Fastest processor for Dell Dimension 8200

[Jay51]

Hello,
I purchased a P4 3.06 GHz processor for my Dell Dimension 8200. The seller said this processor would work with all Dimension 8200s and 8250s. I installed the CPU and the system stopped the boot and gave the message "processor speed mismatch." The seller suggested installing the latest BIOS to resolve the issue but I'm not sure this will work. I read in one place that the 3.06 will work if you have the 850E chipset but not the 850, which I have (according to the CPU-Z program although, based on the ship date, it's supposed to have the 850E). That person said the 2.8 P4 would work, however. I don't want to bother installing the latest BIOS if that won't help; I understand that the main reason to do that is to resolve a compatibility issue with a particular sound card, which is not the problem.

 

[o1die]

According to one posting, if your system was sold before May 6, 2002 it uses 400 fsb cpus. After that date, 533 fsb p4's should work. The 3.06 you have should be easy to recover your money on if you list it on craigslist. Starmicro has some 400 and 533 cpus fairly cheap.

 

[Jay51]

According to one posting, if your system was sold before May 6, 2002 it uses 400 fsb cpus. After that date, 533 fsb p4's should work. The 3.06 you have should be easy to recover your money on if you list it on craigslist. Starmicro has some 400 and 533 cpus fairly cheap.

Yes, the system was shipped in November 2001 and has the 400MHz FSB. So I guess I need to stick to the 400 FSB processors? I have a 2.0 GHz 400 FSB processor and the Dell documentation for the 8200 shows a 2.4 GHz processor as the fastest 400 MHz CPU for the system.

I recently found some affordable RDRAM and upgraded the memory from 512 MB of 45ns modules to 2 GB of 40ns modules, which improved the system performance a lot. I'm wondering how much difference upgrading to a 2.4 GHz CPU will make in any case.

Thanks for your advice.


Update, 2/22/2010: I checked with Starmicro and found a very inexpensive P4 2.8 MHz 400FSB processor that should work. I decided to give it a try and ordered one.

 

[SV_Bubbles]

Not enough to justify the cost, even if the motherboard could handle a 533 or 800fsb P4. Unfortunately the ram upgrade is probably the last prominent performance gain you will see on that motherboard

 

[Jay51]

Not enough to justify the cost, even if the motherboard could handle a 533 or 800fsb P4. Unfortunately the ram upgrade is probably the last prominent performance gain you will see on that motherboard

Thanks! I'll probably just leave things as they are and save myself the expense and trouble of trying another CPU upgrade. I mainly use the system as a network server for printers, etc. Also, it's good for some other family members to use for web browsing and email; the current configuration is plenty adequate for that.

 

[Jay51]

Best answer selected by Jay51.