Socket 423 upgrade - success story

[Guest cw1011]

I thought I would share this with all of you folks who, like me, purchased early P4 systems not knowing that Intel would change the socket format shortly. This should probably go in the hardware forum, but I thought it might reach more people here - and since I spend most of my time in MSFS2002, there is a definite connection. I have a Dell Dimension 8100 that I purchased with a 1.4 gig processor. Up until very recently, I thought the very fastest that this machine would ever go was 2 gigs - the fastest 423 pin P4 chip. I purchased a 1.9 gig chip about seven months ago and was pretty much convinced my next step was a new machine. Big bummer - I have a lot of expensive Rambus memory in this box and wasn't happy about losing that since it wouldn't transfer out to the new DDR motherboards I was considering. I was wrong. It turns out that several companies are marketing adapters for the 423 pin socket that accept the newer Northwood core processors. And they are quite reasonably priced - $49.99 from Powerleap with a custom heat sink and fan that connects directly to the power supply. So, this weekend I installed the adapter and 2.6 gig 400 FSB in my computer (this is the limit because Dell's bios will only work with the 400 FSB chips) and have been pleasantly surprised. I would characterize the performance gain as about 25%, which is a bit less than the percentage increase going from 1.9 to 2.6 but pretty impressive given the total cost was $250 ($50 for the adapter, $200 for the processor).So - if you are still driving socket 423 pin motherboard, you can upgrade all the way up to 2.6 with the 400 FSB, and all the way up to 2.8 with most other 423 pin motherboards for between $250 and $300 depending on the processor. Compared to $1,800 for a new rig at 3 gigs with decent ram etc. this made real sense to me, as I can now easilly make it through to the next generation Intel chip that will likely release this fall or early next year - and when my big investment will yield a truly major leap in power. Colin

[barryward12345 0]

That is great for you -- I wish I could do the same thing for my P3/1000 -- which I am quite happy with but would like just a "little" more horsepower out of it. Can't justify a completely new machine myself.Barry

[Guest cw1011]

I would suggest checking out Powerleap's site - they have adapters for older systems as well. I don't know much about the socket configurations of the older Intel chips and motherboards, so I don't know for sure if they have something for you. But you might check. Cheers. Colin