how do i find out what processor my computer can take?

Question

I currently have amd duron(tm) 751 mhz with 768mb of ram. Is there a limit to what i can put in or can i put any processor in? I know there is a website that tells you what memory to upgrade is there one for processors? thanks

Answer 1

computer processors come in "socket" types and your processor should be a "socket A" with a duron 751mhz
luckily there are still some socket A processors avalible on line such as the AMD Athlon XP 2400+ Socket A 462 Processor (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140133286345&ssPageName=MERCOSI_VI_ROSI_PR4_PCN_BIX&refitem=270135857555&itemcount=4&refwidgetloc=closed_view_item&refwidgettype=osi_widget)
my last p.c had a socket A processor and i found them very fast,my one was a amd athlon xp 2400 and was 1.8ghz
e-bay is probally the best place to look for your processor upgrades as officially socket A processors are dis-continued
as for memory your first stop should be at http://www.crucial.com/,then run the online memory tool,this will give you a report on your memory which will include
1)your current memory amount
2)your memory type(ddr,ddr2,ect)
3)your maximum installable memory
4)your current motherboard and graphics interface
after the scan you can use the info collected to purchase a compatible module for you p.c and as your p.c has been scanned then you know its gonna be the correct one
there isnt a processor online tool but you can use a few processor utilitys such as cpu-z(http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php) and AMD CPUInfo (http://www.amd.com/gb-uk/Processors/TechnicalResources/0,,30_182_871_2364,00.html)
also why not take a look at the AMD LIVE!™ page(http://www.amdlive.com/gb-en/),thers some intresting info on this apge regarding all amd processors
i hope this helped
good luck mate!

Answer 2

with a duron 750.. im guessing the highest your board will take is a thunderbird 12-1300 or so..but it could be as high as an AthlonXP 3200+

some of the old socket A boards max out at 1-1.5 gb of pc133.. but if the board can take a XP3200.. you can go upwards of 2gb of pc3200

you can get more info about all the stuff in your system with Sisoft Sandra Lite (link below) that should help you figure out your mobo, then you go to the mobo site and find manuals/info about how much further you can go upgrade wise

Answer 3

its all down to what the motherboard can work with, guessing by the speed i would say your pc is quite old, instead of upgrading the processor (which would mean upgrading the motherboard & ram as well) i would suggest just buying a new pc, it would work out in the long run

Answer 4

You need to look in the manufacturers book that came with your computer. It will tell you what components will be compatible with your particular computer.

If you try to install something not suggested by the manufacturer, it could revoke your warranty.

Answer 5

In order to know what the processor limits for your motherboard is. You need to know what kind of motherboard you have. The easiest way I can think of would be to download sandra lite from http://www.download.com/SiSoftware-Sandra-Lite/3000-2086_4-10692555.html?tag=lst-0-1

Here is a walkthrough for finding out what motherboard you have for sandra. http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/236/2

Once you know what motherboard you have go to your choice of search engines and do a search for your motherboard's max processor limits.

Hope this helps you.

Answer 6

Ask for advice at PC world or your local computer repair shop ( costs nothing).

Answer 7

To check how much RAM and what kind you need, go to http://www.crucial.com

Check your motherboard manual to see how fast of a CPU you can take...or search your motherboard's model number and "cpu support"