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Motherboard CPU

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Solstice:
Ah, I see.

The problem with upgrading your CPU here is that, for a higher clock speed, most processors will need a higher FSB (front side bus) speed too - Which your RAM may not be able to support. If you're lucky enough to have a CPU with an unlocked multiplier (which isn't at all common nowadays, though your current one is likely unlocked) you can cheat a little by bumping that up... but with newer stuff you're basically limited to how fast your FSB moves. So if your RAM only does 166mhz (PC2100 is rated for 133mhz but could probably do 166mhz with relaxed timings), then a +3200 CPU that's supposed to run at 2.2ghz (200mhz FSB) will only run at 1826mhz. Which is really no faster than the 1.8ghz you're running now. So unless you plan on buying new RAM too, I don't know that you'll see much of an improvement with a new processor. Unless you can find an unlocked Barton or something (run it at 166x13=2150mhz), but I dont know if it'd be possible to purchase one new. Last I heard, AMD was (like Intel) locking the multipliers on all their chips to keep 3rd parties from selling overclocked chips to unsuspecting consumers. Now it IS possible to unlock a CPU, but while doing so its also possible to turn a brand new CPU into a keychain - if you know what I mean.

Long and short of it is, you're gonna have a tough time making a big upgrade for a small price. :(


PS: Ever been into your BIOS? You should be able to pull exact FSB speeds and CPU multipliers out of there, as well as finding out if your current CPU is locked.

RedLeather:
o.o; Yes, i've been into my Bio's...No i don't know anything about those things..however, going into my computers bios is like dungeon crawling with the difficulty setting to something akin to Legenday on halo/halo2 on crack.

Solstice:
Heehee. It can be intimidating, but as long as you're just there to look you can't do much harm. Just don't save your changes when you exit, and you can poke all you like :D

Bunnyman:
ASUS tends to have pretty good overclocking stuff built into the BIOS.  Be sur eto keep an eye on your temperatures, though.  Unless your computer is floating in liquid nitrogen, you should be really careful with that sort of thing.

Getting some PC3200 (2x512 or 2x1gb) would be worth your while.  I'm suspicious of DDR2...any word on it?  It seems to be three-quarters the price of an equivalent amount of 400mhz PC3200.  I heard something about early latency issues.

Jenno:
I wouldn't really bother with DDR2 memory at the moment, as the performance difference is currently not worth the price difference.

Bunnyman: DDR2 trades off latency for a much higher data transfer rate. Graphics cards have used a similar type of memory for quite some time now without any major issues.

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