i got an REALLY old system with the following spec:

Intel Celeron 2.66GHZ 90nm OC@3.01GHZ
2x512 DDR400 OC at 374mhz 3-3-3-7
some old 865G chipset mobo socket 478

my question is, is it worth it to get a Pentium 4 3ghz HT(90nm) and 2x1GB or ddr400 ram?i saw it on ebay about £30 for the CPU and somewhere between £20-£30 for the 2GB DDR.and some heatspreader for about £5.so total about £60 here and there.

and how much OC will i be able to achieve with a Akasa Evo 120?and bare in mind this mobo have voltage adjustment but only FSB.

because im waiting to a brand new build at the end of the year where every new thing in CPU mobo graphics are settled.

put in aspect the E2160 £45,DDR2-800 £30

CPU change - little difference
RAM increase -- noticeable improvement in Windows

^agreed

just get some more ram. save the rest of the money for a new computer.

i stupidly put in windwos vista ultimate.and it runs like a PIG!!!!is the CPU change not worth a while?because celeron is like a triple cripple version of P4 isnt it?is P4 reallly that bad?

just had a thought i can get a **** AMD base for that kinda money!lol

yea, but old ram is costly. Maybe you can build a low budget comp to tie you over till the end of the year.

Vista sucks Donkey butt.
An XP system with 2GB of RAM will run 4 security programs,6 torrents and play Frontlines: Fuel of War all at the same time and use 49% of the physical RAM while Vista with 4GB of Ram uses about the same amount to load the OS.
Everything also runs slower with Vista.
Almost nobody needs more than 2GB of RAM with XP,all programs are -written- to run on XP and you have RAM to spare.
You can find Corsair XMS2 DDR2-800 2X1GB sets for sale each month with e-mail discount codes and rebates for as low as $29 USD.

When you go to build the new system -any- dual core CPU running @ 3Ghz and a 8800GTS 512 (G92) is the mark. Although a benchmark can tell between CPU's...a human using the system -can't-...so brand of CPU does not really matter.

You can buy -any brand- slower CPU and OC it to 3Ghz,or you can look around and get an AMD 6000+ for $111 USD and not bother.
Intel MB's cost more than AMD's and if your not trying to impress the people next door a AMD N590 chipset MB will still build a system that comes very close to the newest thing today in real work output...for alot less money.

Quad core CPU's are wasted money over a dual core for the average user...games and personal programs just don't use them.

Any brand 8800GTS 512 (G92) will OC as high as another so do not pay extra for a factory OC'ed one.

Patriot or G.Skill ram are alot less money and OC almost as well as higher priced (overpriced) brands.
Patriot is the main US importer and wholesaler of RAM chips that other companies buy thier stock from when build thier sticks.

If you want to spend a bit extra on an item do so on the PSU. I now only use PC Power & Cooling.

See my profile for 50% OC on air with DFI/G.Skill/Thermalright/PC Power & Cooling all on stock volts.

I wouldn't pour too much money into your system when you can get a brand new mobo/cpu/ram/gfx card that will get you 8000~12000 score in 3dmark06 for 350~400 USD

I recently rebuilt my system here is what i had and what i bought.

Old system:

3dmark06 score: 2046
CPU: P4 3.0Ghz Prescott
Mobo: Asus p4p800se
Ram: (4x512mb) Kingmax Hardcore Pc4000 (DDR500)
Gfx: Nvidia 6800GT 256mb Agp
Cost: (gfx: 450)(Cpu: 180)(Mobo: 100) (Ram: 200)
Total: 930 (cant believe i spent that much)

New system:

3dmark06 score: 11278 (8486 stock)
Cpu: E2180 2.0Ghz @ 3.0Ghz (vcor 1.45)
Mobo: GA-P35-DS3L
Ram: (4x1Gb) Crucial Ballistix Pc6400 (DDR2-800)
Gfx: Nvidia 8800GT 512 OC 700/1700/900@770/1900/960
Cost: (gfx: 140)(Cpu: 70)(Mobo: 80)(Ram: 50)
Total: 340 (after rebates & discounts)

As you can see spending 50~100USD on upgrades for your old PC wont get you nearly the performance boost a new system will

and for 50~100USD thats 15~35% of the cost of a complete upgrade.

Dont bother with the E2160, the E2180 only costs 1USD more on NewEgg.

So final words: Dont upgrade your old machine!

thanks for all the comments.i just purchase the
P4 3Ghz HT £30.50
2x1GB DDR400 £27.00
2xRam Heatspreader £5.00

And that is actually much less then my planned budget about £70.but i will see what the difference i can gain.its a cheap investment to extend a aging system.

i have build so many new system for customers and im so tempted to build one for myself.but Q6600+G92 cant really satisfy my hunger!!!lol

and because i just cant use any of the old parts from my current system even the HDD(its IDE) for a new build.so it will be a fresh copy when i get a full system(=expensive!!!!!)

and when im posting in this forum this is what my task manager looks like when i have itune playing songs,firefox,live messenger.the sound coming out is like juttering.so i cant even browse internet and listen song at the same time.



so still not need to have a small injection of fresh blood juice?