Options for upgrading a PII?

[Soulcannon]

Currently I've got a PII 400. I'm quickly learning that that was probably a poor choice, but at the time I was heading off to school and needed a computer then and there.

So my question is, without having to change the mobo and getting an Athlon or Duron (which I WOULD like to do, but I don't have that much cash), what are my best processor upgrade options?

 

[Blayze]

Depending on your motherboard supporting it or not. I would get a P3 coppermine, or if your tight on cash a celeron 2.

 

[4824guy]

What mobo do you have? BX or LX chipset? Does it support the Cumine p3's?

Give more info please.

 

[squirrel dog]

Actually a p2-400 should suffice for your college pc.Get more ram,a better vid card,ect.

 

[The Stigenator]

A P2-400 will do.. just get about 192MB of RAM and a good powerful videocard.. maybe a Geforce.. or a Radeon.. A bigger hard disk wont hurt.

I doubt if you cant ake more than a P3-500.. that is what my mobo can take at max - though if yours is a newer system.. we might be able to put in something like a 600Mhz P3.. however I suggest keeping the 400..just upgrade the RAM,videocard and harddrive.. and you should be set.

 

[Jeff H]

Soulcannon, how much RAM do you have? If it's 64MB, get an additional 64 or 128MB before you do anything cpu-wise. You'll be nothing short of amazed at what 128MB can do w/ a PII.

Re a cpu upgrade, if your board supports it, consider an FC-PGA P!!!. I recently upgraded my Abit BH6 from a PII-300 (SL2YK running @ 450MHz) to an FC-PGA P!!!-650, on an Abit Slotket!!! and a Thermaltake Golden Orb HSF. The combo only set me back $230, and it's a screamer.

 

[Quickfingerz]

p2 400's are more than adquate. Try to see if your motherboard supports higher FSB frequencies. My friend's 400 is running at 496 mhz is everything is more than fast enough for him. You'll only notice a faster CPU when running games and checking to see how many FPS you are getting or when encoding a file.