buying new processor -- what to look out for

[Dak]

i was wondering what to look out for when upgrading processors?

 

I have a socket-A connector (so gotta get a socket-A processor)... I've narrowed down my MOBO to something very similar to this (it's model number is one off), which can take AMD thunderbirds up to 1.4G (which is what i have my eye on... dirt cheap on ebay).

 

i'm not too sure about the front-side-bus thing... if i buy a processor designed for a FSB of 266MHz, and my FSB is only actually 200MHz, what'll happen? will the processor just go slower, or will my FSB explode?

 

any other annoying little things i have to look out for when chosing a processor?

[Pangloss]

It'll just run at the slower speed. I've done that before.

 

I can't think of anything else off the top of my head, but it's been a while since I thought about Socket A.

[Dak]

well, given how old my pc is, we're probably on socket z by now

 

as long as my FSB won't explode, that's the main thing. cheers

[bluesmudge]

You should be looking at cache size. Higher L1 and L2 Cache the increased hit rate to local registers rather than RAM or HardDrive. (ram is at least 10 times slower, and Hard drive is 10^7 at least)

 

With Smaller FSB you're creating a bottle neck. your processor will be making 1400 million requests (or there abouts) per second and the FSB could handle 200 million. obvously theres other bus routes, and to be honest thats not a bad or unusual balance, but increaseing the processor without increased mother board capabilities is a slight waste of money. Though obviously you'll get a noticable increase, its just on paper.