I currently have a P4 1.8 ghz CPU on an Abit SR7-8X mobo, a GeForce Ti4400 128MB video card, and 512 MB ram. Like most folks, I am looking to upgrade my FPS. Would a move to a 2.6 or 2.8 gig CPU be worth it and would anyone know if my motherboard would support that?

Not a motherboard expert but would recommend at least a 3.x on the processor. I had a 1.9 and now a 3.4 and a huge differenceBill

I think 2.8 is the highest I can go on this mobo, but I am not sure.

Yes you will see a big difference. I went from a 1.8 to a 2.8 WoW!Also if you can bump your RAM up a bit that would be nice.

And when you get the 2.8, get a good overclocking fan and overclock it to about 3.3. I overclocked my 2.6C to 3.1 and ran smoothly and nice and cool at 29 celsius at idle and 42 when loaded up.

Thanks for the replies!!Now...I notice a few different "flavors"...i.e. P4 "Horthwood", P4 "Prescott", etc... Any recomendations? the Northwoods are more expensive than the Prescotts.

Hi Guy,I have a P4 Northwood, 2.8 chip sitting around gathering dust, was used for a hot 72 hours. After buying it, I decided I wanted the 3.4. Used the fan for ram cooling so its just the chip, but you're old p4 fan will do if you don't OC.If you need one, and are in the states, make me an offer at my e mail.Clay [email protected]

Prescott is newer than Nortwood. But, surprisingly, it's actually also slower than Northwood.http://www6.tomshardware.com/cpu/20040201/index.htmlThe advantage that Prescott has is that it can reach higher clockspeeds. I really don't know if you should go with the Prescott or the old Northwood - I haven't used Intel processors since the P-133 so someone else will have to answer that :)However, you'd definitely notice an improvement by upgrading the CPU.

Don't shoot me if I'm wrong, but, I believe the Prescott is the latest, but can't be used on all P4MB's. Also, because it has a larger cache, it is marginally slower than the same rated Northwood.They say the Northwood can 'presently' put out 5% more than the Prescott, but that is just now until the MB's catch up.In any event, I've got that one hardly burned in if you're interested.It's P4 2.8 533FSB and 512 cache, socket 478 for the P4 MB's. They are goin from anywhere from 170-220 depending where you buy.I'll take 140 + the ups to you if you are in the states, I just hate to see it sitting here gathering dust and not doing anything, knowing someone would love to have it. And honestly, it has less than 72 hrs on it and is [email protected]

Clay,Thanks for the offer. I am going to do a little more research (maybe a new mobo, CPU, etc) on pricing and stuff. You say that using the old heatsink/fan will be good enough?