Processor replacement

[Dakatsu]

Processor replacement

Im getting Tiberium Wars tomorrow, and I plan to get UT3 when it comes out. My PC meets all secs, in fact I could run UT3 on high graphics too...

except my processor is a 1.8Ghz... (Tib Wars requires a minimum of 2.8, recommended for UT3 is 3-4Ghz)

My question is if you can replace your processor without nuking windows and reinstalling. I sure dont want to reinstall alot of stuff.

[De Rigueur]

Don't need to reinstall windows if you just replace the processor.
What kind of proc do you have?

[Krom]

Most motherboards will support a faster processor, but it really depends on what board you currently have. If it is some ancient AMD socket 754 / socket 462 or an Intel 478 system, you would be better off getting a new board and CPU entirely, but that would also cost you a new video card most likely. But if you have say an Intel socket 775 system, or an AMD socket 939 system, you should be able to upgrade to a much faster CPU without replacing anything else, and windows will not even know there is a difference.

[Dakatsu]

Don't need to reinstall windows if you just replace the processor.
What kind of proc do you have?

AMD Athlon 64 XP 2500+

[Krom]

You can fit up to an XP 3200+ in there (2.2 GHz) but I recently moved from an Athlon XP overclocked to 2.4 GHz (faster then they ever made them) and I would say it is pretty safe to assume that no modern games will run well on a system using that type of processor. You can upgrade it to the limit of the XP chips if you want, but you won't get much of a return out of it. I recommend saving up and getting an Athlon X2 or Intel Core 2 Duo system plus a new video card, doing so would yield a dramatically faster system.

FYI, I moved from an Athlon XP @ 2.4 GHz, 1 GB of ram, and a Geforce 6800 GT to an Intel Core 2 Duo E6600, 2 GB of RAM, and a Geforce 7950 GT. I would place this new system around 2-4 times faster then the old system depending on the application.

[Dakatsu]

Okay, I screwed up the question: Can you replace the motherboard thingy and processor without reinstalling XP?

Krom: I have 2048 MB RAM, and an ATI Radeon X1900 graphics card. I think that is good...

[Krom]

Yeah you can replace all that without reinstalling XP most of the time, sometimes it doesn't work but a repair install would fix it. You will have to re-activate XP when you do it though.

[CDN_Merlin]

You can do it but I'd recommend not to. Doing a fresh install will also improve the speed of Windows. Trust me on this one. I just formatted my home system after 4 yrs of running XP, and a few upgrades (video, sound HD) and my system now runs sooooo much better. Games run smoother also.

[MD-2389]

Don't need to reinstall windows if you just replace the processor.
What kind of proc do you have?

AMD Athlon 64 XP 2500+

Umm, the XP's aren't 64-bit. Sorry. Also, you got the minimum requirements for C&C3 completely wrong.

From the official FAQ

OS: Windows XP, Windows Vista (32-bit; 64-bit versions of Vista are not supported)

CPU: 2.0GHz or high, or AMD equivalent, Vista - 2.2 GHZ

RAM: 512 MB or more, Vista - 1GB RAM or more

Disk Drive: 8x or faster DVD drive for retail SKUs, not required for digitally downloaded version

Hard Drive: 6.0 GB or more of free space

Video: GeForce4, ATI Radeon 8500 or greater (ATI Radeon 9200 and 9250 PCI, NVIDIA Geforce 4 MX cards not supported.). Windows Vista - NVIDIA GeForce 6100 or ATI Radeon 9500 or greater. Labtop versions of these chipsets may work but are not supported.

Sound: DirectX 9.0c compatible sound card

Network, Internet Multiplayer: 2 players (no voice support) – 56 Kbps Internet connection; 2-8 players (with voice transmission) – Broadband-class connection

Might I suggest you get a copy of wcpuid so you know what you're actually running.

Also, I would seriously recommend AGAINST upgrading your motherboard and keeping the same windows install. If your boot controller isn't the same, windows will BSOD on load. Every single time.

[Dakatsu]

Whoops, AMD Athlon XP 2500+ is what I have.

And I guess I was thinking of 2.8Ghz as the recommended for Tib Wars, not minimum.

[MD-2389]

Let me put things in a little prespective here.

When I first downloaded and installed the demo I had an Athlon 64 3500+ (thats a 2GHz processor btw) and 1GB of RAM with a 6800GS. I set the game to maximum detail and there wasn't the first indication of a performance hit. Now I'm running an Opteron 165 (dual core, 1.8GHz each core), same ammount of RAM, and a 7900GS....and the game still runs great. If the demo runs fine on your system as it is, then you won't have any problems with the retail game.

[Dakatsu]

1. It had performance hits on lowest detail.

2. The only thing in the demo was Singleplayer and a 1v1 skirmish, I don't know how 4v4 multiplayer would do.

[Krom]

You probably want to look at a new CPU/board entirely, since the older Athlon XP cores have to be clocked nearly 30-50% faster then an Athlon 64 core to equal the same performance. There is no way you are going to get an XP chip to equal a 2.4-2.6 GHz Athlon 64 single core, let alone the dual cores.

If you have PC3200 RAM in your system, get an Athlon 64 939 pin system and you can re-use the ram, otherwise if you get an Intel, or AMD socket AM2 system you will have to ditch the ram and get DDR2. The other immediate problem you will face is AGP is dead, finding a board with AGP so you can use your existing video card will not be easy in the current market that is completely dominated by PCIe.