new processor
 

I have a custome built computer from several years ago which has everything fairly well upgraded except the processor. It's not that bad, but I want to get a faster chip.

The trouble is, I know lots about building/upgrading system but nothing about installing a new processor and motherboard.

What is the best site or way to learn what to do, how to do it, and most importantly... how I find out what processor will work with my current motherboard?

I have a PIII 866, 768 Ram, 80GB HD, 40x cd-rw/48x cd-rom, zip disk, floppy disk, 68MB nvidia.

Do you think I need to upgrade?

I upgraded my computer to a p4 2.4, from a computer that was similar in stats to your old one. And I'm loving the difference.

As far as the processor goes nothing beats checking your boards website.

And for buliding computers?

http://www.pcmech.com/build.htm

That site has a pretty good overview.

yes you will love the difrence from a PIII to a P4, im about to go from a 2.53 P4b to 3.0 P4c

i really doubt a board that fits a p3 866 can even come close to handling a real fast p4.

check the mobo stats and see what the fastest proc it can handle.

do a search for the motherboard on the internet and see what it pulls up. it should show all the stats and what proc's it can handle.

if you don't mind me asking, what kind of motherboard do you have?

I'm sure you need a new motherboard. there is no way a p3 motherboard can handle a new p4 cpu.
Or you can switch to amd barton which is cheaper and faster.

if price is a big concern then go with an AMD Athlon XP chip.. they are by far cheaper than the P4's (and the AMD Bartons are still really expensive)..

however, if price isn't a big concern, P4's generally run a lot cooler and have a few other perks.

however, going from a P3 to any somewhat recent chip will take a new motherboard.. P3 motherboards will basically only fit P3's (and only some of them at that)..

btw, it sounds like you really havent done too much with motherboards and cpus.. so, just to warn you, there is a BIG difference in the AMD chips and the P4, so make sure you get a motherboard designed for the chip you are buying.

personally, I look at motherboards first.. find a motherboard that has everything I want then get a chip to match it, etc...

i'm looking into the <a href="http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=NDcx" target="_blank">P4 2.4 C stepping</a>. ~$180 on newegg and googlegear. the change from p3 to p4 is pretty substantial.