I am looking to buy a new processor, but I don't understand this L2 cache or anything. I am running a 1.5 ghz processor, which is clearly why I need a new one. What company makes the best processors, and which ones work best with gaming? Thanks.
since you have a 1.5ghz processor, im guessing your computers prebuilt and old. i would suggest just getting a whole new computer because -its old -your motherboard most likely doesnt support core 2 duo. -if you do get a new motherboard, youll have to make sure its compatible with the stuff you already have. but if you absolutely dont want to get a new one, post your computer specs so we can help.
You will not only need a new processor, but a new motherboard and memory to go with it. For a relatively inexpensive upgrade, I'd recommend: Intel Pentium E2160 (Don't be fooled by the 1.8Ghz, it's miles faster than P4s of old, it's not all about clockspeed any more) Corsair 2x1GB DDR2 RAM Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L Motherboard Bear in mind you will also need a PCI express graphics card, such as an 8400GS.
If I were to go and buy a new computer, where would I find a good one? I've bought a Dell one before, but when I tried installing a new video card the only slot available was too small, and looked like Dell wanted me to buy everything through them...
Dell are like that, as are most PC companies. Realistically, if you want a high spec PC that's upgradeable, you should try doing it yourself. It might seem like a big undertaking, but as long as you're even slightly PC literate, it's actually relatively simple, and we can help you out with it. If you really don't want to do it though, I recommend going with PCs like Dells simply because they're well made. Other PC companies aren't so good in that department.
First computer i ever bought was a time computer amd 500mhz with a cd writer and felt like i got ripped off once i knew how much you can build them for. So if you have the time build one yourself you will save loads and end up with a better computer.
Hey the good old days hey i remember wanting to return mine because the cd writer would not copy cds.Until i found out was the software they provided with the pc was no good for what i wanted. Still all i remember of that pc was it spat out cds if i tried to copy and print at the same time and memory upgrades were so expensive then.Hehehehe horse and cart days hey.
Haha yep - so much as look at the PC and you got a buffer under-run. I never bothered with CD writers in that phase, when I finally bought one I stupidly bought an acer/benq which broke after two weeks, as did its replacement. I gave up on CD writers until my next PC came with one afterwards, a Matshita. It was real slow but it got the job done (32x12x8 CD and 8x2x1 DVD - no +R support, 1x for RAM).
Hey how far the pc has come hey and the software these days for backing up dvd's and so on is so easy.Where the dark days you had to work hard to get a back up of a dvd.Seems were all spoilt now hahahaha.
hmm i wonder what the future holds for us. maybe there will be so many starbucks in the world that there will be hotspots literally on every corner, so free internet? =D anyways, omegared, if you dont want to go through will building a computer from scratch, do what sammorris said and simply buy a prebuilt, dell/hp/ect. every once in a while you'll find a good dell deal. if you google it sometimes i found website that provide updated deal e-codes so you can get some discounts, like one time i fiddled around and got a 15" laptop with 2.4ghz C2D for like 800USD because of a 25% off any laptop 1000 or more, but my dad didnt want it.
So, I've been searching around, and I don't want to send back the PC just to have a new video card installed or something, so I'm going to build my own. I'm thinking about something like this: Mainboard: Special Edition - EVGA 122-CK-NF63-TR LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard (2x PCIe X16 black, +1x PCIe X8 blue) - SLi Ready / Newest BIOS flashed! Hard Drive: Western Digital 500gb CPU (Processor) (4+4-pin Power): Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 Conroe 2.33GHz (Clocked @ 2.8 GHz)(@ ~38°c bios idle) LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E655 (OC'd) CPU Cooler: ZALMAN CNPS 9700 NT 110mm 2 Ball Ultra Quiet CPU Cooler Advanced Cooling: Zalman - Fan controller (6 fan nodes) Black/Brushed surface. Video: (6-pin power) (512-P3-N841-AR) EVGA nVidia GeForce 8800 GTS / 512 MB / 256-bit / PCIe X16 OR 2.0 - SLi ready --NVIDIA GeForce 8800GTS-- 670 MHz GPU 128 Stream Processors 400 MHz RAMDAC Memory 512 MB, 256 bit DDR3 1940 MHz (effective) 62.1 GB/s Memory Bandwidth Power Supply: OCZ StealthXStream OCZ600SXS ATX12V / EPS12V 600W Power Supply / 4x 12v / 2x 6-pin (1x 6+2-pin) PCIe power / 4+4-pin CPU power / 20+4-pin Main - SLi ready Memory (RAM): OCZ Reaper HPC Edition 2GB (2 x 1GB) (4-4-4-15 @ 800MHz) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ2RPR8002GK - SLi ready memory (OC'd) DVD+/-DL Light scribe burner
If you'e not using SLI right now, you probably won't in the future, don't bother with an SLI motherboard, get something like a Gigabyte GA-EP35-DS3R, they're excellent boards. The rest of your choices are good, but if you're paying quite a lot for that 8800GTS, you should consider an 8800GT instead, they're almost the same.
