Upgrading My Processor

[bobbi101]

Hi, I have a 6-yr old HP Pavilion p6540d Home PC with an Intel Pentium Dual Core E6600 Processor which I was planning to upgrade.

To which processor should I upgrade it to if Im looking at the easiest process possible (plug & play would be great!)?

I'm not heavy on gaming.

Regards,

 

[cst1992]

The Core 2 Duo era is based on the LGA775 socket, which is basically a dead socket.
What motherboard do you have?
Depending on the motherboard, most you could get is the E8400, but for anything beyond that you'll have to get a new motherboard.
Get a new LGA1150 and one of the pentiums, you could even upgrade to an i3 or i5 down the line if you wanted.

 

[mdd1963]

Any available processors that would be compatible with your computers existing motherboard likely would not make a noticeable difference to your desktop experience.

(You can decide if your system will sustain you through to the debut if Windows 10 systems with a nice-performing budget i5 quad core /SSD equipped system..)

 

[MeteorsRaining]

According to the official website, you can upgrade the CPU to the following CPUs:

Motherboard supports the following processor upgrades:
Core 2 Quad Q8xx0/Q9xx0 (Yorkfield core) (95W)
Core 2 Duo E8xx0 (Wolfdale core) (65W)
Core 2 Duo E7xx0 (Wolfdale core) (65W)
Pentium Dual Core E5xx0 (Wolfdale core) (65W)
Celeron Dual Core E1xx0 (Conroe core) (65W)
Celeron 4xx series (Conroe core) (35W)

The most comprehensive upgrade would be to core 2 quad q9650.

 

[bobbi101]

The Core 2 Duo era is based on the LGA775 socket, which is basically a dead socket.
What motherboard do you have?
Depending on the motherboard, most you could get is the E8400, but for anything beyond that you'll have to get a new motherboard.
Get a new LGA1150 and one of the pentiums, you could even upgrade to an i3 or i5 down the line if you wanted.

I have a H-I41-uATX (Eton/EtonL) mother Board. Im actually looking at an i5 or i7 right now.

 

[bobbi101]

According to the official website, you can upgrade the CPU to the following CPUs:

Motherboard supports the following processor upgrades:
Core 2 Quad Q8xx0/Q9xx0 (Yorkfield core) (95W)
Core 2 Duo E8xx0 (Wolfdale core) (65W)
Core 2 Duo E7xx0 (Wolfdale core) (65W)
Pentium Dual Core E5xx0 (Wolfdale core) (65W)
Celeron Dual Core E1xx0 (Conroe core) (65W)
Celeron 4xx series (Conroe core) (35W)

The most comprehensive upgrade would be to core 2 quad q9650.

how does q9650 perform against the newer i5 or i7?

 

[bobbi101]

Any available processors that would be compatible with your computers existing motherboard likely would not make a noticeable difference to your desktop experience.

(You can decide if your system will sustain you through to the debut if Windows 10 systems with a nice-performing budget i5 quad core /SSD equipped system..)

moving to i5 does seem to make more sense. aside from the motherboard, are there be other components i should be looking to upgrade to really get the kick of an i5.

 

[cst1992]

Your motherboard is a G41 Express. While it could fit any processor of the Core 2 Duo/Quad era, it's not compatible with any of the core i series, not even the oldest Nehalem processors. You'll need a new motherboard.

 

[MeteorsRaining]

You'd need a new MoBo and better memory as the FSB of the current sticks would not allow the 3rd-4th gen i5/i3 to function properly. But, if the budget is tight, a quad core 3GHz Intel can perform better than the first gen i5s, which were hyperthreaded dual cores. Upgrading memory to 4GB would help too. Unless you're a gamer or pro developer, this upgrade will be fine for a couple more years, for everyday tasks and multitasking.

 

[Vitric9]

The Core 2 Duo E6600 effectively ended the GHz wars and Intel paved the way for higher IPC instead of trying to market a, say 10Ghz SKU... , More so for it's Overclocking potential the E6600 and E6700 can hit 4Ghz easily with the proper motherboard. Core 2 Quads can OC just as well but run into thermal issues.
Even with that High OC on a Core 2, a Haswell i3 is much faster and would offer much more features.
AN i3 4130 or 4150 a good buy. Fast and responsive while staying well under $200.