Can anyone advise what the maximum speed CPU I can install in this spec motherboard please?

I'm running Logic, 1 gig RAM, 2.4 CPU...

Chipset: North Bridge Intel 845PE

CPU Socket is 478B , 533/400 MHz system bus

Is it worth upgrading or should I get a new system? I'm finding I'm using more and more virtual instruments and this is making the creak a bit

Thanks, also can anyone recommend a good UK online store to buy a CPU from? Are they easy to install, I've never upgraded / installed a processor...

What drive are you using? Also, how many VI's are you running at once?

Have you got 2 x 512mb memory modules, or 1 x 1gb?

Ciao

HI,
not worth upgrading at all. a new sub-system would be best

Scott
ADK

thanks for the replies, what do you mean by a sub-system?

i have 2 x 512 ram and 7200 rpm seagate drives

cheeers

I agree with scott....waste of time mate. The maximum chip that you can whack on that board is 3.06 gig I think. It will only give you a %15 increase in power.
Here is the beastie....
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116155

I don't think that it's really worth the trouble.
H.

so is it time for me to build a top spec athlon system then?

or buy a mac and upgrade to logic 7

or build another intel system....


etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc -

it never ends.

Hammer, I'm confused by your maths... from 2.4 to 3.06 is a 27.5% increase in processor speed... but that aside, my recomendation would also be a decent upgrade. I recently went from 2.4 to 3.2 (I have an 875 board), and the performance increase for my DAW was noticeable, projects with lots of plugins that were previously sitting at very high CPU utilisation, to the point that playback would stop, are now working a treat.

Anyway, There are additional major performance benefits to be gained from;
Faster Front Side Bus (data in and out of the CPU)
Faster RAM Clock
Dual Channel RAM architecture


The big question at the moment for building a new DAW seems to be chipset related... do you go to 915/925/945 with PCIe and a limited number of "legacy" PCI slots, or stick with 875 (which I chose to do eventually), for the number of available PCI slots and known chipsets, which are known to work with existing audio hardware. 915/925/945 boards will also have a limited number of IDE (PATA) connectors, having transitioned to SATA as the primary interface for HDDs.

Personally I would (and have) move to Intel SATA RAID0 anyway, if you're working with lots of tracks you need fast HDD access...


I'm wondering how long before we start seeing PCIe pro-audio interfaces?...


Just my 2c, do with it as you please

Should have added...

If your gear is all USB or Firewire, I'd probably look at 915/925/945

Intel are about to release 945G boards with ICH7R.... definately worth a look. According to Intel they have been released, but we cannot get them here in Aus from any of our suppliers yet.

models include;

uATX
http://www.intel.com/design/motherbd/tp/
Models with RAID: D945GTPLKR D945GTPLR

ATX
http://www.intel.com/design/motherbd/nt/
Models with RAID: D945GNTLKR D945GNTLR


You'll need DDR2 RAM, the Intel GFX will be great if you only use 1 display, otherwise you will need a dual-head PCIe 16x GFX Card.

Add to this 2x SATA HDDs (it;s worth it, for the speed you'll get from RAID1 on a controller integrated into the chipset...)

Then see what the fastest Socket 775 P4 is that you can afford Go at least 3.2GHz. Keep in mind the 6xx series benefit from 64-bit extensions and 2MB of cache... but does your DAW software have a 64-bit version? and do you want the headaches that go with finding drivers for the Win XP 64-bit edition? You can just benefit from the 2MB of cache & ignore the EM64T extensions until a later date.


****e, I'm probably giving you information overload? :P sorry...


Anyway, stick those bits together & you'll be set to make music & not worry too much about upgradeing your PC for a couple of years...


Matt

because AMD did great improvements on compatibilty over the last years, maybe take a look @ AMD's 64bit processors. I recommend running the CPU on ABIT, Intel or ASUS mainboards.

watch out for the 2nd level chache.. 2megs are cool

Mee too ... anyone have any news on that ?

2.4 gig should Dhrystone at about 6300 MIPS while a 3.06 should Dhrystone at around 7700 MIPS. Thats around a 20% jump in benchmark, roughly.

Asus and AMD 64 is a killer combo.

you do realise MIPS = Meaningless Indicator or Processor Speed?