Speed up options for an aging HP a1224n. Possible CPU or HDD upgrades?

[mayhemandchaos8]

My a1224n is bogging down when programs like Rhapsody and ITunes run.  I have 4 teenagers with mp3 players, and it seems like the bigger they get, the slower the machine runs.  Running XP SP3, motherboard is Goldfish 3 with an LGA775 socket.  I have all the RAM shoved in there I can get.  It's not a spyware issue, I clean, degrag, and regedit regularly, plus shut down all but essential background programs.  That was a long intoduction to my question, which is:  Would changing out the CPU or installing a bigger HDD speed me back up, or am I wasting time?  If so, what limits me on selecting a CPU?  Is it motherboard frontside speed, socket, or something else ( I know thermal load and max processor speed are issues).  Or...replace my hard drive or install a second hard drive?  Would I replace the current 200GB 7200rpm HDD with a 600 10k rpm HDD, or just add a second HD and dump all my media files on it?  Lots of questions, can't seem to find anyone that knows the answers.  Looking for help.  Here are some particulars from the spec sheets:  Intel Pentium 4 519(P), 3.06 GHz, 533 MHz front bus, Socket 775.  Motherboard:  ASUS PTGD-LA (Goldfish 3 -GL8E), 800MHz front side bus, 915GV northbridge chipset, Intel ICH6 southbridge. 

[Paul_Tikkanen · Accepted solution]

Hi:

If you have installed 4 GB of PC3200 DDR, then if you install a used but working, Pentium 4 650 3.4/800/2M processor, I think you will see a noticeable improvement over your current setup.

I cannot guarantee it will work but I am pretty sure it will, based on the below info.

If you only have PC2700, your memory performance will suffer with the 800 MHz FSB P4 650 processor.

Attached are your motherboard specs:

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c00361570&tmp_task=prodinfoCategory&lc=en&dlc=en...

I have a dc7100 with the same chipset so I am pretty sure a P4 650 will work in yours. I have a P4 640 (3.2GHz) which I got for free, so I installed that instead of the 650. If I had to buy one, I would have bought the 650. I did install a P4 650 in a Dell Dimension 4700 with the same Intel 915 chipset. Works great! I upgraded the Dell from a P4 520 2.8/800/1M to the 650 and that was a noticeable improvement. You would be be increasing by almost 400 MHz and 266 Mhz of FSB speed.

HP has drivers for the PC for Windows Vista, and Windows 7 64 bit. The only processors that could run with a 64 bit OS that are supported with the 915 chipset, are the P4 6xx series processors. So, I would assume that your PC supports the P4 6xx series processors up to 3.4 GHz as listed in the motherboard specs.

You can get a P4 650 used but working for less than $25 on eBay.

I do not see a BIOS update that requires support for new processors, so you should be good to go.

If your HDD is less than 60% full, I see no need for an additional HDD. I don't even know if the machine will support a 10K RPM HDD.  I don't know if your machine's HDD controller supports SATA II HDD"s 3.0 GB/S transfer speeds. I do not think it does.  So any HDD you bought would run at the SATA transfer speed of 1.5 GB/S and you might have to jumper the drive for that to work.

The main drawback I see to your PC is you can't install a PCie graphics adapter. Your onboard graphics (GMA900) will not run the Windows Aero graphics found in Windows 7 or Vista. It's not a show stopper, but many folks have upgraded their PC's/notebooks with the onboard GMA 900 video adapter only to find this out afterward, and were very disappointed. Had you been able to install a PCIe graphics card, say a cheap nVidia 8400GS 512 MB fanless card, it would have freed up some onboard memory and you would have noticed even more improvement.

So, for a $25 investment in a P4 650 processor you could squeeze some more HP (no pun intended) out of it.

Other than that, I would be looking to buy a new/used PC manufactured from 2008 on. They should all be Windows 7 capable since they would all have been Windows Vista capable back in 2008.

Hope this helps.

Paul

[mayhemandchaos8]

Thank you.  You gave me more information in one response than I've been able to find after searching a week on google.  I'm going to give the 650 a shot.  I was actually looking at that, but didn't know if I would be worth it or not.  For $25, It's definitely worth a shot.  Thanks again for the advice.  jeff

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're welcome, Jeff.

Please post back after you upgrade it, and give us your feedback regarding the improvement you realized.

It may help others in the future.

Paul

[mayhemandchaos8]

One more question.  I think you alluded to it in your response, but I just want to make sure.  Is the swap out as simple as removing the 519 module and installing the 650?  Powerdown, replace, powerup?  Or do I need to make some config changes at startup?

thanks again,

jeff

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi, Jeff:

Yes, it should be just remove and replace.

No configs needed. Remember to apply a thin coat of good thermal compound atop the processor heat spreader. Use alcohol to clean the new processor's surface as well as the heat sink--remove all traces of old thermal compound.

If you've replaced processors before, you know what to do regarding a good thermal heat transfer from processor to heat sink. Otherwise your heat sink fan goes into orbit.

If you've never replaced an LGA775 processor before, there are lots of good tutorials on the internet such as this one:

http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=2231

Your heat sink may be secured differently from the tutorial. My Dell's heatsink was just held down with plastic retainer clips. My HP dc7100's heatsink was screwed down to the motherboard with 4 threaded screws. I just tightened those down uniformly in an X pattern until the screws were very snug. Not "gorilla" tight.

Paul

[mayhemandchaos8]

Great procedure.  Just read through it.  I bought a CPU off of EBay just like you said.  Can't wait for it to get here!  Thanks again for all the help.  jeff