Question CPU Upgrade - i5 2400

Jan 24, 2023
7
11
15
Hi
I currently have an Intel DH61CR MOBO (AAG14064-207) with an i5 2400 CPU and wanted to upgrade it to the best possible i7 processor.
I originally read that I could upgrade to an i7 3770k but have now found information referencing the current CPU being Sandy Bridge with the i7 3770k being Ivy Bridge and am unsure if this is compatible.
I have also found on the Intel download centre website that the MOBO is now discontinued and support for it ceased in 2019 (so I cannot download updated drivers/BIOS etc.) BIOS is BEH6110H.86A.0120.2013 and was the last version released on 12/11/2013
Can somebody please tell me what the best CPU is that I can upgrade to?
If you need any more info let me know.
Thanks
 
  • Like
Reactions: jnjnilson6
Hi
I currently have an Intel DH61CR MOBO (AAG14064-207) with an i5 2400 CPU and wanted to upgrade it to the best possible i7 processor.
I originally read that I could upgrade to an i7 3770k but have now found information referencing the current CPU being Sandy Bridge with the i7 3770k being Ivy Bridge and am unsure if this is compatible.
I have also found on the Intel download centre website that the MOBO is now discontinued and support for it ceased in 2019 (so I cannot download updated drivers/BIOS etc.) BIOS is BEH6110H.86A.0120.2013 and was the last version released on 12/11/2013
Can somebody please tell me what the best CPU is that I can upgrade to?
If you need any more info let me know.
Thanks
That would be the i7 2700K or the i7 2600, not really much between them. However at this point they’re easily outgunned by entry level chips and a fraught with security issues. Personally I would upgrade to a more modern system but obviously that will cost more. Even something like a 3200G would be better than the sandy bridge i7 a whisky offering a massive upgrade path all the way to a 5800X3D or a 5700G on the APU side.
 
  • Like
Reactions: KyaraM and F1lmfan

Tac 25

Estimable
Jul 25, 2021
1,391
421
3,890
Hi
I currently have an Intel DH61CR MOBO (AAG14064-207) with an i5 2400 CPU and wanted to upgrade it to the best possible i7 processor.
I originally read that I could upgrade to an i7 3770k but have now found information referencing the current CPU being Sandy Bridge with the i7 3770k being Ivy Bridge and am unsure if this is compatible.
I have also found on the Intel download centre website that the MOBO is now discontinued and support for it ceased in 2019 (so I cannot download updated drivers/BIOS etc.) BIOS is BEH6110H.86A.0120.2013 and was the last version released on 12/11/2013
Can somebody please tell me what the best CPU is that I can upgrade to?
If you need any more info let me know.
Thanks

no need for a 3770K. I recommend a 2600K, should be enough if what you're going do is 720-1080p gaming. Just be sure to pair it with at least16GB ram, and a 1050ti or the AMD equivalent. Have been using a 2600K on my backup pc (on signature), and it's been doing well on playstation 4 games, and even ps5 games at 1080p.
 
  • Like
Reactions: F1lmfan
Jan 24, 2023
7
11
15
So am I right to assume that the i7 3770k isn't compatible with the current system then?
Only reason I'm asking is I can get a second hand one free - obviously if it won't work then I'll have to buy one, but thought I would ask before I start spending money ;)
The system has 16gb RAM and GPU is GTX 1050TI if that helps
 
  • Like
Reactions: jnjnilson6

Zerk2012

Titan
Ambassador
So am I right to assume that the i7 3770k isn't compatible with the current system then?
Only reason I'm asking is I can get a second hand one free - obviously if it won't work then I'll have to buy one, but thought I would ask before I start spending money ;)
The system has 16gb RAM and GPU is GTX 1050TI if that helps
Those boards do support the 3xxx processors with the right BIOS versions.
 
  • Like
Reactions: F1lmfan
Jan 24, 2023
7
11
15
Since my BIOS is the last version available before discontinuation, wouldn't I have to "downgrade" to get to one needed for the 3770k - in which case I'd be better with the 2600 or 2700 as I wouldn't have to mess with the BIOS....?
 
  • Like
Reactions: jnjnilson6

jnjnilson6

Distinguished
Since my BIOS is the last version available before discontinuation, wouldn't I have to "downgrade" to get to one needed for the 3770k - in which case I'd be better with the 2600 or 2700 as I wouldn't have to mess with the BIOS....?
Hi there!

The newer the version is the larger support it encompasses. For example:
We have BIOS versions 1, 2, 3 and 4.

Your PC comes with version 1. Then you upgrade it to version 4.
Support for the processor you'd like to use is added by version 2.
This means that versions 3 and 4 will also support the CPU. There is one version that supports the CPU and all versions afterward continue to support it because it is already added into the BIOS. The newer the BIOS versions are the more CPUs they support and all the versions past the version in which the CPU was supported for the first time continue to support it. :)
 

jnjnilson6

Distinguished
Since my BIOS is the last version available before discontinuation, wouldn't I have to "downgrade" to get to one needed for the 3770k - in which case I'd be better with the 2600 or 2700 as I wouldn't have to mess with the BIOS....?
I've had an i7-3770K myself... It's a great processor. Used to be able to overclock it to the red line - 5 GHz w/ Corsair H110 water cooling. To be honest I think it still has about 2 to 5 years in the gaming world if paired with an averagely good GPU. I am talking 720p low-medium - to stretch out that timeframe to up to 5 years.

The Core i7-2600K could overclock more at the time; to about 5.2 GHz. However, it does not support PCIe 3.0 which the Core i7-3770K does, but supports only PCIe 2.0 instead. So it would definitely be better for the GPU to operate within an Ivy Bridge system.
 

jnjnilson6

Distinguished
So am I right to assume that the i7 3770k isn't compatible with the current system then?
Only reason I'm asking is I can get a second hand one free - obviously if it won't work then I'll have to buy one, but thought I would ask before I start spending money ;)
The system has 16gb RAM and GPU is GTX 1050TI if that helps
Btw, if you can get the i7-3770K for free, I would say to get it because even if it doesn't work you wouldn't have really lost anything. On the other hand if it does work which I think it should because your motherboard supports Ivy Bridge CPUs and your BIOS is from 2013 (while the i7-3770K came out in 2012), it would definitely be a good upgrade.
 

artk2219

Distinguished

jnjnilson6

Distinguished
Definitely give that I7 3770k a shot first, but if that doesnt work out I would suggest that you look at a Xeon instead of an I7 2600 or 2700, you can usually pick those up for much cheaper. A Xeon E3 1245 is like $15, granted you lose 100 mhz, but it is like 1/3 the cost.

That's a very good and reasonable point of view. (y)

The only real problem for the perpetuation of CPUs under 8th gen would be the expiration of Windows 10 support in 2025. Well, perhaps most games would still run on it for another 2-3 years and some even after this time has passed, yet I think that by 2027 software would have begun moving past aforesaid OS. The handicap concerning the CPUs would be dispelled however, if Microsoft allow for pre-8th gen CPUs to run Windows 11 after Windows 10 expires - which is not very likely, but still within the farther recesses of probability.

So you would be in the same boat whether you have a Core 2 Duo, a Core i7-3770K or a Core i9-7980XE past the dates noted afore.

I remember my Core i7-3770K overclocked to 5 GHz (it could run games and benchmarking software with stability for hours at that speed; although it did hit 99 C, despite I was using the best water cooler for the time - Corsair H110) and scored a hairline faster than the Core i7-3930K at stock. Good times!
 
Jan 24, 2023
7
11
15
I hadn't even considered anything outside of the i7 spec. Definitely something to look at them.....
As long as it's compatible with the motherboard and the rest of the system, the intention was to get the best available. But, if the Xeon is much cheaper and with only a small reduction in processing power, I'm more than happy to see what I can get.
Thanks!
 

artk2219

Distinguished
That's a very good and reasonable point of view. (y)

The only real problem for the perpetuation of CPUs under 8th gen would be the expiration of Windows 10 support in 2025. Well, perhaps most games would still run on it for another 2-3 years and some even after this time has passed, yet I think that by 2027 software would have begun moving past aforesaid OS. The handicap concerning the CPUs would be dispelled however, if Microsoft allow for pre-8th gen CPUs to run Windows 11 after Windows 10 expires - which is not very likely, but still within the farther recesses of probability.

So you would be in the same boat whether you have a Core 2 Duo, a Core i7-3770K or a Core i9-7980XE past the dates noted afore.

I remember my Core i7-3770K overclocked to 5 GHz (it could run games and benchmarking software with stability for hours at that speed; although it did hit 99 C, despite I was using the best water cooler for the time - Corsair H110) and scored a hairline faster than the Core i7-3930K at stock. Good times!

You can actually get Windows 11 to install on a machine that "isnt up to spec", you just need to do a small edit to the registry before the install to tell it to ignore TPM and it'll work just fine. That said, this is 12 year old hardware at this point so you may want to look to upgrading the whole platform at some point by then anyway. I'd have to believe there should be quite a few affordable AM4, LGA 1151 (300 series chipset), or LGA 1200 setups available by that point.

 
Last edited:

logainofhades

Titan
Moderator
@F1lmfan

another budget option is an i5-2500K. It's almost as strong as an i7-2600K, but at half the price.

Not much better than a 2400, as they cannot overclock, and still limited to 4c/4t. An i7, or an i7 class E3 Xeon, would make much more sense, and they are quite cheap, on Ebay. An i7 2600/2600k can be found for like $30. E3 1245v2 is a bit faster, as it is 3rd gen, and can also be found for around $30.
 

jnjnilson6

Distinguished
@logainofhades

checked my Aliexpress account to be sure. Looked at the receipts. I remembered it wrong. The 2600K was $62 and the 2500K was $32.35. Got them both from TaiYuan store. And it's not three years ago, I got both around year 2021.

anyway, goodluck to the OP in upgrading. A Xeon does look like a decent budget upgrade.
Yeah. It might be more viable though that he get an i7-2600 or i7-3770K because the difference between the 2400 and 2500K isn't outstandingly prominent.

Screenshot-20230125-092820.png


Screenshot-20230125-092849.png


Screenshot-20230125-092913.png
 
Jan 24, 2023
7
11
15
Ok. So now I have a problem 😞
I tried to change the existing CPU to the "free" i7 3770k that I mentioned and the system booted but no input was found on the monitor...I thought maybe I had to update the BIOS until research said that my MOBO is discontinued by Intel and that I have the latest version of the BIOS already installed - so I have no idea why it didn't work.

So, I changed it back to the original CPU (i5 2400) but now that boots up for a couple of minutes before shutting down.
I tried adding a little more thermal paste and cleaning the fan but neither helped.
Just so you know, I haven't changed anything (including BIOS) other than the CPU - and now it seems like I've messed up the original set up 😞
Please help....any advice appreciated.
Thanks
 

jnjnilson6

Distinguished
Ok. So now I have a problem 😞
I tried to change the existing CPU to the "free" i7 3770k that I mentioned and the system booted but no input was found on the monitor...I thought maybe I had to update the BIOS until research said that my MOBO is discontinued by Intel and that I have the latest version of the BIOS already installed - so I have no idea why it didn't work.

So, I changed it back to the original CPU (i5 2400) but now that boots up for a couple of minutes before shutting down.
I tried adding a little more thermal paste and cleaning the fan but neither helped.
Just so you know, I haven't changed anything (including BIOS) other than the CPU - and now it seems like I've messed up the original set up 😞
Please help....any advice appreciated.
Thanks


Hereunder is a message I wrote on the Forum a long time ago regarding a synonymous case; use only the parts from it which are applicable to your situation. Now I do believe a cable may have accidentally slipped somewhere and that re-plugging it correctly will fully take care of the problem. You should check out if the CPU power cable is plugged into the PSU.

You can unplug the Power Supply cable which goes into the wall from the side of the power supply (and then plug it back in); you can try another place to plug in the machine. You can remove the CMOS battery from the motherboard and replace it again. You should check all the connections and cables in the box and make sure they're properly connected to and from the motherboard and the video card. If these things don't work you may try borrowing an older video card from somewhere and see if the system works with it. In case it works with another card, you should seek out the warranty for the 3090. If you have two or more slots you may remove all the RAM sticks, grab a single stick and then try putting it in slot 1, if it doesn't work, try putting it in slot 2 and continue on until you run out of slots. If there are no results try the same thing with another stick until you run out of sticks. If you have more than one PCIe slot for the video card, try putting it in the other slot/slots to see if things get better; you can also dust the GPU off (very, very carefully) and do make sure it's properly and firmly connected to the Power Supply and motherboard.
 

DSzymborski

Titan
Moderator
I think I'd go at least 2600K even at the prices of a couple years ago. My feeling is that if you're bothering to upgrade a machine more than a decade old, you at least want to get as close to maxing out the decade old hardware if you can. If just an incremental upgrade on older hardware, even if a better bargain than a significant upgrade, you may as well just save the money and not do anything. It's like trading in your 2012 Toyota Camry for a 2013 Toyota Camry of the same trim level; why bother? If you want to drop money into a very old platform REALLY upgrade it.
 

jnjnilson6

Distinguished
There's a lot to go through but if it solves my problem it'll be worth it.
I'll give it a try and let you know how I get on.
Thanks
In addition you can try removing the video card of the machine and using the Integrated GPU of the i5-2400 or i7-3770K. (And make sure to consequently change the slot in which you plug-in the monitor to the proper one in this case.) Also make sure that while performing the check-ups you are very careful not to accidentally mislay a cable or disconnect something because then you would have to perform a thorough check again and it would make things a little more complicated.

Write up how things are going! (y)
 
  • Like
Reactions: artk2219