Help with Processor Upgrade

[bebe -0033]

Hi I wanted to see if you guys can help me out I wanted to upgrade the processor in my computer but I wanted you guys to tell me if is a little early to do it or what kind of processor I can get that can be a little faster than mine I have a Dell Intel(r) Pentium(r)4 3.20 Ghz 800 fsb with Hyperthreading I have 512 ram and I can go up to 4 Gb my computer is less than 3 years old can you guys help me out in telling me to what type of processr I can get or I may ok for now your opinion will be appreciated Thank You

[neb1211]

What is the model number of your computer?  Right now you would probably see the biggest increase in performance from adding more ram.

[bebe -0033]

I have a dimension 4600

[neb1211]

Your current motherboard supports up to a 3.4 gHz P4 w/ 800 mHz FSB.  Knowning that, it really wouldn't be worth it to simply upgrade your processor.  If you did want to upgrade your processor, I would recommend buying a new motherboard that supports a faster processor.  However switching out motherboards with a Dell computer is not easy.  You usually need to buy a new case and power supply along with the motherboard and processor.

If you don't have a whole lot of money to spend on this upgrade, then I would suggest upgrading your ram to at least 1GB.  512MB of ram isn't a whole lot of ram and you would almost certainly see a performance boost by going with 1GB of ram.

[bebe -0033]

Hi nick i wanted to ask you do I have a good processor on your opinion or at least average compare to whats out there now and also after how many years of having a computer a person should consider on upgrading thank you so much you been a great help

[mipadi]

also after how many years of having a computer a person should consider on upgrading thank you so much you been a great help

I think this is mostly up to personal taste. I've been known to keep the same computer for six years or so. If it does what you need it to do, why upgrade? And likewise, if you're feeling confined by it, why hold onto it for a long time?

[neb1211]

Like mipadi said, it has to deal a lot with how you use the computer.  If you enjoy playing the latest and greatest pc games with all settings on high then you would probably want to upgrade at least once a year.  However if you don't mind having lower settings on games, then you could probably get by with upgrading once every 2 years.  If all you do is surf the web, check email, etc. then upgrading every 3 - 5 years would be fine.

Also while your processor isn't the fastest processor, it still isn't a bad processor if you are going to be doing the basic tasks and maybe some light gaming.

[bebe -0033]

thank so much guys!!