if you're willing to jump through a whole bunch of hoops to get it working right, then go with the SSD, if not, get Windows 7.
 
Since you only have DDR2 ram, definitely don't upgrade that. But do make sure you are running in dual channel mode, did you move the 1gb ram stick beside the 2gb stick in the same colored slot yet?

With that said, I would not upgrade any of those 1 things yet. Wait until you afford both the hard drive and the windows 7 OS.
After that upgrade, you'll need to update your motherboard and move to DDR3 ram.

What are your hard drive requirements? Right now you have a 750gb, but with Solid state disks they are quite expensive per GB. Anything over a 60-90gb drive is unaffordable to most people pretty much.

You do have another option though since your hard drive isn't *that* bad. Do you really need 750gb of space? You can short stroke your hard drive to like 100gb to install the OS and programs on, and have 650gb for storage if you have lots of video's or music ETC.
A fresh install of windows 7 64 bit on a short stroked 100gb partition would greatly increase your speed.
 
mnby9rpj said:
Thanks a lot guys you've really helped me out.

I now understand I need to upgrade the RAM, the OS and the hard drive. I spent £100 on the CPU so I can only really justify 1 of these extra upgrades- what would be your order of preference?

1. Hard drive
2. RAM
3. OS

??
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Self Edit: If you're going to listen to some of these peeps, and upgrade your hard drive, RAM and OS, then, (in my entitled opinion) you're getting chumped. If you fix your RAM configuration, I'm sure you will notice a sizable boost in performance. A processor is only as good as its RAM conterpart. Come on man, spending all that money seems a bit extreme.
 
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Multiplasm said:
If you're going to listen to some of these kids, and upgrade your hard drive, RAM and OS, then you're getting chumped. If you fix your RAM configuration, I'm sure you will notice an extreme boost in performance. A processor is only as good as its RAM conterpart. Come on man, spending all that money seems a bit extreme.
Click to expand...

Go F yourself buddy.

First of all, I'm not a kid. Second of all, I've said to fix his ram in every post I've made pretty much. And third of all, you are wrong....having ram in single channel mode VS dual channel will not be some miracle speed fix. It's not THAT noticeable.

And one last note, you don't even know what speed is with your 5 year old POS sempron and IDE hard drive. Boots to OS in 25 seconds? haha, I could take a quick nap for that mine is about 10 seconds so again go F yourself and what you think you know.
 
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Multiplasm said:
If you're going to listen to some of these kids, and upgrade your hard drive, RAM and OS, then you're getting chumped. If you fix your RAM configuration, I'm sure you will notice an extreme boost in performance. A processor is only as good as its RAM conterpart. Come on man, spending all that money seems a bit extreme.
Click to expand...

i lol at that.like 87dtna said, fixing the ram is NOT going to show really no boost in performance.he needs to upgrade hes OS to 64bit and lose XP.without a 64bit OS he will not be able to go over hes 3gb that he already has.just get win7 64bit first and than do all the upgrades you need to.
 
Well. Things shouldn't get to intense here. In the event you guys haven't scared him off:

Just start by fixing you ram. See if that gives you more the performance you want.
If not, I doubt you'll want to drop money on an SSD because you really will want to get windows 7, which is costly by itself.
Depending on what you do with your system, Even the extra ram might not be worth it.

So just start by fixing your current configuration
 
wow. chill pills for everyone! :P

move the current ram you have to adjacent slots, and see if performance improves, before dumping money elsewhere, then if you feel you want to, try a new drive and OS, but honestly the change in configuration should improve your 'sluggish' feeling
 
Didn't mean to get anyone butt hurt, as I implied "some kids". Just get RAM that matches in higher speeds, and dual channel it, brother.

I don't understand the technique of some peeps in this forum to give advice for the most expensive upgrade, when it's probably not needed.
 
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