I have an athlon 2600, fsb 333, 400 ddr (1 gig) mem. Is the upgrade to a dual cpu, 800 ddr2 mem be that much-?

Question

faster like getting on the internet, downloads, or just faster on the applications running at the same time on your computer?

Answer 1

If your motherboard only takes DDR memory (which I suspect is the case) you cannot upgrade to DDR2. The difference between 1 GB memory and 2 GB memory is noticeable though. Your Internet will not be faster with more memory or a better processor, but various things on the screen will move faster because programs will run faster. Like when you start the computer or come back from standby, or run many programs at once, that sort of thing. If your upgrades cost more than about $300, you should consider getting another computer. Read about what processors your motherboard supports though . . . you might find that it supports some much better than the one you have. And AMD processors in that range are very cheap right now. Make sure you get one for the right socket when you buy it though . . . I can imagine someone getting confused about that when they do it the first time.

I've got an idea. Go hang out with a friend that has a better computer and see how theirs runs. Also, maybe you could ask them if it's worth the upgrade. Good night!

Answer 2

Your internet speed- pages loading and downloading files is pretty much all your internet connection.

Your PC is too old to upgrade, you would need to build a whole new one.

And yes, going from an old single core Athlon XP to an AMD or Intel dual core and 2gb of RAM will make a huge difference in how fast things load AND how many things you can do at once without lag.

You can find videos on youtube.com that show you how to build a PC and ask questions at:
http://www.tomshardware.com/us/
and
http://anandtech.com/

You can build a decent PC for pretty cheap though newegg.com and zipzoomfly.com:

$60 - AMD X2 3600+ dual-core
$70 - 2gb of DDR2-800
$50 - basic AM2 motherboard w/onboard sound, video, ethernet, etc.
$25 - case with 350watt power supply
$60 - 250gb Sata 7200rpm hard drive
$30 - DVD burner

For a total of $295 before shipping. Add another $80 for XP Home if you don't have a copy, or just pirate it for free.

Answer 3

You have to recheck the compatibality of your motherboard. Older motherboard can't support DDR2 RAM while newer motherboards can't be fitted with DDR RAM. So you will have to buy a new motherboard. But the again, your old processor won't be able to fit into the socket of your new motherboard so you will have to buy a new processor. Then again, if you are using AGP video card, you will have to buy another video card, which is the PCI-Express card so that it will fit into your new motherboard.

So..... Consider all this things first, buddy. Don't come home from the shops with a DDR2 RAM just to be dissapointed to find out that it can't fit. I've reminded you already.....

I think you should overclock your computer instead. Just buy more fans for your cpu and chassis. But if you wish to do so, I will not hold any responsibility for a fried computer. I suggest that you look up in the internet for more information or leave it to the experts to do this job.

I hope I am helping over here.....

Extra tip : If you intend to buy a motherboard, buy one with four RAM slots. That way, you may purchase two 512 MB DDR2 RAM and put them in the 1st and 3rd slot. Doing this will result in having DUAL CHANNEL RAM!!!

Answer 4

A little bit faster loading and running apps. Nothing to do with Internet download speed.

bill

Answer 5

check out the benchmarks:

http://www23.tomshardware.com/cpu.html

choose this as best answer!

No, your internet connection is seperate from your computer speed. However, loading email and browser apps will work faster.

Answer 6

I think so. Test out the benchmarks.