Computer update? (warning, ancient specs)

[Olero]

An update, for those who are interested:

- I installed the 2nd harddisk, but not in RAID0 (I forgot that my Windows XP is OEM... So I couldn't format the 1st harddisk "d'oh!")
- The new PSU is pretty sweet, and makes less noise. I do have an overdose of free dangling cables inside the already cramped miditower now though.
- Memory proves to be problematic. Due to the fact my pc is a HP pc, the BIOS settings for memory (along with a lot of other stuff) can't be altered. At all... So I'm stuck at memory running on 233 MHz thanks to HP not wanting people to alter things. Annoying as hell, and I really would like to know if there is a "workaround" available
- My new processor hasn't been delivered yet, but I expect it to arrive tomorrow (all the way from Spain :-P)

[CMaster]

- Memory proves to be problematic. Due to the fact my pc is a HP pc, the BIOS settings for memory (along with a lot of other stuff) can't be altered. At all... So I'm stuck at memory running on 233 MHz thanks to HP not wanting people to alter things. Annoying as hell, and I really would like to know if there is a "workaround" available

If you can find out the actual motherboard model number you could download a bios update for it and flash over your old one. Warning however - flashing BIOSes always runs the risk of something going wrong and bricking your PC.

[Olero]

Quick question again:

I finally (well, pretty quick actually; in 5 days including the weekend all the way from Spain) got my new CPU. I checked and can reuse my CPU cooler, which is a good thing. What I don't know is this: Is the thermal appliance of my current stock Intel cooler still working if I remove it and then reinstall it with the new CPU below it? Or do I need some kind of thermal grease paste? Which won't be a problem and is easily and cheaply obtained, but I don't want to ruin things :)

And I might try flashing the BIOS, if I can muster up enough information about mine so I know exactly what type and version BIOS I have.

[CMaster]

The link there tell you how to find the mobo model number. If yours matches any on the ECS site, you should be able to grab that one.
And yes, you are probably going to want to put on some new paste. As said, it's cheap enough. Basically, you need really good thermal conductivity between heatsink and processor, for obvious reasons. In the real world however, these surfaces have a fair amount of roughness and may not sit perfectly flat. So a small amount of highly-thermally conducitve paste bridges any gaps that there might be. Most heat sinks when new have a block of pre-preared goop on, but that never comes apart neatly enough to reuse really, so you're best off wiping it off and replacing.

[Olero]

The link there tell you how to find the mobo model number. If yours matches any on the ECS site, you should be able to grab that one.
And yes, you are probably going to want to put on some new paste. As said, it's cheap enough. Basically, you need really good thermal conductivity between heatsink and processor, for obvious reasons. In the real world however, these surfaces have a fair amount of roughness and may not sit perfectly flat. So a small amount of highly-thermally conducitve paste bridges any gaps that there might be. Most heat sinks when new have a block of pre-preared goop on, but that never comes apart neatly enough to reuse really, so you're best off wiping it off and replacing.

Thanks a lot! You're making this a lot easier then I thought at first, and you helped me avoiding doing stupid things so far (aside from the upgrade process itself perhaps ;).

[Olero]

Final update (star date 21072011 ;)

I installed the new processor yesterday and it works like a charm! Tested it immediately by playing some Mount and Blade: Warband / Fire & Sword, which both tend to grind to a halt when there are too much NPC's around. The effect was stunning! A whole lot smoother and quite a bit more frames per second.

Afterwards, I tried New Vegas (after installing the new DLC), and loaded a save in a crowded area. The effect was not too much, but I feel the bare minimum frames per second was a bit higher, which is a big improvement for New Vegas anyway ;)

I also spent ages looking for a good BIOS update, but couldn't find the exact one. The only one I found (on the HP website) was of the same version as I already had (though the date was different, but I reckoned it was the date it was placed on the HP website, not the revision date). There are other BIOS updates on the ECS website, but they are all for the RC410-M2, which isn't RC410-M. Not going to risk that!

One final, almost retoric, question: Clearing the CMOS setting of the BIOS (by moving the jumper) does only reset the clock and restores settings to the default settings, right? It doesn't make greyed out setting (the memory settings, and especially the much wanted frequency setting) suddenly accesible, am I right?

Oh well, all in all I'm satisfied with the final update for my PC, especially for 100,- Euro (HDD was 30,-, CPU 30,- and PSU 35,- and thermal paste 5,-. The 2 strips of memory I'll be able to sell and only cost me 20,- Euro). I'm also still suprised how much games run smooth on my computer, despite it being so old. And I'll probably still have the best PC when I join the next LAN party with friends :)

[CMaster]

Sounds like it all went well and yeah, I wouldn't risk any bios updates that don't match exactly - there is the RC410M (v2.0) mind. They might work, but the cost if it goes wrong. And yes, clearing the CMOS just clears the settings. Any updates that HP offered would be pointless anyhow - they'd still lock you out of stuff.

You might want to download this tool that lets you monitor temperatures to check everything is ticking over ok, although you survived running FO:NV so I shouldn't imagine anything is getting too hot.