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      09-22-2012, 04:43 PM   #12
skypx
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rpiopio View Post
I've got a 5 year old computer that runs fine but I'm interested in bumping up its performance since we have 1000's of pics and searching through them while doing other things seems to be taking longer to process. I've already doubled the size of my HD so there's plenty of space and maxed my RAM so all else being equal, would I notice a difference in performance if I upgrade the chip from the processor it came with:

Pentium dual core E2180: 2 Ghz / 800 FSB / 1 mb L2 cash

To this:

Core 2 Duo E8500 3.16 Ghz / 1.333 Mhz FSB / 6 MB L2 cache

My motherboard will only allow certain intel chips:
*Intel Core 2 Duo E4x00 up to E4400,
*Intel Core 2 Duo E6x00 up to E6700
*Intel Core 2 Duo E8xxxx
*Intel Core 2 Quad up to Q6600
*Intel Core 2 Quad Q9xxx

The Core 2 Duo 8500 I want to upgrade to is $144 and I'm trying to spend under $150. I know these are all old chips, but I'm new to tinkering so would I even notice a significant difference in how it runs? Thanks computer wizards.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ragingclue View Post
I would however recommend a clean install of Windoze if it's not too much trouble. If not, that's cool too, but you're probably experiencing a lot of unnecessary load and it can sometimes be easier to just to a wipe and reinstall as opposed to hunting everything down.
I highly recommend re-installing windows. If you are not using windows 7 get it (more efficient OS). The rationale behind this is if the computer has been running for 30-40 minutes and you are at the desktop with all programs closed, and the cpu is at 100%, I'm thinking virus, botnet etc. Easy to fix for someone with experience but a pain for a novice.

I also recommend getting a solid-state drive (SSD). This will be the most noticeable bump in speed of any possible upgraded component. Good luck.
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