Upgrading Processor and Memory

[ronedsell]

Thank you for assisting and placing me on the correct path. I have a HPDesktop a1510n Media Center.  I have increased the memory to 4G - can this be increased to 8G with purchase of four 2G chips.

The original Processor is still in the machine - AMD Athlon(tm) 64 Processor 3800 +.  What should I purchase for a good upgrade and is it difficult to install myself.

Regards

[old_geekster · Accepted solution]

Ron, the motherboard has a socket 939 CPU.  This is an obsolete socket.  Therefore, upgrading will be nearly impossible.  I know because I have the same problem.  When something happens to mine it will be buying time.  The maximum allowable is:

• AMD Athlon 64 X2 up to 4800+

If you can find one.

As for memory, with a 32-bit OS, the maximum usable memory is 3.5GB.  You can install 4GB, but only the 3.5GB is available to the OS.

I know this isn't what you wanted to hear.  However, it may be time to consider a new computer if the one you have isn't meeting your needs.