What can i upgrade in my dell inspiron without building the whole thing

[afranklin98]

My dell inspiron has a i3-2120, i put in a 750ti, 8 gb ram and a 500w power supply when i bought a new hdd, seagate barracuda 1tb. My main question is what can i upgrade in my pc without rebuilding the whole thing, the i3 is definitely my bottleneck and i need a new processor. I think they soldered in my i3 so i can't change it. Games like h1z1 to get more frames? i dont know what to do. This one streamer i watch has a i7 and a 750ti and he gets fine frames on high settings and streams soo... my question is can my pc handle a i7?

 

[geofelt]

I can't imagine that you have a soldered in cpu. If true, there is no cpu upgrade available to you.
Run cpu-Z it will identify your motherboard, and you can go from there.
The i3-2120 is lga1155, and there are a number of i5 and i7 upgrades available.

 

[R_1]

"I think they soldered in my i3 "
if it is soldered you will need a new motherboard, and that basically is a rebuild. motherboard with a cpu,
what model is your dell? it may need a case too.
everything else listed will work on a new motherboard and cpu, provided it uses the same RAM. if not you'll need to replace the RAM.
you added the video card, a PSU and a hard drive. I think you have the confidence/experience to do a motherboard swap. you will have to re-install windows, FYI.

 

[afranklin98]

"I think they soldered in my i3 "
if it is soldered you will need a new motherboard, and that basically is a rebuild. motherboard with a cpu,
what model is your dell? it may need a case too.
everything else listed will work on a new motherboard and cpu, provided it uses the same RAM. if not you'll need to replace the RAM.
you added the video card, a PSU and a hard drive. I think you have the confidence/experience to do a motherboard swap. you will have to re-install windows, FYI.

620s

 

[afranklin98]

I can't imagine that you have a soldered in cpu. If true, there is no cpu upgrade available to you.
Run cpu-Z it will identify your motherboard, and you can go from there.
The i3-2120 is lga1155, and there are a number of i5 and i7 upgrades available.

http://puu.sh/mNyvM/31253df3ec.png

 

[R_1]

is this your motherboard?
http://www.amazon.com/Dell-GDG8Y-M5DCD-MIH61R-Small-Tower/dp/B00BXN5USK/ref=sr_1_1/188-9765777-4171318?ie=UTF8&qid=1454032032&sr=8-1&keywords=dell+inspiron+620+specifications
if it is it is a socketed CPU and an upgrade will literally just drop in.
http://www.amazon.com/Dell-GDG8Y-M5DCD-MIH61R-Small-Tower/dp/B00BXN5USK/ref=sr_1_1/188-9765777-4171318?ie=UTF8&qid=1454032032&sr=8-1&keywords=dell+inspiron+620+specifications
says here it shipped with a 2nd gen i5 2310, so that model would be a relatively safe/compatible upgrade.
http://ark.intel.com/products/53445/Intel-Core-i5-2310-Processor-6M-Cache-up-to-3_20-GHz

 

[afranklin98]

is this your motherboard?
http://www.amazon.com/Dell-GDG8Y-M5DCD-MIH61R-Small-Tower/dp/B00BXN5USK/ref=sr_1_1/188-9765777-4171318?ie=UTF8&qid=1454032032&sr=8-1&keywords=dell+inspiron+620+specifications
if it is it is a socketed CPU and an upgrade will literally just drop in.
http://www.amazon.com/Dell-GDG8Y-M5DCD-MIH61R-Small-Tower/dp/B00BXN5USK/ref=sr_1_1/188-9765777-4171318?ie=UTF8&qid=1454032032&sr=8-1&keywords=dell+inspiron+620+specifications
says here it shipped with a 2nd gen i5 2310, so that model would be a relatively safe/compatible upgrade.
http://ark.intel.com/products/53445/Intel-Core-i5-2310-Processor-6M-Cache-up-to-3_20-GHz

it might be

 

[R_1]

you should be able to upgrade to an i5-2310. I'm fairly certain that will work as dell shipped that model with that processor.

 

[afranklin98]

you should be able to upgrade to an i5-2310. I'm fairly certain that will work as dell shipped that model with that processor.

any i7's?

 

[afranklin98]

you should be able to upgrade to an i5-2310. I'm fairly certain that will work as dell shipped that model with that processor.

any i7's?

 

[R_1]

i3, i5, celeron or pentium. from dell
that model never shipped with an i7, the dell motherboard MAY BE* locked/hindered. Dell used different motherboards at the time for the i7 systems, IDK why, technical issues or cash grab.
a good rule of thumb, when you buy a system (dell inspiron 620s) go to the website and see what the max upgrades you can add, that will usually indicate the ceiling for that motherboard. as Dell only mentions the i5 for that model, I am comfortable going with that.
While any h61 chipset may support an i7 this is a dell board with a highly limited bios. it is the BIOS in this case that is limiting you. if you want to run an i7 get a new motherboard, one that is not limited the way OEM boards are.

* all caps for emphasis

 

[afranklin98]

i3, i5, celeron or pentium. from dell
that model never shipped with an i7, the dell motherboard MAY BE* locked/hindered. Dell used different motherboards at the time for the i7 systems, IDK why, technical issues or cash grab.
a good rule of thumb, when you buy a system (dell inspiron 620s) go to the website and see what the max upgrades you can add, that will usually indicate the ceiling for that motherboard. as Dell only mentions the i5 for that model, I am comfortable going with that.
While any h61 chipset may support an i7 this is a dell board with a highly limited bios. it is the BIOS in this case that is limiting you. if you want to run an i7 get a new motherboard, one that is not limited the way OEM boards are.

* all caps for emphasis

would i need only a new motherboard? would i need a new case?

 

[R_1]

that looks to be an atx motherboard. so yeah motherboard. the only problem may be the motherboard port plate. (make sure that is removable from your case, if not you'll need a new case, I highly doubt you will) A new motherboard will come with one to put in its place. (the rectangular plate surrounding the ports, usb, mouse, net etc)

note: replacing the motherboard will require a fresh os install and activation/if required.

 

[afranklin98]

that looks to be an atx motherboard. so yeah motherboard. the only problem may be the motherboard port plate. (make sure that is removable from your case, if not you'll need a new case, I highly doubt you will) A new motherboard will come with one to put in its place. (the rectangular plate surrounding the ports, usb, mouse, net etc)

note: replacing the motherboard will require a fresh os install and activation/if required.

can't i just reuse my last os disk

 

[afranklin98]

that looks to be an atx motherboard. so yeah motherboard. the only problem may be the motherboard port plate. (make sure that is removable from your case, if not you'll need a new case, I highly doubt you will) A new motherboard will come with one to put in its place. (the rectangular plate surrounding the ports, usb, mouse, net etc)

note: replacing the motherboard will require a fresh os install and activation/if required.

you got skype or twitter or something? it would be great to instant message you about this.

 

[R_1]

you can use the os disk, but the windows install is tied to the motherboard. the current OS has different drivers and settings than the new motherboard. for these reasons, among many many others a fresh install is always recommended when changing the motherboard, even microsoft will require reactivation of the hardware changes too much.
I'm not going anywhere.

 

[afranklin98]

you can use the os disk, but the windows install is tied to the motherboard. the current OS has different drivers and settings than the new motherboard. for these reasons, among many many others a fresh install is always recommended when changing the motherboard, even microsoft will require reactivation of the hardware changes too much.
I'm not going anywhere.

will my ram work? i can link u it? http://www.crucial.com/ProductDisplay?displayCompatibleLogo=1&urlRequestType=Base&catalogId=10151&productId=11818&externalPartNumber=CT2276823&urlLangId=-1&scanId=6DA22A5A31D926C3&langId=-1&storeId=10151

 

[R_1]

if the motherboard support the ram it'll work. just get a board that supports that DDR3-1600.

 

[afranklin98]

if the motherboard support the ram it'll work. just get a board that supports that DDR3-1600.

any recommendations for boards/processors?

 

[R_1]

budget?
the parts you currently have?

 

[afranklin98]

budget?
the parts you currently have?

ah sorry, i got dell motherboard everything else dell besides the dell i3-2120 evga gtx 750ti 500w corsair something, and 8gb ram crucial

 

[R_1]

as an example. you want an i7 and you'd need a motherboard.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157586
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116902
examples not an endorsement. for information purposes

a motherboard, I chose a sample from the micro-atx form factor to ensure it will fit the case. the ddr3 support on the board will allow you to re-use your ram. The full size PCIe slot will house the 750ti.
When you are looking for the motherboard these are what you need to shop for. full size PCIe slot, DDR3 Ram support, form factor, and CPU socket(in this case 1150)
you said an i7 but did not specify a price. cheapest I could find
using 2 new parts and what remains of the dell you would have a much faster system capable of doing what you ask.