CPU or RAM upgrade?

[Hork]

I trying to figure out the best upgrade for a Compaq Presario SR1800NX.

It currently has 768MB of RAM, so I'm going to throw a 1GB stick of DDR2 PC5300 in for a total of 1.5GB, but I'm wondering if it is also worth it to upgrade the processor?

It is currently using a Celeron running at 3.06GHz (not overclocked). Windows XP Home is the OS.

The motherboard is an ASUS P5RC-LA with the following info:

•Socket: 775
•Supports the following processors:
◦Pentium D 820 (Smithfield, 90nm)
◦Pentium 4 631, 641, 651, 661 (Cedar Mill, 65nm)
◦Pentium 4 630, 640, 650 (Prescott, 90nm)
◦Pentium 4 520J/521, 530J/531, 540J/541, 550J/551 (Prescott, 90nm)
◦Celeron D 352, 356 (Cedar Mill, 65nm)
◦Celeron D 325J/326, 330J/331, 335J/336, 340J/341, 345J/346, 351, 355 (Prescott, 90nm)

I'be looked on Tom's Hardware, but a) I'm not sure which Celeron I have, b) it doesn't list some of these Cedar Mill 65nm processors in the charts, and c) I'm not sure a how much slight increase in a performance index translates to an actual increase in machine performance (e.g., is it worth it?).

What's my best bang for the buck processor upgrade if I have a target price of $40, and is it worth it, or should I just stick with the RAM upgrade?

 

[DrMrLordX]

Getting a smithfield is like asking for a thermal nightmare. The 820 would probably be your best upgrade here, but they run hot, so you'd best be prepared to deal with that heat. Insufficient case airflow = throttling.

I see some 820s for sale on ebay for $28 + $5 shipping (buy it now). As to whether or not it's worth it . . . basically, you will be doubling your processing power by adding another core (more or less). The fact that you will no longer be stuck with a Celeron will bring with it other advantages.

I don't see extra RAM being as big of a jump in performance, though that would also be a handy upgrade if you can somehow afford that along with the 820.

Mind you, pouring too much money into an old machine like that just doesn't seem to make much sense.

 

[TurtleCrusher]

$33 for a pentium D isn't that bad. It's not like it's the 512k L2 Northwoods, each core has 1MB of L2.

It will be able to play most games on low/medium settings. As slow as Pentium 4s are, Pentium D's feel pretty smooth to work with. Single threaded applications might seem sluggish but multithreaded apps should be usable.

Pentium D w/ 768mb DDR2 >>>>> Celeron single core w/ 1.5gb DDR2. When I upgraded my Eee 900 from 512mb to 2GB I didn't see that much of a difference at all. If I could have added a core that would have been a monumental difference.

 

[nonameo]

I would think that the 65nm pentium Ds would run cooler than the 90nm ones. Am I missing something?

edit: I see that it supports 800fsb and 65nm, so while it doesn't list 65nm pentium Ds I would think they would be compatible. Don't quote me on it though

 

[DrMrLordX]

It is not certain if Presler is supported on that board or not. Smithfield is, but only in one form (the infamous 820 . . . how it could support the 820 but NOT the 830 or 840 I don't know, but it may be a tdp or arbitrary BIOS issue). Of the listed CPUs, that's the best one he can get, provided he can tame the beast in a Compaq case.

Given that he's working with a Compaq, I wouldn't put it past them to have all kinds of bizarre BIOS restrictions that were intended to force buyers to step up to a more expensive model to make use of better CPUs. Or something.

If he could get a Presler to work in that thing, then heck yeah, that'd be better than a Smithfield by far.

 

[perdomot]

I say go for the ram if you aren't doing anything too cpu intensive. Two GB of ram is about right for XP to get good performance so I think you'll notice a nice boost.

 

[BusPass]

Go with ram, I suggest a 2gb ram for now.