Intel 3,5 or 7

[artbuc]

Thinking bout replacing my 12 year old tired HP a1600 tower. I am a very light user but I want a fast quiet machine. Was wondering if I could tell much difference, especially between i5 and i7? Thanks.

[camerongray]

It ultimately comes down to what you plan on doing.  For general office work and web browsing.etc then an i3 or i5 would be more than sufficient. If you plan on doing something heavier like heavy video editing then an i7 may make a noticeable difference but outside of that you probably won't see a huge difference.  I'd strongly recommend looking for a machine that has an SSD, this will give you a much more noticeable improvement in terms of general responsiveness than going up to a higher end CPU would.

[artbuc]

Interesting. Your post prompted me to start learning about SSD's. Maybe I should replace my current HD with an SSD? Since I am limited to 4GB RAM, my HD gets worked to death. Just read an article on how to do it by using Macrium Reflect to close existing HD on an SSD and then replacing HD with SSD. Looks easy enough. What do you think?

[Geek-9pm]

A reference of possible interest:
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/intel-core-i3-vs-i5-vs-i7-one-really-need/

The article goes on  to show that are more letters and numbers that differentiate Intel CPUs. Some are meant to be very low power. Some are for HD graphics. So you have a lot of choices.

[camerongray]

While you certainly could add an SSD to your current machine, it's really getting on a bit in terms of age so it wouldn't be able to take full advantage of a new SSD.   That said, there's nothing stopping you getting an SSD now and then down the line if you decide to get a new desktop, moving the drive over.

[artbuc]

Thanks Geek for that great link. Cameron, just checked and discovered my HD will soon be 5 years old. It seems like I installed it just yesterday. Also, as mentioned in another thread, I just realized I have 3GB RAM instead of 4. I'm thinking PC came from factory with 2x512MB cards and I added 2x1GB in the two open slots. I am using about half of my 256GB HD. What size SSD should I get? Should I also increase RAM to 4 GB? Seems like I read somewhere that Win 10 or my old PC (can't remember which) can only use 3.3GB of RAM which is probably why I installed this only 3 GB. Thanks for your help.

[Geek-9pm]

Like many other things, adding just a SSD gives just an incremental boast in performance. In some cases, no boast at all. The SSD does nothing for graphics quality.  Nor does it help the CPU solve math problems.

As munch as I hat to say it, trying to upgrade a PC r is like banging your head into a wall.  Sometimes it is worth the effort, but you will have a bad headache.

IMO, one can look for refurbished computers from a certified dealer and you can get some better hardware and still have your old PC as a backup. Works for me. I now have a Dell 745 sff desktop and a midi and a Dell 755 desktop. I can watch a movie on one and do something else on the other.  I already had a monitor and extra keyboard and hard drive. So I got the 755 for under $50 without the hard drive and monitor, keyboard and mouse. I had to talk to MS support to re-load my Windows 7 pro onto the new 755, which replaced my old Dell 250 that went bad. Sometimes MS support will let you do that . Sometimes.
I could have bought a SSD for about $50.  But I think the used computer was a better investment for me. Having two computers increases my effective use of computers much more than a better drive.
But the choice is yours, SSD will bring some improvement. 

[artbuc]

I know, I know. Cameron has also suggested buying a used Optiplex coming off a corporate lease. Just can't get my head wrapped around buying a used PC. Feel the same way about cars. Always thinking I am buying someone else's problems.

[DaveLembke]

According to info online it looks like your motherboard supports up to a Athlon 64 x2 5000+ which benchmarks 31% better than what you have.

Here is benchmark of your current CPU with a score of 1003 http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=AMD+Athlon+64+X2+Dual+Core+3800%2B

Here is benchmark of what you could upgrade to with score of 1312 ( 31% faster than current CPU ) http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=AMD+Athlon+64+X2+Dual+Core+5000%2B

Here is article with CPU upgrade info for your model: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/365252-28-upgrade-pavillion-media-center-a1600n

Here is the Athlon 64 x2 5000+ for $7.85 with free shipping if you live in the USA, otherwise price is different if outside USA: http://www.ebay.com/itm/AMD-ATHLON-64-X2-5000-2-6Ghz-1MB-AM2-ado5000iaa5do-Dual-Core-500b-5000-/232347876005?epid=74192261&hash=item3619033aa5:g:vSAAAOSwgmJXxIB0

Performance increase would be noticeable. A SSD in this build though while better wouldnt really make use of the SSD's true performance. Looking at the motherboard the SATA Controller states that its 1.5 and not 3.0.

I have used ebay for years for buying obsolete parts on the cheap and havent had any problems yet. Its a way to take an otherwise really old and noticeably slow system and make it faster on the cheap. You will just want new thermal compound to apply to CPU and Heatsink after you do the swap. Also if any BIOS updates are available to do those first. Looking online I didnt see any BIOS updates for that board. But according to article the CPU listed here should work no problems with your motherboard.

A new build would be far more powerful and more expensive than this $7.85 upgrade option, but if looking to upgrade on a very very low cost budget, there is nothing wrong with using used CPUs. 

I have been able to turn what use to be low cost performance crippled single-core Celeron CPU systems into old school gaming rigs for about $5.00 with free shipping off ebay buying a used Pentium 4 3.0Ghz HT socket 478 CPU ( which acts like a dual core with the hyper threading ) and turning what was once sadly performance crippled $399 system into what use to be high end $600 more costly $999 gaming system back in the day with games of back in the day run on it.

[artbuc]

Thanks dave. How did you find this info. I logged onto HP Support only to discover they had retired my rig and no longer provided detailed specifications. If I changed the chip, would I need permission from MS to activate my current product key?

[DaveLembke]

Toms Hardware has lots of good info for obsolete stuff that back in the day info existed and as HP and others pull old legacy info off the internet, Toms Hardware and other places still have old pages with helpful info like this. Most info there is good info. Its nice when others have been where your going already to warn what will or wont work etc. I feel this is a safe upgrade. the BIOS likely supports the 5000+ as well without a flash required.

The better CPU is the same family CPU and so it shouldnt break your OS key alone. Its only when drastic change happens that you run the risk. The only thing it might request is a reboot after first boot on the better CPU as it updates the registry etc.

Its a shame that the socket AM2 motherboard wont support a Phenom x4 9000 series CPU for example such as the Phenom x4 9950 Black Edition, because if it did that would be way better and for $35 on ebay you'd have performance close to a 2nd generation Core i3... But your stuck with a maximum of this 5000+ Dual-Core according to old info on Toms Hardware website. The AMD Athlon x2 5000+ CPU will give you performance similar to a Core 2 Duo E4500 or E4600 Intel CPU system as a comparison to Intel processors.

This is info on socket AM2 ... http://www.cpu-world.com/Sockets/Socket%20AM2.html

Phenom x4 9950 Black Edition .... your system cant run it, but its one of the meanest AM2 CPU's made. I have a Athlon II x4 620 Socket AM3 which is just a hair slower than this and on that system right now typing this. Paired with a decent video card it is still an ok gaming rig although I have 2 better systems a FX-8300 3.3Ghz 8-core 95 watt TDP and a FX-8350 4.0Ghz 8-core 125watt TDP. http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=AMD+Phenom+9950+Quad-Core

Your computer isnt worth putting much money into, but for the $7.85, I'd go for the 31% CPU processing power gain of the Athlon X2 5000+ if otherwise happy with this system and just wanting it to be a little more snappy. CPU upgrades are pretty easy, and no need to even get a different heatsink, the heatsink you have will handle the slightly hotter CPU. You will just want to watch videos on youtube etc showing the process of swapping a CPU before you dig into doing this if you decide to take this cheap upgrade on, as well as have thermal compound such as Arctic Silver available to place a drop of it on the top of the clean CPU top center and clean flat of the CPU heatsink to squash the droplet of thermal compound and lock the heatsink to the socket body then you should be all set to boot and run with it. There is a pin one indicator on the socket and the CPU marked by a small gold triangle in the corner top side of CPU. The pins are fragile so you just want to avoid dropping the CPU or bending them with fingers. There is a lock/release lever on the side of the socket that you need to lift up to unlock the CPU from the socket otherwise you can damage the socket. Lever  up means its unlocked, lever down means CPU pins are locked in the jaws of the socket.

If all else fails and system wont boot and run on the Athlon X2 5000+, you could always toss your original CPU back into it and only be out $7.85 

[artbuc]

Already watched several videos. Looks pretty straightforward. To be honest, I have done lots of work on my PC without doing anything special to protect against static electricity. Do I really need to use anti static-straps?

Dave, thanks again for your help!

Edit:  I just purchased the 5000 but now see the AM2 socket will take a max 64x2 6400+ chip. Many for sale on eBay for $30+/-. Any reason I shouldn't get the faster 6400+?

[artbuc]

Already watched several videos. Looks pretty straightforward. To be honest, I have done lots of work on my PC without doing anything special to protect against static electricity. Do I really need to use anti static-straps?

Dave, thanks again for your help!

Edit:  I just purchased the 5000 but now see the AM2 socket will take a max 64x2 6400+ chip. Many for sale on eBay for $30+/-. Any reason I shouldn't get the faster 6400+?

Did some more checking. No dice on 6400+. Even 5000+ looks tricky especially with no support from HP. Sometimes works, sometimes does not. I have earliest BIOS version 3.06 and all upgrades shown have at least 3.1. Think I will just stay with what I have especially considering Win 10 Creator Edge performance is significantly improved. Pages load much faster. Anyhow, thanks again and I learned a lot.

[DaveLembke]

No Problem... Glad info here assisted in learning more about computers 

If you purchased the Athlon X2 5000+ as stated earlier, you could always take a chance on getting it to work with earlier BIOS. Worst case scenario is that the system doesnt boot in which you just switch back or get a Microcode Error which the BIOS doesnt detect the CPU properly to identify it, but it will still run healthy but will just have an annoying Microcode Error at boot to get past of every boot if left in the system. I had a Celeron 500Mhz system years ago that I upgraded to a Pentium III 850Mhz and it ran in the system and ran way better than the Celeron 500Mhz but it ran the Pentium III 850Mhz at 700Mhz since the motherboard only had BIOS support for stepping to 700Mhz, but gave the Microcode Error at boot which you could F1 past the error and it would boot and run properly for heavy gaming that the Celeron that was in the Compaq was too weak for. Even the 850Mhz Pentium III running at 700Mhz was way way better than the crappy Celeron 500Mhz that had very little Cache which crippled it. So I ran at a 150Mhz underclock on the Pentium III 850Mhz at 700Mhz and played games like Diablo 2 with no problems at all as well as GTA Vice City ran on it with the Geforce 4 MX440 64MB. 

More info on Microcode Errors:  https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Desktop-Hardware-and-Upgrade-Questions/How-to-fix-quot-1801-Microcode-Update-Error-quot-in-HP/td-p/4950417