Can i upgrade my processor?

Question

Hey,

About 3 months ago i bought a Dell Dimension e520 with a Pentium D 805 dual core processor......i know quite a bit about computers but not too much about the inside hardware in them, anyways i want to know if i can upgrade my processor to a Core 2 Duo E6300? I have asked Dell if my motherboard supports it and they said yes because my mobo supports dual core, but you know how dell is (they will just tell you anything) Are they correct? sooooo, any advice on if i can upgrade or not..............Thanx alot

Answer 1

as long as your motherboard supports the socket 775 processors. Remember that your computer is only as fast as the slowest component. If you upgraded to an E6600 for instance (it supports a 1000 MHz front side bus) and are using slower Ram, say 533 MHz, your data transfer speed will be limited to the slower RAM speed of 533 MHZ.

If you are going to spend the money on a new processor, I suggest you go with a newer motherboard that can utilize the better performance of the new chip. I suggest something that is SLI ready if you are a gamer.

Finally, a new processor and motherboard will inevitably lead to a new video card which (PCI Express), depending on your choice of cards and quantity, might lead to a power supply upgrade. (why buy a new faster processor and faster motherboard just to have your data bottleneck at a slow AGP video interface?)

if you have no intention of upgrading the motherboard, video card, and power supply then I suggest you save your money until you are ready. Using faster parts with slower parts just causes the new parts to run at the speed of the older slower parts which means you wasted your money.

Answer 2

Most technicians I have ever talked to on the line gave me sound advice and tips. They are not on commission and pretty cool with me. Anyway, use the URL to check this out with pcworld.com. They have a section on what to do and stuff with your computer. Just sit down and it would take a coupe of hours to read everything. Not just a couple of articles. Personally, every couple of months something comes out better. For now the dual core is not too bad.

Pcworld does say go core 2, vs dual core as the core 2 is more recent. But then with your setup, you are good for at least another year. Maybe invest in a bad a ss 22" monitor like mine, I got a syncmaster 213t for $500, cuz it was open box, only cuz the normal price was double and it was the last one. Then in a year when you get ready after reading all the articles on computers you can upgrade then. I tell people do not upgrade unless you can use the power and speed. If it is just for surfing the net and reading emails, but something cheap. But then for business or gaming you need some serious chips there. Hope you enjoy the site.

Answer 3

Yes it can for sure and I will explain why. The E520 can be configured with the Core 2 Duo, hence it must support it. While you got yours with the Pentium D, it uses the same motherboard as all E520s, Dell is way to cheap to make a special motherboard for each processor, the motherboards in all E520 computers are the same.

Answer 4

You just need to go and buy a new mother board. Because just sticking with the one you have it not that reliable. check out http://tigerdirect.com they have good deals on PC hardware. I use them all the time. That is the best advise any one can give you is to get it yourself so you know exactly what you are looking for. Also i read an article from some where that says that just increasing your processor is not enough and it is not even upgrading your ram will do the trick they say you have to get a video card with a video processor in it because you main processor processess all the data and video and is you take some of the weight off the shoulders of the processor and put it on the video card then it will cut out some of the lag you are problably experienceing. But make sure you get the right heat sink because if you don't your processor will overheat. Try to get he liquid cooling system. That'll make it run better.

Answer 5

i take advantage of an i5-2410M (GPU Intel 3000) with 8 GB DDR3 1333 in my 4330s HDD 320 GB 7200 rpm. It heats (GPU) and often computer virus with out warning, I bumped off the lid and place on a medium 2-fan, it is somewhat solid. Now that i've got chanced on a thank you to chill out down right, i'm searching for a i7-2820QM often compliant (Soket: rPGA988B / BGA1023 (FC PGA988 sisoftware sandra)). it is why i'm lower back on all boards! greeting

Answer 6

Here is your system:
http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/dimen_e520?c=us&l=en&s=bsd&cs=04
It is sold with a Core 2 E6300 cpu. But has a very low video card. If you're gaming, you need the video card far worse than the cpu.

Answer 7

i will have to know what type of mother board you have to give you a better answer but i would really doubt that you will be able to upgrade to any of the core 2 duo's

Answer 8

you should be able to. to make sure, ask the store where you are going to buy your processor if it is supported by your motherboard

Answer 9

If they said so, it'll be the right socket, so yes, you can.