Should I bother with the CPU swap?

[ADP]

Hi there,

My main system consists of:

Intel Pentium 4 2.4GHz (northwood) 512kB L2 cache
1 GB RAM
Asus P4P800 MB

I mainly use it for surfing net, Video encoding (not a lot) and sometimes games.

I don't want to put a new (Intel Core 2) PC together yet until the Directx 10 Graphics cards are available.

I recently managed to get hold of a HP Media Center machine for £70 consisting of:

Intel Pentium 4 3.2GHz (prescott) Socket 478 1024kB L2 cache
1 GB RAM
250GB Hard drive, TV Tuner, etc.

I bought the PC because of the good price and I was especially interested in the processor because it is faster than the one in my main PC and they both use the same socket 478, but I am not sure how much faster it will be. I understand that the Prescott processors generate more heat than the Northwoods. I think my current processor is rated at 110W, and the Prescott 115W.

Question 1: Is it worth me swapping out my Northwood 2.4Ghz processor for the Prescott 3.2GHz processor, would I notice that much of a difference.

Question 2: If it is worth the swap out, then what is the best cooler to use, I have been looking at the Arctic Cooling Freezer 4 and the Zalman CNPS7000B-CU Ultra-Quiet CPU Cooler. Are there any others to consider.

Thanks in advance

 

[ADP]

I must thank all you guys for the replies, I think I will swap the processors over now. I do not plan on overclocking but I am still undecided on the cooler. I know I can use the cooler in the HP but I want a quiet one.

I have looked at the Big Typhoon, Arctic Cooling Freezer 4 and the Zalman cnps7000. I'm not sure if the Big Typhoon will be too big for my case. BTW, how easy are these coolers to fit, do they just clip onto the bracket which is already on the motherboard (Asus P4P800) or is it more complicated than that?

Once again thanks for all the replies.

 

[ADP]

Id also stick the other 1gb of ram in out the other machine to

I didn't really think of that, Cheers

Would I notice much difference between 1GB and 2 GB though. I understand that I will notice a difference in Windows Vista, but what about running Windows XP?