Crosswords15 mins ago
amd processor upgrade help
I currently use a MSI K7N2 motherboard running a 1.2mhz AMD Athlon processor with 256mb ram.
What is the best speed processor I can upgrade to and can I just swap it over with the one I have.I also intend to upgrade the ram at the same time.
I dont want to change the m/b so please bear that in mind as I am not very skilled in pc building.
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a 5 second search on google found the above.It would appear that it will support up to Athlon XP3000+.
You can just swap it over but it would be very unwise.You will need to buy a more powerful heatsink and fan for starters that is compatible with the faster cpu that you choose.I used www.thecoolingshop.com when i upgraded in a similar way.CPU's and fans are easy to install but need to be handled with care to avoid damage and 'smudging' of the thermal paste on the heatsink.
Socket A production was discontinued a few years ago and even though Socket A mobos are still readily available finding CPUs anywhere other than ebay is quite difficult, especially the high performance models.
Upgrading the RAM would offer less of an improvement, but improvement it still is.
You can buy 256MB DDR for around �15 and 512MB for around �25.