CPU upgrade feasable

[osteoart]

Is a CPU upgrade needed for the following system? Where would I find a list of the CPU's that are compatible with this system. Thanks.
Operating System
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit SP1
CPU
Intel Pentium 4 630
Prescott 90nm Technology
RAM
8.00GB Dual-Channel DDR2 @ 399MHz (6-6-6-18)
Motherboard
Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. P43-ES3G (Socket 775) 27 °C
Graphics
DELL E172FP (1280x1024@75Hz)
1023MB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 (MSI) 25 °C
Storage
465GB Hitachi HDS721050CLA362 ATA Device (SATA) 29 °C
465GB Hitachi HDS721050CLA362 ATA Device (SATA) 28 °C
0B Seagate FreeAgent XTreme USB Device (USB)
7GB Hitachi HP v125w USB Device (USB)
Optical Drives
TOSHIBA DVD-ROM SD-R1002 ATA Device
HL-DT-ST CD-RW GCE-8527B ATA Device
Audio
Realtek High Definition Audio

 

[InvalidError]

There is nothing worth upgrading to on LGA775 even if your motherboard supported the Core2Quad Extreme 9xxx-series CPUs... even a modern i3 would beat that in most gaming and everyday tasks.

Instead of wasting money upgrading the CPU on an obsolete platform, I would upgrade the CPU+MoBo+RAM.

 

[electrontau]

Did quick search and you still can find 775 socket Intel CPU (newegg). You might need to update the BIOS to use the higher model CPU. But the computer is outdated, even with "newer" CPU.

My recommendation is to upgrade CPU, motherboard, and memory.

 

[osteoart]

Did quick search and you still can find 775 socket Intel CPU (newegg). You might need to update the BIOS to use the higher model CPU. But the computer is outdated, even with "newer" CPU.

My recommendation is to upgrade CPU, motherboard, and memory.

 

[osteoart]

How about some suggestions. I have a full size tower case.

 

[unksol]

CPU support list

www.gigabyte.com/support-downloads/cpu-support-popup.aspx?pid=3595

There is absolutely nothing wrong with upgrading it if you can find a good CPU on ebay for cheap. Its not crap like everyone seems to be implying and there's no reason to spend hundreds on hardware and a new windows license if it does what you want it to.

 

[LucoTF]

How about some suggestions. I have a full size tower case.

What's your budget and what do you use your PC for?

 

[LucoTF]

There is nothing worth upgrading to on LGA775 even if your motherboard supported the Core2Quad Extreme 9xxx-series CPUs... even a modern i3 would beat that in most gaming and everyday tasks.

Instead of wasting money upgrading the CPU on an obsolete platform, I would upgrade the CPU+MoBo+RAM.

What if OP isn't using his pc for gaming?

 

[osteoart]

Would this one help with general speed processing "Core™ 2 Extreme QX9770"? About the only gaming I do is "EAW", European Air Wars a flight sim game.

 

[LucoTF]

Would this one help with general speed processing "Core™ 2 Extreme QX9770"? About the only gaming I do is "EAW", European Air Wars a flight sim game.

For general PC use I would say pick any (in other words, the cheapest) of the core 2 extremes or Q9650, Q9550, Q9450, Q6700. That's basically any quad core 2.66ghz or more.

 

[osteoart]

CPU support list

www.gigabyte.com/support-downloads/cpu-support-popup.aspx?pid=3595

There is absolutely nothing wrong with upgrading it if you can find a good CPU on ebay for cheap. Its not crap like everyone seems to be implying and there's no reason to spend hundreds on hardware and a new windows license if it does what you want it to.

Thanks. I think I will add more RAM and look for a newer and faster CPU.

 

[LucoTF]

CPU support list

www.gigabyte.com/support-downloads/cpu-support-popup.aspx?pid=3595

There is absolutely nothing wrong with upgrading it if you can find a good CPU on ebay for cheap. Its not crap like everyone seems to be implying and there's no reason to spend hundreds on hardware and a new windows license if it does what you want it to.

Thanks. I think I will add more RAM and look for a newer and faster CPU.

you have 8gb of 800mhz ram, no need to add more.

 

[InvalidError]

What if OP isn't using his pc for gaming?

That does not change the fact that the platform as a whole is grossly outdated and even the best quad that can go on it still suffers a 30-50% IPC performance handicap due to the 60+ CPU cycles extra latency from having to go through the northbridge to access RAM.

Unless he can get a quad for very cheap, I would not recommend spending money on that platform.

 

[spdragoo]

For what you're looking at, even going with just a dual-core CPU will be a good upgrade. Just make sure each core's frequency is at least close to your current one (i.e. 2.8GHz or faster).

The nice thing, too, is that a lot of those CPUs will also allow you to upgrade your RAM to a faster DDR2 speed (1066 or even 1333, depending on the CPU model).

 

[InvalidError]

Thanks. I think I will add more RAM and look for a newer and faster CPU.

Before thinking of adding RAM, check that your motherboard actually supports more than 8GB.

After you have looked at DDR2 prices, you might end up finding out it is more expensive than upgrading your system.

Personally, I do not buy used components for my main PC. When I considered upgrading my C2D-E8400 from 8GB to 16GB, I tried finding 16GB of brand-new DDR2-800 and that happened to cost $320 at the time. Instead, I got an i5-3470 ($170), 16GB RAM ($85) and a H77 board ($110)... $45 extra for a whole platform upgrade including 16GB DDR3.

If you are feeling an itch to upgrade multiple components, you may want to seriously consider starting over on a fresh modern platform instead of sinking money in your current one.

 

[InvalidError]

The nice thing, too, is that a lot of those CPUs will also allow you to upgrade your RAM to a faster DDR2 speed (1066 or even 1333, depending on the CPU model).

On LGA775, the memory controller is in the north bridge so the only way to "gain support for faster memory" on those boards is to replace the motherboard.

Also, the DDR2 spec officially ends at 800MT/s and we are most likely talking about a Dell OEM motherboard here so RAM overclocking (and overclocking of any sort while we are at it) is most likely not supported.

 

[LucoTF]

Even the E8400 would be an upgrade for OP and they're selling for $13 on ebay

 

[spdragoo]

The nice thing, too, is that a lot of those CPUs will also allow you to upgrade your RAM to a faster DDR2 speed (1066 or even 1333, depending on the CPU model).

On LGA775, the memory controller is in the north bridge so the only way to "gain support for faster memory" on those boards is to replace the motherboard.

Also, the DDR2 spec officially ends at 800MT/s and we are most likely talking about a Dell OEM motherboard here so RAM overclocking (and overclocking of any sort while we are at it) is most likely not supported.

http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3595#ov

"Front Side Bus 1600(O.C.)/1333/1066/800 MHz FSB "

"Memory
1.4 x 1.8V DDR2 DIMM sockets supporting up to 16 GB of system memory
2.Dual channel memory architecture
3.Support for DDR2 1200/1066/800/667 MHz memory modules "

His motherboard already has that support enabled.

 

[osteoart]

The nice thing, too, is that a lot of those CPUs will also allow you to upgrade your RAM to a faster DDR2 speed (1066 or even 1333, depending on the CPU model).

On LGA775, the memory controller is in the north bridge so the only way to "gain support for faster memory" on those boards is to replace the motherboard.

Also, the DDR2 spec officially ends at 800MT/s and we are most likely talking about a Dell OEM motherboard here so RAM overclocking (and overclocking of any sort while we are at it) is most likely not supported.

http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3595#ov

"Front Side Bus 1600(O.C.)/1333/1066/800 MHz FSB "

"Memory
1.4 x 1.8V DDR2 DIMM sockets supporting up to 16 GB of system memory
2.Dual channel memory architecture
3.Support for DDR2 1200/1066/800/667 MHz memory modules "

His motherboard already has that support enabled.

 

[osteoart]

I ended up buying a modified CPU, Xeon X5460 quad core processor, 3.17GHz and installing in the motherboard with a new Artic CPU heat sink and fan. After tweaking the bios/cmos, this old gal is at least 2X faster than she was. Went from an processor sub score in windows experience index from 4.3 up to 7.3 Now the slowest thing on this PC is the hard drives. I think new solid state drives will get me to where I want to be. Thanks everyone for the insight you'all provided.