Intel Pentium 4 3.4ghz Northwood, 30 Caps!?!

JohnDoe47 · Mar 21, 2007, 01:31 PM

£180 is alot of money for a new processor especially considering its a pentium 4. I thought the fastest they did in the Northwood core was a 3.2ghz extreme edition. Will this processor give me much of a performance improvement compared to my current cpu??

Here is the link with the cpu specifications:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...2017&rd=1&rd=1

My system configuration is in my signature.

Thanks. Nick.

dipstick · Mar 21, 2007, 01:35 PM

You should keep you current cpu until you can make the move to a Core2 or better. Not worth the upgrade imho

coldfrontt · Mar 21, 2007, 01:54 PM

I agree with Dipstick, save the money and wait to do major upgrade. You're pretty much at the limits of your current setup.

Matth · Mar 21, 2007, 03:24 PM

If you're already overclocked to 3.45GHz, then any gain from a 3.4GHz CPU model would depend on how much overclock it would take - possibly not much, if the CPU architecture is close to topping out.

£180 would also buy

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/114746/rb/26283374524 A board that will take you existing RAM & AGP card

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/112708 - and a Core 2 Duo E6400

Though it may pair better withan E4300 / E4400, as the 1066 FSB is by overclocking, so the motherboard would be unlikely to successfully FSB overclock a 1066FSB CPU.

This may not be the best solution, there may be better DDR / Conroe boards, but it does demonstratrate an alternative to a CPU-only upgrade.

Personally, I'd say waiting and going the whole hog to DDR2 / PCI-E / Core2Duo and all that at a later date would be better, maybe when the price battle begins on DX10 cards.

CDsDontBurn · Mar 21, 2007, 03:37 PM

too much money for that old of a CPU. besides, how do you know it works well?

btw, northwood and extreme editions are different cores

northwood = northwood
IICRC, the extreme edition = Galatin

niceguyrichy · Mar 21, 2007, 05:20 PM

sell your current setup on Ebay (there are still plenty stupid people out there who are dazzled by the numbers

) and get yourself C2D.
for that money you can get an E6600 that'll kick your current system into touch

JohnDoe47 · Mar 21, 2007, 05:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CDsDontBurn

too much money for that old of a CPU. besides, how do you know it works well?

btw, northwood and extreme editions are different cores

northwood = northwood
IICRC, the extreme edition = Galatin

Are you sure?

http://www.tweaknews.net/reviews/3.2ee/

JohnDoe47 · Mar 21, 2007, 05:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by coldfrontt

I agree with Dipstick, save the money and wait to do major upgrade. You're pretty much at the limits of your current setup.

Good points but i've only just reinstalled windows xp about a week ago and i've only just gotton a full time job so a new pc is out of the question, unless they release windows xp pro sp3 any time soon which i doubt.

CDsDontBurn · Mar 21, 2007, 05:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick0323

Are you sure?

http://www.tweaknews.net/reviews/3.2ee/

yea, but the EEs have 2Mb L2 cache, something which neither the Northwoods nor Prescotts have. That's what separates the three from each other. The cache is also part of the core.

JohnDoe47 · Mar 21, 2007, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CDsDontBurn

yea, but the EEs have 2Mb L2 cache, something which neither the Northwoods nor Prescotts have. That's what separates the three from each other. The cache is also part of the core.

kl. its all news to me

JohnDoe47 · Mar 21, 2007, 06:16 PM

2mb L3 cache, it still has a 512kb L2 cache

Dyre Straits · Mar 21, 2007, 07:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick0323

2mb L3 cache, it still has a 512kb L2 cache

IMHO, if your funds are limited, I'd rather see you get an X1950 AGP card rather than a new CPU. When I went from my X800XL AGP to X1950 Pro PCIe, there was a tremendous performance improvement. I understand that the AGP version of the X1950 Pro has a very comparable performance to its PCIe cousin.

niceguyrichy · Mar 21, 2007, 08:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dyre Straits

IMHO, if your funds are limited, I'd rather see you get an X1950 AGP card rather than a new CPU. When I went from my X800XL AGP to X1950 Pro PCIe, there was a tremendous performance improvement. I understand that the AGP version of the X1950 Pro has a very comparable performance to its PCIe cousin.

yeah but that's just putting off the inevitable.
while his rig is still worth a bit he should cash in. even if he could only stretch to a 63 he'd ultimately be better off, cos next time he's got some change rather than a whole system all he needs to upgrade is the cpu

JohnDoe47 · Mar 21, 2007, 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by niceguyrichy

sell your current setup on Ebay (there are still plenty stupid people out there who are dazzled by the numbers

) and get yourself C2D.
for that money you can get an E6600 that'll kick your current system into touch

Yes your right, morons will be dazzled by the numbers and twats will be dazzled by the pictures. lmao

Dyre Straits · Mar 22, 2007, 12:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by niceguyrichy

yeah but that's just putting off the inevitable.
while his rig is still worth a bit he should cash in. even if he could only stretch to a 63 he'd ultimately be better off, cos next time he's got some change rather than a whole system all he needs to upgrade is the cpu

I agree 110% but he already stated that a new PC is out of the question. So, with what funds he does have, I still think the better 'upgrade' would be with a GPU and not a CPU. It's just how I'd go about it if my funds were limited and I wanted better performance.

JohnDoe47 · Mar 22, 2007, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dyre Straits

I agree 110% but he already stated that a new PC is out of the question. So, with what funds he does have, I still think the better 'upgrade' would be with a GPU and not a CPU. It's just how I'd go about it if my funds were limited and I wanted better performance.

Alrite then thanks alot for your help guys, ta. Nick.

CDsDontBurn · Mar 22, 2007, 02:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick0323

2mb L3 cache, it still has a 512kb L2 cache

yes, that's what i meant.

and i would agree w/dyre and richie. upgrade the gfx card rather than the CPU.

RoyBatty · Mar 22, 2007, 02:31 PM

I have one of these "30 caps" Northwoods, and it's nothing special. I have heard somewhere that these 30 caps CPUs are crippled (disabled/faulty L3 cache) Gallatin cores and they are supposed to be better overclockable. Mine tops at 3757 MHz with vdop modded P4C800 Deluxe...
I agree with Dyre Straits and CDsDontBurn, go for X1950Pro instead

JohnDoe47 · Mar 22, 2007, 09:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CDsDontBurn

yes, that's what i meant.

and i would agree w/dyre and richie. upgrade the gfx card rather than the CPU.

yup, your right, 'gallatin'

http://www.gamepc.com/labs/view_cont...ookie%5Ftest=1

I want the x1950xt for agp but i cant find any sellers that deliver to the UK, any assistance would be helpful.

Dyre Straits · Mar 22, 2007, 10:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick0323

yup, your right, 'gallatin'

http://www.gamepc.com/labs/view_cont...ookie%5Ftest=1

I want the x1950xt for agp but i cant find any sellers that deliver to the UK, any assistance would be helpful.

Do you have any friends in the USA that could receive it and then forward it to you? You may have to pay a little more for the shipping to cover your friend's costs. Just a thought.

JohnDoe47 · Mar 23, 2007, 10:51 AM

No i don't. Overclockers UK just got the pci-e version so ill ask there tech team if they will be getting an agp version in. thanks anyways.

CDsDontBurn · Mar 23, 2007, 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RoyBatty

I have one of these "30 caps" Northwoods, and it's nothing special. I have heard somewhere that these 30 caps CPUs are crippled (disabled/faulty L3 cache) Gallatin cores and they are supposed to be better overclockable. Mine tops at 3757 MHz with vdop modded P4C800 Deluxe...
I agree with Dyre Straits and CDsDontBurn, go for X1950Pro instead

prescotts were better OCers IMO. I was able to get mine to 4Ghz on air!

It would have been nice if i had a water block or something, then i could have pushed my CPU even further

.

RoyBatty · Mar 23, 2007, 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CDsDontBurn

prescotts were better OCers IMO.

Yes the Prescott cores are generally better overclockers, but you need to use at least, as you said, water block or better some liquid nitrogen cooling to keep them at acceptable temps (not to mention the personal power plant you would need)

And the performance at equal frequency is the same. I some cases Prescott is faster than Nothwood and vice versa...

CDsDontBurn · Mar 24, 2007, 03:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RoyBatty

Yes the Prescott cores are generally better overclockers, but you need to use at least, as you said, water block or better some liquid nitrogen cooling to keep them at acceptable temps (not to mention the personal power plant you would need)

And the performance at equal frequency is the same. I some cases Prescott is faster than Nothwood and vice versa...

At one point in time i wanted to run a water block for my machine. Not anymore though. it'd be a waste of good money. A good air cooling solution such as i currently have is plenty good

.

Mar 21, 2007, 01:31 PM	#1
JohnDoe47 HardwareHeaven Addict Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 319 Rep Power: 0	Intel Pentium 4 3.4ghz Northwood, 30 Caps!?! £180 is alot of money for a new processor especially considering its a pentium 4. I thought the fastest they did in the Northwood core was a 3.2ghz extreme edition. Will this processor give me much of a performance improvement compared to my current cpu?? Here is the link with the cpu specifications: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...2017&rd=1&rd=1 My system configuration is in my signature. Thanks. Nick.

Mar 21, 2007, 01:54 PM	#3
coldfrontt DriverHeaven Lover Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: canada Posts: 248 Rep Power: 0	I agree with Dipstick, save the money and wait to do major upgrade. You're pretty much at the limits of your current setup. __________________ [color=blue]TANSTAAFL![/color]

Mar 21, 2007, 03:24 PM	#4
Matth Flash Banner Hater Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: UK Posts: 3,426 Rep Power: 93 System Specs	If you're already overclocked to 3.45GHz, then any gain from a 3.4GHz CPU model would depend on how much overclock it would take - possibly not much, if the CPU architecture is close to topping out. £180 would also buy http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/114746/rb/26283374524 A board that will take you existing RAM & AGP card http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/112708 - and a Core 2 Duo E6400 Though it may pair better withan E4300 / E4400, as the 1066 FSB is by overclocking, so the motherboard would be unlikely to successfully FSB overclock a 1066FSB CPU. This may not be the best solution, there may be better DDR / Conroe boards, but it does demonstratrate an alternative to a CPU-only upgrade. Personally, I'd say waiting and going the whole hog to DDR2 / PCI-E / Core2Duo and all that at a later date would be better, maybe when the price battle begins on DX10 cards. __________________ Mary had a little lamb, Her father shot it dead Now Mary takes her lamb to school, Between two crusts of bread Last edited by Matth; Mar 21, 2007 at 03:41 PM.

Mar 21, 2007, 03:37 PM	#5
CDsDontBurn Lurking DriverHeaven Join Date: May 2003 Location: Southern California Posts: 22,779 Rep Power: 235 System Specs	too much money for that old of a CPU. besides, how do you know it works well? btw, northwood and extreme editions are different cores northwood = northwood IICRC, the extreme edition = Galatin __________________ Her First Day \| A year later

Mar 21, 2007, 01:35 PM	#2
dipstick HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: USA Posts: 3,609 Rep Power: 71 System Specs	You should keep you current cpu until you can make the move to a Core2 or better. Not worth the upgrade imho

Mar 21, 2007, 06:16 PM	Thread Starter #11
JohnDoe47 HardwareHeaven Addict Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 319 Rep Power: 0	2mb L3 cache, it still has a 512kb L2 cache

Mar 22, 2007, 02:31 PM	#18
RoyBatty HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Czech Republic Posts: 1,941 Rep Power: 122 System Specs	I have one of these "30 caps" Northwoods, and it's nothing special. I have heard somewhere that these 30 caps CPUs are crippled (disabled/faulty L3 cache) Gallatin cores and they are supposed to be better overclockable. Mine tops at 3757 MHz with vdop modded P4C800 Deluxe... I agree with Dyre Straits and CDsDontBurn, go for X1950Pro instead

Mar 23, 2007, 10:51 AM	Thread Starter #21
JohnDoe47 HardwareHeaven Addict Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 319 Rep Power: 0	No i don't. Overclockers UK just got the pci-e version so ill ask there tech team if they will be getting an agp version in. thanks anyways.