Understanding
CPU Upgrades
In theory, one way to
increase the performance of a
I
t seems that every time a new software product is released the system require
ments are increased everything from the hard drive capacity and CPU speed
to the required RAM. One of the apparently obvious ways to gain a speed
increase is by upgrading the CPU. But such an upgrade isn't always cost effective
PC with little effort is to
and in some cases simply increasing the available RAM can help considerably to
upgrade the CPU. Surely it
boost the apparent speed of the PC. Sometimes though the best (and maybe only)
option is to upgrade the CPU, although this can be a more involved process than it
can't be that difficult?
might at first seem due to socket/motherboard incompatibilities, differing CPU and
RAM speed requirements, cooling problems and inevitably assorted knock on
Actually there's lots to think
effects causing the upgrade to be anything but cost effective. Also, it is worth
about.
remembering that just because the replacement CPU has, for example, double the
clock rate of the old unit doesn't necessarily mean that the new one will increase the
processing performance of the PC in question by anything like 100%.
By Phil Morris
Technical Writer
This article looks at some of the options for upgrading the CPUs in existing systems.
It is extremely unlikely that recent processors like AMD's Duron (and forthcoming
Hammer) and Intel's Pentium 4 and Itanium will require upgrading for some time,
so I will omit those in the context of this article. Also, this article isn't intended as a
step by step CPU upgrade guide its main intention is to document the main
features of a possible upgrade which will influence the purchase of any new
hardware.
CPU Upgrade Options
There are many types of CPU upgrade: a straightforward CPU replacement, ie,
remove the old and replace with a new CPU; daughtercard upgrades, which involve
replacing the existing CPU with a new one on a card with the requisite pins to fit
the appropriate motherboard socket; piggyback upgrades, where the replacement
CPU is fitted on top of the old one; and the CPU on a card option, a processor on
an expansion card that plugs into a PCI or ISA motherboard socket such cards are
in many respects miniature motherboards as they also make provision for RAM,
chipset and newer, faster bus technologies.
The straight CPU for CPU replacement is usually the most popular option, and the
simplest to carry out. It should though not be forgotten that there is a less used
additional option that is applicable to older motherboards with fixed (therefore
soldered on) CPUs, and that is to utilise the Overdrive socket. As for actually
removing the old CPU and inserting a new one, many motherboards today provide
ZIF (Zero Insertion Force) or LIF (Low Insertion Force) CPU sockets, so making
replacement a relatively simple process. This is not always the case with some
machines produced by some of the larger PC manufacturers as they often have
proprietary hardware, so upgrading can be made rather difficult and not at all
cost effective.
Processor Identification
Your first task is to identify the current processor in the machine that you wish to
upgrade. To many who are proficient in PC support this isn't a particularly difficult
task but it is one that can be made a little easier by use of diagnostic software.
Normally the processor can be identified after the POST but this only gives very
rudimentary details. Delving inside the PC to examine the processor itself can be
time consuming and maybe even fiddly, but this will usually only tell you the make,
Update 155:October 2001
PC Support Advisor
File: T1050.1
page 11
Tutorial:Hardware
www.pcsupportadvisor.com
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