Ask A Geek

Q: Hello! I purchased an HP m8900 pavillion back in 2008-2009, and i just bought a nice ati hd 6950 raedon GPU; it was my first up grade to my already decent computer (i switched out the 6950 for my gt9800). Now, i want to overclock my 2.4ghz q6600 CPU, but im realizing that i cant alter the bios settings: A quick google search said HP wont let u do that because the motherboard they gave me was programmed to not allow it or something…

So now i want a new motherboard so i can overclock my CPU, and have enough room to maybe add another raedon 6950 with CrossFire. Getting a new motherboard doesnt seem like a clear cut process.. any motherboards you got in mind for me? im a college student with a basic understanding of computer, but just enough to pop a GPU in, connect all the wires back where they were, and play total war for hours lol. I think i might as well also buy a new case and transfer everything to that from my HP, maybe throw in a few fans, just get something more spacious. any help and ideas are appriciated! i see alot of mobos on amazon for around 200.. i was hopeing for a little less then that. i just want a decent mobo that will let me overclock and keep me up to date with technology, but i dont know exactly what i want from it other then overclocking and doing crossfire in a few years -__-

Q: Hey i have a lenovo G575, I do a lot of heavy video editing using things like sony vegas pro 11. I was wondering what sort of processor upgrade I can get?

Q: I’ve got an old-ish desktop running XP with service pack 3.
It’s annoyingly slow when I’m playing games, but I can’t afford a new computer so I’d like to install a different motherboard with a much faster processor.
What I have now is:
Intel Corp D856perl with a Pentium 4 2.6 gHz CPU with a max speed of 3060mHz.
I have 1536 megabytes of RAM installed.

I’ve played around with hardware for years so I’m not afraid of taking the cover off the computer!

Can anyone help me? BTW I’d need to buy the bits second hand on ebay.

Q: upgraded my inspiron 1501 cpu to a daul core 2×64 TL-56.works great and fast…but freezes up alot when i go yo the internet …im using chrome and IE…any suggest ens why…..thanks larry

Q: I want to upgrade my cpu which i already bought…a 980be and i looked up my motherboard for bios updates and found that it doesnt list this processor as supported though it does show the 975 be as supported and they are identical other than 100mh quicker….will it work on my board it is a gigabyte ga-ma785gm-us2h 1.0

Q: I am thinking of building a new computer. Well, actually getting a new Mobo/cpu. I want to use the same hard drive.
I have a 500 gig hard drive Sata style.
I have windows xp service pak three.
I want to switch old drive into new mobo/cpu.
Can this be easily done?

Q: In a duel core, do you effectively times the processor by two? i.e 1.3ghz becomes 2.6ghz? if so when making films on software that needs 2.3ghz to run/render properly would this be a problem?

Q: Hi everybody. I’m considering upgrading my CPU and was wondering if this new CPU is compatible. I’m pretty sure it is but I lack confidence in this area and would like a second opinion. So this is the new CPU

INTEL Pentium 4 3.4 GHz SL7PP SOCKET 478 P4 3.4G 3.4E

Here’s my Motherboard:
Manufacturer Dell Computer Corp.
Model 0K8980 (Microprocessor)
Chipset Vendor Intel
Chipset Model i865P/PE/G/i848P
Chipset Revision A2
Southbridge Vendor Intel
Southbridge Model 82801EB (ICH5)
Southbridge Revision 02
BIOS
Brand Dell Computer Corporation
Version A03

and this is my current CPU:

CPU
Intel Pentium 4
Cores 1
Threads 1
Name Intel Pentium 4
Code Name Prescott
Package Socket 478 mPGA
Technology 90nm
Specification Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.80GHz
Family F
Extended Family F
Model 4
Extended Model 4
Stepping 1
Revision E0
Instructions MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3
Virtualization Unsupported
Hyperthreading Not supported
Bus Speed 133.0 MHz
Rated Bus Speed 532.0 MHz
Stock Core Speed 2800 MHz
Stock Bus Speed 133 MHz
Caches
L1 Data Cache Size 16 KBytes
L1 trace cache 12 Kµops
L2 Unified Cache Size 1024 KBytes

Like I said it looks good to me but I need a second opinion before going ahead. Thanks

Q: My Windows 7 Gateway GM5474 desktop died and I replaced the motherboard, which did not help. I have ordered a replacement CPU, and am wondering if I need to replace the CPU and the motherboard at the same time?

Thanks!

Q: i have a Dell Dimension B110 running XP home ed, SP 3 and do careful weekly maintenance, and have good protection. in jan 2011 i replaced the hard drive because the 80 mb that came with the unit was full, even though i don’t use heavy utilization like gaming. lately, past 2-3 weeks, my CPU has almost always been pegged at 100% utilization and everything runs very slowly, or near impossible to run more than 3 of anything (outlook, chrome, plus any other executable, for ex) at the same time. no crashes, blue screens, etc, as i was getting before i up-graded the drive.
the computer was purchased new in 9-06. any ideas, any help??