A hardware question ( GHz )

[o_kenny]

1. Ok, i have 1.7 GHz,my computer specs say. but been wondering
what does that affect really? the sound? video? how a game/ whatever runs? or space? performance? etc
2. is there a way to change the GHz (like buying hardware parts like ram )without buying a new computer?

[Circuitous]

It affects how many operations you can parse in a given length of time. So basically, everything.

The only way to change the GHz is to change the clock speed (overclocking). In your BIOS. You should probably leave that alone.

[o_jinx]

For general Windows usage, RAM is probably more important than processor speed. For gaming, video and audio conversion, and other high-end stuff the processor will slow you down, though.

It's probably about time to build/buy a new system if you want to play the newer games. Even if you put a fast video card in there, the processor would probably bottleneck it, and AGP card offerings are pretty limited.

[o_kenny]

Yeah..good idea..whenever i tweak something on my puter , something goes wrong..

i got 777 ram . heh heh he

[o_agret]

Originally Posted by Kenny

2. is there a way to change the GHz (like buying hardware parts like ram )without buying a new computer?

Yep, buy a new CPU. The GHz is the clockspeed of the computer although these days it doesn't really mean much, flops are much more important although they aren't really advertised.

[o_loader]

Floating point operations are NOT as important as normal operations.

As Circ said, cpu speed affects everything, even though a processor can only do two things anyway.

[schtoofa]

Thanks to Intel's marketing prowess, people generally equate clock speed (GHz these days) with performance. Although clock speed and performance can be related, be careful comparing clock speeds especially across a range of chip mfgrs. AMD lost out for a long time because their chips performed better (read: more efficiently - doing more relevant "stuff" per clock cycle) at a lower clock speed. Eventually AMD smartened up and that's why we started seeing chips with names like AMD Athlon 2800 XP (its clock speed was 2.083GHz but performed roughly the same as an Intel 2.8GHz chip).

But to answer your questions!

1.) Best to think of it as affecting in some way just about everything that goes on with your PC.
2.) Your motherboard may support a faster CPU than what you've got, and buying a faster CPU would up your "GHz". You'll have to check your motherboard manual (or google, etc.) to check for sure.

Another way to change "GHz" is to overclock your system, but I strongly recommend against doing that unless you have much experience with that already.

What are you looking to do with your computer? It may be that a RAM upgrade or video card upgrade may give you the performance gain you're looking for (in the area you care about!).

[o_mooga]

Originally Posted by Kenny

i got 777 ram . heh heh he

That's probably because your graphics card uses shared memory. (This is REALLY CRAPPY if you are a gamer.)

Also, have a slow processor DOES effect gaming. My 2.0 GHz processor is really keeping it does since many games now a days wants almost 3.0 GHz.

But if your comp has shared memory, you might want to save up for a better rig total.

[o_zydell]

I remember overclocking my Athlon 700 to 945Mhz or something. it required all sort of crazy things like a 'Golden Finger Device' (to change core voltage and multiplier) and a bootdisk to change the cache multiplier. Those were the days!!!!

p.s. it was totally useless since I didnt notice any performance difference.

Now to the thread-related part; the real question you should be asking is:

- I have a computer with these specs (motherboard, ram, cpu, video)
- I want to do this and that (play keen 4)
- What hardware upgrade would you recommend me? (I would recommend a hardware downgrade!!!)

[o_agret]

Originally Posted by Mooga

My 2.0 GHz processor is really keeping it does since many games now a days wants almost 3.0 GHz.

lolz!11!! my 2.8ghz core 2 duo would pwn your pentium 4 3.0GHZ lollerskates!11!11!

But seriously, GHz ain't everything. By the way ignore my earlier post, I wrote it while I was tired. I don't think I'd ever claim flops are more important if I was sane :P Sony love to hype up their console by telling everyone how many flops it can do when really it performs badly :P

[o_|404|innoc-tpf-]

Kenny, do you know what brand and model mother board your system has? You may have a broad range of processors that your motherboard can handle and your 1.7 could be at the low end of that range. Replacing it could be as simple as buying it, removing the old one, installing the new one and adjusting the timings in the BIOS. Beyond that adding Ram may give you a jump in performance as well.

Here's something to think about though. If your machine has an AGP port for the video card I'd be very reluctant to spend very much at this point to upgrade it. I'd start saving for a new mobo/cpu/ram/video setup due to functional obsolescence.

[o_kenny]

Well, im a school right now, ill find out later, but only thing i know right now is i have a GeForce 5200LE or something, and AMD Athlon Xp 2000+ ...something
i don't quite know what mother board right now ill check later

(p.s. I dont know if this matters or not but my computer was custom built, for gaming, or something )

[o_catzeyes93]

This is how I dumbed it down for my mom. Correct me if I understand it wrong though...

Computer = Your kitchen
Harddrive = How much cupboard space you have
Ram = How big your table is for preparing food
Processor = How fast you can take stuff out of the cupboards and put it on your table
Video Card = How pretty your kitchen is
Sound Card = Do you have a small boombox or surround sound in your Kitchen


So far, this description helps... anyone want to add to it?

[o_|404|innoc-tpf-]

Processor = Woman in the kitchen working where she is supposed to be.

Along those lines of thinking...

Why does the Bride wear white?

Because the Dishwasher should match the stove.

[o_loader]

Why do women have small feet?

To fit under the cooker.

Why have no women been to the moon?

It doesn't need cleaning.