2 questions

[The375Boy]

1. how much of an improvement will i see if i go from a xp2200 to a xp3200?
2. i know this sounds retarted but i'm not 100% positive about it, when u change your processor and just your processor do u have to reinstall windows?

[Razgriz]

1. Enough to notice
2. no

[Judas]

1: More thoroughly, Yes, the 2200 uses a 2x133 (266)mhz FSB (i'm sure)..... while the 3200 uses a 2x200(400)mhz fsb, this will PROVE to be a MASSIVE increase overall on nearly everything as AMD cpus get startling preformance increases from that... just make sure your motherboard supports it.... and if you can, make sure you have memory to match it.. (you CAN run with slower memory, but it means starving your cpu of memory speed)

2: Not really, but recomended, Windows makes a generalized listing of preformance/speed/quality settings based on the basic hardware being Video card, CPU, Memory, and even a little on hardrives. Typically, put anything slower in it and you would experience a little slower results (more noticeable even with a small change).... put anything faster and you'd notice that the system will preform much faster.... However, this is just windows itself....

When it comes to games, it's a bit of a different story, as games make a profile of your system on first run, automatically setting PILES of various tweaks and settings right off the hop that you cannot change without really getting deep into INI or even deeper into the game itself and configuring it all.. (although, in some games, by simply deleting the user profile and main game ini and then running the game will retest and reset everything)

This is more noticeable when you change your video card, cpu and memory... (cpu when the cache sizes are different, video when the texture memory available and the generation of it is different and memory when the ammount available is different)

[The375Boy]

ok so now ans this "?" will i notice a difference from what i have now xp2200 from a amd64 2800 wich is also 1.8 ghz speed wise will i notice a huge difference in that as well?

[bake15]

yes

[The375Boy]

hmmmmmmm maybe i will upgrade to another 1.8 then

[bake15]

why dont you get the a64 3000, its only a bit extra and better performance

[MiDKnYtE]

if you complete change platforms (athlon xp to a64), then you will more than likely have to reinstall windows.

[The375Boy]

well i'm trying to do some motor work on my truck so i really shouldnt be spending money on my comp so i'm really really pressed for cash wit the comp