Problem going from a Pent 4 Core 2 Duo?

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Providence

Limp Gawd
Joined
Apr 23, 2006
Messages
193
I'm still a bit of a novice when it comes to major upgrades.

I've got a Dell XPS gen 4. I've made a few changes to it, but overall I'm pretty happy where it's at. 3.6GHz, 2 gigs of ram, 8800GTS 640 card. Nice stuff.

Anyway, I'd like to stick one of those spiffy new Core 2 Duo/extreme processors in it! I'd need to buy a new motherboard, right? I doubt mine natively supports it. As well as the processor itself.

Kind of hard questions, but if anyone can answer them, that would be appreciated!

1) What kind of motherboard would I have to buy (if I need to buy one)?
2) Does it fit in a Dell XPS tower case?

Price isn't a terribly concern for me, but I'd rather just buy a new MB/processor than buy a new computer, since the rest of the equipment is fairly up to date.
 
you might have to buy new DDR2 ram also, most C2D board are 240pin ddr2
 
That's fine if that's true.

My biggest concern is getting a board that fits my case. I want my processors, ram, mobo, everything to fit in that XPS gen 4 tower. I'm sure it would, but I called Dell and they said that "It's possible, but we won't support you in doing it."

Grr.
 
I looked upt the specs on your XPS. It uses the 925X chipset, so you're SOL on the Core 2 since the 915/925 series only support single core CPU's. But it does use DDR2 RAM so you can keep your current set for now, although if it's DDR2-533 sticks then you'll severly limited with overclocking the C2D. Also the case looks as if it'll fit a standard ATX motherboard, so you're selection will be limited only by your desires.

Now, what is it you are looking to do with this new CPU/motherboard? What features do you want / care about (e.g. 1394 ports, 8ch sound, or number of SATA ports)?

EDIT: I might also add that you may have problems reinstalling/activation XP if you're still using the OEM copy that came from Dell, and the restore discs will definately be out of the question for future installations.
 
ryan_975 said:
EDIT: I might also add that you may have problems reinstalling/activation XP if you're still using the OEM copy that came from Dell, and the restore discs will definately be out of the question for future installations.
Click to expand...

Good point
 
Oh! You sound like you know what you're talking about >_>; I'll give this a shot.
Service Tag JH2D961
U7084 CARD (CIRCUIT), PLANAR (MOTHERBOARD), TRANSFORMER SKY DIVE MINITOWER, XPS-G4, MID-LIFE KICKER
1 D5837 MODULE, DUAL IN-LINE MEMORY MODULE, 1G, 2X512, 533, 1R, 512

That's the motherboard and the memory I'm using.

1394 ports are worthless to me, or rather, I haven't found a use for them yet. USB is fairly important; I'm using 9 of 11 available ports (excluding the card reader on one of my 2405FPW's, dual 24s!).

But yeah, the guy at Dell said I'm sol with core 2 duo, as the motherboard I have is maxed out with the processor it's got.

Basically, the new and improved PS2 emulator (functional!) seems to REALLY take advantage of dual core processors. I was amazed when I saw it working on a friend's machine, who has similar specs to me, except the processor. You know how e-penis goes...

I use three SATA connections right now, one for my boot volume (WD raptor) and two Dell stock drives for applications and media, respectively.

As for the OEM issue, is it true I can contact Microsoft and they can reset it? If not, would it be possible to perform an upgrade without repairing/reinstalling XP? Sorry if that's a basic question, but the most hardware experience I have is replacing motherboards (not upgrading) and buying new PCI/PCI-E stuff. I've never done something this drastic shy of buying a new machine.

Thanks for your time! If you could just point me in the direction of a compatible motherboard with fairly respectible specs, and perhaps ram that goes with it if mine is too slow, I'd love to get my hands on one of those core 2 duo or extreme processors and stuff it in my case. Like I said, I just don't feel like buying a whole new machine for this, so if it could all fit in this tower case, that would be great! Thanks again.
 
How much are you looking to spend on your motherboard. Does SLi (nVidia) or Crossfire(ATI/AMD) interest you at all? Is overclocking something you want to do? You're answers to these question will guide you towards the motherboard that will suit you best. But as of now there are so many choices that it's not even funny.

Also, the RAM you have is perfectly fine for running a C2D at stock speeds, there of course will be some performance benefit to upgrading to faster RAM, but the biggerst benefit of that would be if you want ot overclock. Again it depends on your above answers as to whether or not you'll need more RAM.

As for the XP OEM issue, you'll just have to try and see. But even if they do activate the legality of it is still a bit fuzzy and gray. :)
 
if money is not a problem for you. i recommend that you get a 6700 conroe. i have the 6600, testing my cousin 6700 the speed diference is very much noticeable, things run a lot smooth on a 6700, a 6800 would be even better imo...
 
JVC said:
if money is not a problem for you. i recommend that you get a 6700 conroe. i have the 6600, testing my cousin 6700 the speed diference is very much noticeable, things run a lot smooth on a 6700, a 6800 would be even better imo...
Click to expand...

are we comparing an e6600 to a qx6700?
 
I'm not so picky about price; I'm fortunate enough to not really have to worry about it (I'm assuming even high-end motherboards don't go over $1,000...and even then, it doesn't have to be the ~best~ per se).

I've always been a fan of nVidia. Although SLI seems to be a bit buggy to me, at least from what I've read. I've read you have to disable it and enable it based off of what you're doing...until it's all dynamic or the process changes I'm uninterested in that. My 8800GTS does all that I need it to do. Although having the SLi function probably wouldn't hurt. It will at least leave me with the option of one day getting it.

I'm not familiar with overclocking, and I don't know anyone who can show me (something I'd rather have someone be here for rather than read about) so that's not important to me. The goal is just to get an excellent processor that stands on its own merit without my manipulation.

It shouldn't be a gray area >_>;; I paid for one PC, I get one license of XP...I've read about how OEM stuff "marries" the hardware...good for antipiracy, but I'm not trying to pirate anything, just change stuff around on my own machine.

Does that help at all? Oh, and I might go from 2 to 3 gigs of ram, since from what I understand that's the most 32-bit Windows can handle without some serious intervention to pump it to 3.5.
 
So after a month...um, any recommendations? I'm looking for something very high-end. Unless there's going to be a big, big price drop soon. Otherwise, what's the best that can fit in my case?
 
Providence said:
So after a month...um, any recommendations? I'm looking for something very high-end. Unless there's going to be a big, big price drop soon. Otherwise, what's the best that can fit in my case?
Click to expand...

I like Intel chipsets. You could always go with one of these Motherboards. Just remember, No SLI with either of the below motherboards, Still either one of them are high quality boards. I am not up to par on boards with SLI options, so someone else will have to pop in here and give you recommendations if you want to go SLI.
If at some point you decide to over clock? Both of those boards will overclock nicely.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131028
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813121059

And if you have the money? One of these cpu's,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115017
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115011
 
Awesome! Thanks. Now, I ~could~ buy an SLi motherboard, and just not use that option, right? Someday I may want to, but for now my 8800GTS plays games respectably.
 
Providence said:
Awesome! Thanks. Now, I ~could~ buy an SLi motherboard, and just not use that option, right? Someday I may want to, but for now my 8800GTS plays games respectably.
Click to expand...

Right, no problem running a single card on a SLI board. There are plenty of high quality SLI boards out now, but I am not qualified to recommend one being as I have not researched SLI at all because I am not an heavy gamer.

If you think you might want to go SLI than I would get a SLI board now and just use your single 8800GTS in it at first. Then get another one sometime down the road to have a nice dual 8800GTS SLI system.

Be aware if you do get a second 8800GTS you will probably have to update your power supply as well.
 
Took a trip to Microcenter today.

They had something called the Nvidia 680i board, don't remember the manufacturer. From what I understand if, if I buy ONLY that and the QX6700, I'll be fine, right? Because that's what it's looking like right now.
 
Providence said:
I'm still a bit of a novice when it comes to major upgrades.

I've got a Dell XPS gen 4. I've made a few changes to it, but overall I'm pretty happy where it's at. 3.6GHz, 2 gigs of ram, 8800GTS 640 card. Nice stuff.

Anyway, I'd like to stick one of those spiffy new Core 2 Duo/extreme processors in it! I'd need to buy a new motherboard, right? I doubt mine natively supports it. As well as the processor itself.

Kind of hard questions, but if anyone can answer them, that would be appreciated!

1) What kind of motherboard would I have to buy (if I need to buy one)?
2) Does it fit in a Dell XPS tower case?

Price isn't a terribly concern for me, but I'd rather just buy a new MB/processor than buy a new computer, since the rest of the equipment is fairly up to date.
Click to expand...

I'm sure I'm going to get some flak for this but here goes: With the current system you already have you do not really need a core2 proc. You are already flying at 3.8GHz. You are just not going to see or notice any real tangible difference unless of course you multitask multiple things all day. Of course your BM scores will be higher but that means very little real world anyways.

I would just say stick with what you got and be happy!
 
Well, from what I've read on PS2 emulation forms, people are getting 50 fps with DC processors only; single cores aren't getting any decent frame rates.

From one 3.6 to four 2.6's, even if one core is slower, there's still an overall benefit though, right?

Oh, I have an EVGA 8800GTS, so out of paranoia of compatibility, I went with the EVGA board 680i. Still haven't bought it yet, but from what I've read, all I need is this and the QX6700.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188011

I've never changed out a motherboard before and a processor, but from what I understand, I won't need anything but those two items.

Exciting!! I'll probably do this next weekend or after that.


EDIT: After reading some EVGA 680i reviews, a different manufacturer might be a good idea >_>;
 
I would go with the A1 version of the 680i. It's gotten great reviews, and is the motherboard that I am looking forward to getting when I pull the trigger on my Core 2 Duo upgrade.
 
Providence said:
Well, from what I've read on PS2 emulation forms, people are getting 50 fps with DC processors only; single cores aren't getting any decent frame rates.

From one 3.6 to four 2.6's, even if one core is slower, there's still an overall benefit though, right?

Oh, I have an EVGA 8800GTS, so out of paranoia of compatibility, I went with the EVGA board 680i. Still haven't bought it yet, but from what I've read, all I need is this and the QX6700.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188011

I've never changed out a motherboard before and a processor, but from what I understand, I won't need anything but those two items.

Exciting!! I'll probably do this next weekend or after that.


EDIT: After reading some EVGA 680i reviews, a different manufacturer might be a good idea >_>;
Click to expand...


I love my eVGA 680i, wouldn't trade it for anyother manufacture. If you read a bit more it seems a big chunk of the problem it turns out might well be the Intel processor, not the motherboard. Plus no other manufacture has their lifteime warrantee and cross shipping policy and 24/7 phone support, in real english.;)

One other factor no one mentioned is your PSU. Almost any of the new better boards will require 550 to 600 "good" watts and should have a tripple 12 volt buss. As a rule I have found most OEM manufactures PSU's are minimim requirement at best. Does your PSU have a specs sticker on it? Let us know what is printed on the sticker if you would.

Luck ;)
 
Well, there are different versions of the EVGA board, as it turns out.

This one has excellent reviews:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188012

Why are there SIX different kinds of 680i boards by the same manufacturer? That's....

Power supply is 450, by the way.

And thanks for all your help again! Everyone, BillR....again I've never done this before, quite an interesting experience.
 
Exactly. The T1 and A1 versions are the top of the line 680i motherboards. The A1 version has a few more bells and whistles, and that is the one I was talking about. However, I'm sure you would be happy with either version (A1 or T1).
 
On the low-tech side here... I don't know for sure about the Gen4, but Dell has been known to have non-standard motherboard mounting holes, connector placement and cable harnesses on some of their motherboards. You might want to double-check that everything is going to physically line up with the openings in the case and that the power supply harness and plug will connect with your new mobo. Same for the USB and front-panel power switch. Dell has used proprietary connectors in the past that make it extremely difficult to simply drop in a replacement mobo.
 
Providence said:
Power supply is 450, by the way.
Click to expand...

I want to chime in here with something. 450w MIGHT get you by for the time being. But I highly suggest going up to 600w to be safe. If this is the Dell power supply then I would get a new one pronto.

The power supply I recommend is: Corsair 620HX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139002

It runs great with my i680 board and 8800GTX (which are both EVGA) and 3 hard drives. I could probably add another 8800GTX and not push it far at all.

If you ever contemplate doing SLi, please get a new power supply.
 
Seems cheap enough. Now I'm hestitant to upgrade, though, since I like gaming AND I do a lot of encoding...seems the X6800 and QX6700 are each better at certain functions. But since the 6800, or 6850 seems to be the same as a X6800 but two of them, I may hold off for a while...gotta have the best :p

New power supply doesn't bother me, I suppose I can swing for one.

The "proprietary" issue is worrisome, and the purpose of this topic...to be honest, I really don't have a way of knowing if the screws line up/cables match frontside USB until I actually HAVE the motherboard, right?
 
If I get a new mobo, I'll probably get four gigs of whatever the board maxes out at and install Vista Ultimate 64, since reading around on this forum, it seems gaming isn't affected much at all by the prescence of a 64 bit system.

Money isn't the problem for me. I'm still just concerned about everything fitting in the case (it's a nice case >_>) and everything fitting together.

Looking around, you guys do some crazy stuff. I didn't even KNOW you could overclock memory, or overwatt it, or whatever the term is. I've always been happy with high-end stock systems, but that part of me is slowly crumbling...
 
Taking things to their logical conclusion ;) if you aren't $$$ constrained, you could pick up a new case + power supply for about $150 (plus or minus 50) and set yourself up for future upgrades without the Dell proprietary hassle.
 
Hmm....a new motherboard is challenging enough to me as it is (still new to interior hardware stuff), so a brand-new build, while logical, is doomed to fail if I do it alone. If I do decide to do that, I'll probably 1) ask a friend to help 2) Wait until summer, since I don't have the time for a project that enormous.

Also, that new...whatzit, penryn? New processor coming out then...this market seems to change quite a bit, but if I can't get a QX6800/6850, then I may just wait it out.
 
If you wait till the end of the summer a lot of things will change. If you are able to (unlike me) you should wait. if you buy now and money is no object the Quad Core Q6600 is a very good deal but it will drop a lot in price around the end of august.

I personally bought a E6420 and overclock it but if I had the money I would have bought the Q6600. Ill just upgrade to Quad core later maybe in the fall or wait for the next generation. We will see till then.

And as stated DON'T save pennies on the power supply. It is a lot more important than most people think. I use Enermax they are good but if I buy another one in the Future ill go with Silverstone, they have GREAT PSU's and the price is not ridiculous.
 
cold solder said:
On the low-tech side here... I don't know for sure about the Gen4, but Dell has been known to have non-standard motherboard mounting holes, connector placement and cable harnesses on some of their motherboards. You might want to double-check that everything is going to physically line up with the openings in the case and that the power supply harness and plug will connect with your new mobo. Same for the USB and front-panel power switch. Dell has used proprietary connectors in the past that make it extremely difficult to simply drop in a replacement mobo.
Click to expand...

Ditto.. I haven't followed the latest Dell models, but the ones a few years back had to be modified to accept a standard mobo.. The connectors for all the front panel stuff, can be carefully hacked apart and put together pin by pin to fit.

Save yourself the headache and get a new nice case.
 
yeah, i really dont know if you are gonna be able to do this. Dell has used proprietary mobos and mounting hole placements on every computer they have made except the new xps 700 and 710 lines. You are not going to be able put an aftermarket mobo in your case without doing some MAJOR modification/fabrication of a mounting bracket and even then you will have to worry aboiut everything else (hdd, psu, opticals, and pci slots) line up right and not get in the way. I have an xps 600 and i am in the same boat as you. I am not entirely certain that this holds true for the gen4(cant think why it wouldnt) but for me the best cpu my system will support is the top of the line pentium d.

sorry but the only way you are gonna be able to get a c2d is pretty much building a whole new system using all your good parts from your XPS and combine them with some new parts(mobo, cpu, case, etc.)
 
Damn, those 700s look pretty sleek, too >_> Yeah, our cases look the exact same externally...no reason to think the inside would be much different. I love Dell systems to death--that's all we use at work for stations and servers, never regretted it--but I wish they started being flexible BEFORE 700.

Meh. This summer will be fun. I guess the only thing I'll use out of this case is the 8800GTS :p Looks like pretty much everything will be new...

Thanks for your input everyone! I came here looking to change out mobos/processor, looks like a lot of other things will change as well....
 
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