Perhaps a few of you can get your heads together and suggest how I can get the maximum performance out of this system: I have Ga6bxd Dual Pent II/III mobo, running two Pent III 550 CPU's at 512kb cache. I'd like to upgrade the CPU's, but the manual states I can only go up to 663. What would make my system run faster? Leaving it with the 550 CPU's with 512kb cache, or 650 CPU's with 256kb cache? Keeping in mind I am running 640mb of ram. What are my options in terms of upgrading my CPU's? Can anyone suggest a different option to the one above(650/256)?

Joey, From my standpoint there are four elements that go into speed and performance. They are: 1. CPU 2. Memory 3. Video adapter 4. Hard drive Your CPU is fixed (since you're leaving it as is), so you can add memory, which will have some impact, you can get a better (AGP) video card, and you can get a better hard drive (i.e. SATA with or without RAID). The last two should improve performance significantly. Good luck. I - Sandor J Sound judgement, with discernment, is the best of seers. - Euripides (B.C. 480 - 406)

It's not worth upgrading the processor, 512kb it's far faster than 256kb cache. You won't see any improvment if you add more memory, what you have is more than enough for XP. Adding a new video-card will improve performace if you intend to use this rig for gaming, but be warned that the mobo probably suports 2xAGP. I don't think you have a SATA controler on the motherboard and investing in a PCI SATA Controler will be a waste. You will see no speed improvments and you will end up spending alot of cash on the controler and on the more expensive (than PATA) hard drives. GooD LucK!

Actually, the two 650s would be faster. The P3 550s were based on the older Katmai core, and the 512KB cache was external to the die and ran at only half the clock frequency. On the 550mhz chip, the cache only runs at 275mhz, while the cache on the newer Coppermine based P3 runs at a full 650mhz, as it's internal to the CPU die. Perfect example of the benefits of fast cache: If you compared a 400mhz Celeron with 128kb of full-speed cache to a 400mhz P2 with 512kb of half-speed cache, the celeron would be slightly faster.