Upgrading CPU on a HP Pavilion a1129n

[viperboy1991]

Sorry if i posted this in the wrong board

I want to upgrade the CPU on my PC. My question is what is the fastest CPU i can put in. I heard someone used a Opteron 165. Can a use a Athlon X2 4400+ socket 939? Also how would I update my BIOS to the latest version on the HP site since its a XP driver and not a Vista driver? Would i just use the XP driver? Thanks!

 

[Zatharus]

...My question is what is the fastest CPU i can put in. I heard someone used a Opteron 165. Can a use a Athlon X2 4400+ socket 939?

Technically you could put an Althlon X2 4800+ or an Opteron 185. Good luck finding them for a decent price (Ebay?). Your BIOS may also need to be updated to support these processors. Which leads us to...

Also how would I update my BIOS to the latest version on the HP site since its a XP driver and not a Vista driver? Would i just use the XP driver? Thanks!

You would need to check HP's site for the latest BIOS available on that machine. The BIOS update is not an XP or Vista driver specifically, though HP may offer an XP or Vista version of their update software. Most BIOS upgrades take place of a DOS boot disk with a simple EEPROM binary file.

 

[mep916]

That's right. The BIOS may be configured to only recognize the CPU that shipped with your system. Double check with HP before you make the purchase.

 

[fmw]

I recommend against doing what you are doing. With generic equipment you can upgrade to your heart's content. With proprietary equipment usually you cannot. HP is about as proprietary as it gets.

A CPU upgrade isn't going to do much either. It might provide a measurable increase in performance but it would be unlikely to provide a noticeable one. My advice is to use what you have until you replace the computer.