Upgrading CPU

[whs]

My 2 year old HP came with an AMD 4800+. That was fine as long as I ran my Vista off the HDD. Now I am running Win7 off an SSD and the CPU seems to be the weakest link. Everything works so much faster except when I go into CPU intensive work like Video editing or audio/video filetype conversion. I am therefor considering to upgrade the CPU. Unfortunately I do not have a lot of options with the AM2 socket. The AMD 5600+ seems to be the fastest CPU I can fit. It costs only $55 (plus some paste). But I wonder whether it is worth the effort to go from 2.5GHz duo core to 2.9GHz duo core.
Has anybody ever made this or a similar switch and give me an experience report. Also, is there a better option that I may be missing. Thanks for your input.

 

[pparks1]

If you are going to take the jump..you need to replace that mobo. The speed difference between a 4800+ and a 5600+ is just not going to be that significant. Even at $55..you are best to put that money towards a new mobo, cpu and most likely RAM.

My secondary workstation is running an AMD 4600+ and I can feel a huge difference between that and my primary machine (running an Intel Q9550 Quad core at 3.2Ghz...minor overclock).

 

[whs]

Yeah, maybe I live under the same impression as you do. My other system is also a Quad which is so much faster. But i really did not want to open a major construction site. Changing the mobo also has implications on my OEM licenses. Maybe I look into overclocking my 4800+. I have no idea yet what the possibilities are, but at least it would not cost any.
Thanks for your input.