I want to upgrade... how do I know what will work?

Question

I have an AMD Sempron 3100+ 1.8GHz. I want something bigger... If I get an AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ 2.2GHz, will it work? and what would I have to do to install it?

I have 512 RAM and 128mb graphics card.

Answer 1

well lets see,

first off when looking for a a cpu.

you'll need to look at the socket type itself and the Bus speed.

You can tell everything about your computer by downloading "cpuz"

http://www.cpuid.com/download/cpu-z-134.zip

this will tell you your bus speed and socket type.

You also may want to look at Cache sizes on the cpu.

If you are planning to play alot of video games.

nothing less then 1MB of L2 cache.

Also. If you buy a OEM cpu. You'll need to supply your own heatsink and thermal paste.

You'll also need to look at your power supply.

again if your playing video games and are running a huge video card that requires it's own power connection (PCI-E or Molex) you'll need at least 18A on the 12v+ rail and 400W max power.

you can find that out on the sticker on the side of your power supply.

If you own a dell. You'll also need to buy a new Power supply if you would like to Upgrade the motherboard. if you would like to just upgrade the cpu and video card, they make DELL power supplys with dell's pin config.

but you know what.

through the magic of computers i can already tell you. With about a 90% chance of being correct.


that your motherboard is socket 754

it also has 256K of L2 cache.

it consumes 62Watts and runs at 1.4v

and the bus speed is 400mhz. It accepts (depending on the mobo) DDR400 or pc-3200

so you'll want to look for Socket 754 Athlon 64's

and the highest they go is a 3400+

Sorry but you have very outdated Componants.

AMD is at Socket AM2 now. with another coming out soon.

:(

good news?

the 3400+ is 164.99$

but you have to make sure that the Mobo supports the front side bus speed the cpu needs. in the case of the 3400+

you'll need a 1600Mhz FSB (think 800Mhz x2)

Best of luck

Answer 2

if i remember correctly the sempron 3100 is socket 754. the X2 4200 is a socket 939, so you would have to get a socket 939 motherboard. your ram will probably work but the socket 754 cpu's use single channel ram where the 939 uses dual channel ram so i recommend a ram upgrade as well. your video card may work as long as you stick with a motherboard that has the video card adaptor type your card has. if its agp you need to stick with agp. if its pcie you need a pcie board. or you could get the asrock dualsata II motherboard. i have one it works pretty well actually and it can do agp as well as pcie.

Answer 3

Check your motherboard manual, it will tell you what processors and at what speeds it supports.
You will likely need to get the processor and a system board to do your upgrade.
When in doubt, take the machine to a reputable shop, and tell them what you want to upgrade to, and ask for a quote first. They will quote you on all the necessary parts if you bring in your machine, or tell them exactly what is in your machine currently (exacy mobo make and model, speed of ram, processor type, etc)

Answer 4

it is better to purchase a ram of 1GB or 512MB before it read carefully ur motherboard mannual or bring ur PC to a reputed computer accesories store.