Is a CPU upgrade worth it?

[sluthy]

I've currently got:

Asus P4B-M motherboard (Socket478, 400FSB, 845 chipset, SDRAM, AGP 4X)
P4 1.5GHz (willamette core)
576MB PC133 SDRAM
Powercolor Radeon 9600XT Bravo

This runs the original HL/CS/DoD Steam games fine, but struggles quite noticably (almost unplayable in most parts) with Source games. With DoD:Source coming out today, I would like to know if upgrading the processor in this comp is worth it, or whether I just put up with the ~10FPS until I can get a new comp. The motherboard is compatible with these procs:

Celeron 1.7 GHz (400 FSB, L2 cache:128KB) 1003
Celeron 1.8 GHz (400 FSB, L2 cache:128KB) 1003
Celeron 2.0 GHz (400 FSB, L2 cache:128KB) 1005
Celeron 2.1 GHz (400 FSB, L2 cache:128KB) 1005
Celeron 2.2 GHz (400 FSB, L2 cache:128KB) 1005
Celeron 2.5 GHz (400 FSB, L2 cache:128KB) 1006.003
Celeron 2.6 GHz (400 FSB, L2 cache:128KB) 1006.003
Celeron 2.7 GHz (400 FSB, L2 cache:128KB) 1006.005
Celeron 2.8 GHz (400 FSB, L2 cache:128KB) 1006.005
P4-1.4 GHz (Socket478, 400 FSB, L2 cache:256KB) ALL
P4-1.5 GHz (Socket478, 400 FSB, L2 cache:256KB) ALL
P4-1.6 GHz (Socket478, 400 FSB, L2 cache:256KB) ALL
P4-1.6A GHz (Socket478, 400 FSB, L2 cache:512KB) 1002
P4-1.7 GHz (Socket478, 400 FSB, L2 cache:256KB) ALL
P4-1.8 GHz (Socket478, 400 FSB, L2 cache:256KB) ALL
P4-1.8A GHz (Socket478, 400 FSB, L2 cache:512KB) 1002
P4-1.9 GHz (Socket478, 400 FSB, L2 cache:256KB) ALL
P4-2 GHz (Socket478, 400 FSB, L2 cache:256KB) ALL
P4-2.20 GHz (400 FSB, L2 cache:512KB) 1002
P4-2.40 GHz (400 FSB, L2 cache:512KB) 1002
P4-2.50 GHz (400 FSB, L2 cache:512KB) 1004
P4-2.60 GHz (400 FSB, L2 cache:512KB) 1004
P4-2A GHz (Socket478, 400 FSB, L2 cache:512KB) 1002

(Mine is bolded, the number after the proc is the BIOS number needed, ignore it)

Would upgrading to, say, the 2 or even the 2.5 with the larger cache make a noticable difference in framerate? Or is the whole system just too compromised?

 

[SHAWN]

buy another motherboard. New technology with intel is 800fsb or 1066 fsb. Your mother is outdated as well.

 

[sluthy]

I know it's all outdated, I'm just wondering if the benefit of updating the CPU alone is justified. Should HL2 be playable if I can upgrade to a Northwood or something?

PS: Funny avatar

 

[SHAWN]

Yes and no. You would be better off doing it the right way and upgrading all of your components. That doesnt mean you need to get everything top of the line.

 

[dnoch]

Shawn is right, you are mostly wasting your time just upgrading your CPU. Of course there will be a difference if you get a 2.5Ghz CPU, but you will get so much more, and have the ability to upgrade again if you get a new motherboard, and say, a 3.8Ghz CPU.