I have a HP Pavilion Media Center desktop computer. It is running a Intel Pentium4 processor. Lately, internet and other games have been running really slow. I've been told the only way to correct this is to upgrade the processor. What is the best processor that the socket on the motherboard will accept for this computer?
The Pentium 4 processor can be clocked at different speeds. I'm not sure what speed yours is clocked at, but I assume it isn't a 3.0 Ghz. I would go with a Pentium 4 clocked at 3.0 Ghz IF you were going to upgrade. However here's a few things to consider.
1)Pentium is an old architecture. If you CAN find a chip of this architecture, it will be extremely hard to find one suited to your needs.. Even if you do upgrade, it probably won't be too long until you need to upgrade again.
2) You can overclock your system. What this means is you configure the processor to run faster then normally. The downside of this is it shorterns the overall life of the computer, and generates more heat.
3)You state LATELY thigns have been running slower. Now, usually the largest factor of this is malware. Even if you have an anitivirus, just because it says it is clean does not mean this is so. Try downloading malwarebytes and combofix. These are free to use. Another thing to consider is defragging your computer. if you have never done this, this is most likely the reason for your slow speed. You can do this under administrative tools in your start menu.
4)Speed is not only affected my processor speed. Memory (RAM) is the easiest thing to upgrade, and this allows the computer to store more information on the fly as it executes commands.
5)Windows is known for slowing down after long term use. This is not a hardware thing. Windows (in my own experience with multiple opperating systems) is the only operating system that has this problem. 99% of the time reinstalling windows will bring your computer back to its original speed.
All in all, I would NOT go with a faster pentium processor. At this time, with your machine, if you are looking at upgrading your processor, it's a lot smarter to just buy a new computer. If you want to avoid this, there is maintenance that you can perform, including (but not limited to) the suggestions I made above.
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