Idiot's Guide to Processors and Motherboards

How can I tell what kind of processor fits in a given motherboard?

I see things like “Socket 423” and “Step Code SL57W”.

Are there other factors to consider? If I put a faster processor in place of a lsower one, do I get the benefits thereof, assuming the motherboard has the right socket type? Or are there other rules about compatibility?

The best thing to do is to check the mainboard’s specifications on the manufacturer’s website. If you’re not sure what board you have, you can find out in a couple ways. Probably the easiest is to reboot the machine and note the BIOS ID string, which will be displayed before the POST starts. In most of the machines I’ve seen, the BIOS ID is displayed at the bottom of the screen. When you see it, press the Pause key or hit CTRL-S to freeze it long enough to write it down. Then hit any key to let it continue booting. Once you have this, you can go here to ID which board you have. You can then locate the manufacturer’s website and look up the specs, which will list the socket type and range of speeds and types of processors the board will accept, among other data. There’s a decent article about IDing your mainboard here.

Here is a link that will tell you what CPU will fit with which motherboard:
http://www.asus.com.tw/support/cpusupport/cpusupport.aspx

Note, this migh not be a full list but what I looked at seemed fairly accurate.

Upgrading your CPU will give you some increase in speed. There are probably some other issues involved, like front side bus speed, but I am a software geek, not a hardware geek.

I will say that you might just want to get a new PC instead of upgrading your CPU. I just got a full system (3.2 gh P4, 512 ram, Nvidia video card, decent sound card, 200 gig HD, CD-RW, DVD-RW, 17’ flat screen monitor, printer, keyboard and mouse) for ~650 after rebates.

Slee

Not to hijack (but I will anyway), did you, Sleestak, but a prebuilt or did you make it yourself? And if you bought a complete system, where did you get it from? That seems so incredibly cheap, but that could be simply because I haven’t really looked at computer prices since 1999 when I got my current computer.

its a lot of reading, but it can aid in your understanding…

http://www.motherboards.org/articles/index.html

A quickie response that doesn’t rely on a third party link:

Look for the “socket”

If a processor says “Socket A” or “Socket 472”, then it is compatible with motherboards labeled “Socket A” or “Socket 472”

Is your interest academic, or are you looking to buy something specific?

With some CPUs one factor might be the front-side bus speed (FSB) - if your motherboard doesn’t support a faster FSB, upgrading your CPU won’t do you much good.