Choice of new processor

[ccrraazzyy]

ok i bought half life 2 and it didint work. Fair enough since here is my specs:

Celeron 1.8
256 ddr
radeon 8500 (latest driver)
some gay soundcard
XP Pro Corp


and i have been having problems before running games. I thought of getting a new processor since celerons tend to kill game performance.

No-where on the box or the manual does it say my motherbaord supports ht(hyperthreading) technology. But i still would like the big fsb (saves me from overclocking). I was looking at the pentium 4 2.8 ghz 800mhz fsb. But i noticed all of them have ht in them. So if i buy one of them and slap it in my computer will it be able to run at all??(i think so) and will it be able to use HT?? (my guess is no). My alternative is buying one of those 2.6 ghz computers but i noticed it only has 500 or something fsb. I am not really keen on buying anything more than the 2.8 ($200) but i am not sure it is worth it if i cant run ht.

What would be your recomendation without buying a new computer/other hardware. And yes. Before playing games i close down all unneccesary background apps. And i ahve configed the graphics settings ont he game to the lowest and the device settings to high performance (not quality). I have tweaked everything i can.

 

[Harper]

Not sure about the Min Requirements about HL2 as of yet. But I would be saying that you might want to purchase a Pentium 4 CPU.

I would like to know what motherboard (Brand and Model) going any further.

 

[starforsaken]

you will need more ram as well, i assume minimum 512. If you buy a mobo it'll probably have good enough onboard sound. That 8500 is pretty old as well...I'm not sure...how much money do you have?

 

[beedubaya]

I would recommend at least a Pentium 4 or AMD XP, with at least 512MB of RAM, and maybe even a 9800 Pro video card. You shoud get at least a Radeon 9600 for HL2....

 

[derfist]

AMDs are better 4 gaming.

 

[Apokalipse]

with a Celeron 1.8 I would say your motherboard only supports a 400MZ FSB, and you won't be able to upgade the processor to anything much higher

for a descent upgrade, I reccomend at the very least:
AMD Athlon XP or Sempron 2600 and Gigabyte 7N400L
or Pentium 4 2.6GHZ and Asus P4P800
ATI Radeon 9600 Pro or XT
2x256MB PC3200 from Corsair, Kingston, Geil or Transcend value RAM

if you can afford it, I reccomend:
Athlon 64 3000
Asus A8V or Abit AV8
Radeon 9800 Pro
2x256MB or 2x512MB PC3200 RAM from Corsair, Kingston, Geil or Transcend

 

[didi]

Well, from your specs of your system, your computer can only suft net.

To play Halo, at least u have 512 MB ram, Ati Radeon 9600 above graphic card.
About the processoe, u can try play Halo after upgrade above items, if cant support, u have to change a new processor.
Since your mobo support Intel Pentium processor only, i think P4 Northwood enough to handle the game.

 

[ThirtySixBelow]

Well, from your specs of your system, your computer can only suft net.

To play Halo, at least u have 512 MB ram, Ati Radeon 9600 above graphic card.
About the processoe, u can try play Halo after upgrade above items, if cant support, u have to change a new processor.
Since your mobo support Intel Pentium processor only, i think P4 Northwood enough to handle the game.

I can't even play halo. That game is so intensive. To make it look nice you need a super computer As far as HL2 goes I think Apokalipse had a good solution, depending on your price range.

 

[jaksback]

with a Celeron 1.8 I would say your motherboard only supports a 400MZ FSB, and you won't be able to upgade the processor to anything much higher

he should be able to get up to a 2.4 or 2.8 P4 w/400mhz fsb

 

[ThirtySixBelow]

As long as they are the same socket type they should be fine. I don't know the socket types for intel that well.