Upgrade Intel Core 2 Duo 2.8GHz, Socket LGA775?

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I have a pc whose specs are here:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4634334&CatId=2639

The pc is devoted exclusively to a DAW and is used in audio & music recording applications. In some ways I am reaching the limits of this machine, specifically cpu and disc usage. I have a number of questions regarding the upgradability of this pc to pose to this wonderful forum. I am trying to assess whether to upgrade or purchase / build a new pc.

The 1st: the processor is an Intel Core 2 Duo 2.8GHz, Socket LGA775, E7400. Can I upgrade this processor / socket?

Caveat: I used to build pcs but since ~2003 have fallen woefully out of date / practice.

Thanks!

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You cannot upgrade the socket for that you need a new motherboard. But you can upgrade the CPU as long as it is for a socket LGA775. A Q6600 is a good one but there are many others even higher specs. Amazon.co.uk do many versions of socket 775 processors. Such as this one.
Depends on how much you want to spend as processors are not cheap. Probably can get same on amazon.com for USA.

May be worth investing in a new motherboard bundle with the later processors as they can be as cheap as just the processor but come with memory, cooling, etc and are fully tested. Not sure who does motherboard bundles in USA but Novatech do them in UK.

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You cannot upgrade the socket for that you need a new motherboard. But you can upgrade the CPU as long as it is for a socket LGA775. A Q6600 is a good one but there are many others even higher specs. Amazon.co.uk do many versions of socket 775 processors. Such as this one.
Depends on how much you want to spend as processors are not cheap. Probably can get same on amazon.com for USA.

May be worth investing in a new motherboard bundle with the later processors as they can be as cheap as just the processor but come with memory, cooling, etc and are fully tested. Not sure who does motherboard bundles in USA but Novatech do them in UK.

My HP support page states the following:

Motherboard supports the following processor upgrades:

[*]Intel Core 2 Quad (Y) Q9xxxx
[*]Intel Core 2 Duo (W) E8xxx
[*]Intel Core 2 Quad (K) up to Q6600
[*]Core 2 Duo E6x00 (C) up to E6700
[*]Core 2 Duo E4x00 (C) up to E4400

Since the “Q” processor is not listed, does that imply even tho the processor you list is an LGA 775 processor, it is not supported or is it rather, that my HP product page is simply outdated, perhaps prepared prior to the “Q” processors?

Am I to gather that as long as it is a Socket 775, it will work or are there other motherboard limitations?

Thanks again!

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Motherboard supports the following processor upgrades:

Intel Core 2 Quad (Y) Q9xxxx

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650 Yorkfield 3.0GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Desktop

CliNT’s suggestion looks valid according to your HP quote.

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Motherboard supports the following processor upgrades:

[*]Intel Core 2 Quad (Y) Q9xxxx

[*]Intel Core 2 Quad (K) up to Q6600

Both of these Q type are in your list. Note the (Y) (K) designation which I think means it is overclock-able or not but not sure.

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You might be able to upgrade to an Intel quad core CPU at 3Ghz, You might also see some decent performance increase with a solid state drive, and on your RAM.

If you can still find this CPU, it’s a very decent upgrade:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650 Yorkfield 3.0GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Desktop

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Go to the manufacturer website (HP) of your computer, track down and read the BIOS version upgrade information sheet.
These will usually tell you what socket 775 processors are supported, unequivocally.

I’d be very suprised if it didn’t support yours.

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Go to the manufacturer website (HP) of your computer, track down and read the BIOS version upgrade information sheet.
These will usually tell you what socket 775 processors are supported, unequivocally.

I’d be very suprised if it didn’t support yours.

OK I think I see now, I misread my own HP info. So for Quads, I can do either Yorkfield Q9xxxx or the K (whatever that is) up to Q6600.

So now my question becomes, what is apropos among this page:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_n_1?rh=n%3A172282%2Cn%3A%21493964%2Cn%3A541966%2Ck%3Alga+775%2Cn%3A193870011%2Cn%3A229189&bbn=193870011&keywords=lga+775&ie=UTF8&qid=1335811096&rnid=193870011#/ref=sr_nr_p_n_feature_four_bro_2?rh=n%3A172282%2Cn%3A%21493964%2Cn%3A541966%2Ck%3Alga+775%2Cn%3A193870011%2Cn%3A229189%2Cp_n_feature_keywords_three_browse-bin%3A5273494011%2Cp_n_feature_four_browse-bin%3A1264417011&bbn=229189&keywords=lga+775&ie=UTF8&qid=1335811207&rnid=676578011

(Whew, that is a long link!)

As I look through this page I find:

http://www.amazon.com/Intel-Q6600-Quad-Core-Processor-Cache/dp/B000LRMR26/ref=sr_1_23?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1335811519&sr=1-23

This is the [h=1]Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Quad-Core Processor, 2.40 GHz, 8M L2 Cache, LGA 775 [/h]Which must be the Intel Core 2 Quad (K) up to Q6600. In other words, the best I can do in this group.

So my Question: Is this a big performance upgrade, ie going from a Intel Core 2 Duo E7400. I don’t know the difference in performance between a duo and a quad.

Just as an FYI, my DAW is hitting cpu usage >30 – 40% prior to mixing (ie before plugins where the real hit comes in) so I am interested in a hefty boost for a reasonable price ($159 for the above). DAW starts crashing at levels jsut above this.

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So for Quads, I can do either Yorkfield Q9xxxx or the K (whatever that is) up to Q6600.

For the Intel i5 and i7, at least, I understand that a ‘K’ at the end means that they are overclocKable! So perhaps the same meaning applies to the Q9xxxx series? I don’t think my Q8300 is overclockable…

BATcher

Plethora means a lot to me.

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For the Intel i5 and i7, at least, I understand that a ‘K’ at the end means that they are overclocKable! So perhaps the same meaning applies to the Q9xxxx series? I don’t think my Q8300 is overclockable…

I see now K is for codename Kentsfield

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OK I found most of what I need to know at http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/processors/processor-numbers.html and http://ark.intel.com/. I guess what I am lacking is how much of a performance boost will I get from “any” upgrade and, I suppose, that depends on my DAW software Cakewalk Sonar and associated vst’s.

Thank you everyone. I’m upgrading to a 2nd internal drive now, maxing my system out at 8 GB RAM (from 6) and will followup with a cpu upgrade if my system is still up against a wall when I approach 60 + tracks per project.

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OK I found most of what I need to know at http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/processors/processor-numbers.html and http://ark.intel.com/. I guess what I am lacking is how much of a performance boost will I get from “any” upgrade and, I suppose, that depends on my DAW software Cakewalk Sonar and associated vst’s.

Thank you everyone. I’m upgrading to a 2nd internal drive now, maxing my system out at 8 GB RAM (from 6) and will followup with a cpu upgrade if my system is still up against a wall when I approach 60 + tracks per project.

Hope your OS & computer is 64bit or you won’t be able to use all that ram.

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The processor upgrade to the Core 2 Quad at 3Ghz alone will be a modest overall performance increase over what you have now.
But add up all your planned upgrades and you’ll end up with a fairly responsive system.

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As the info says, the ‘Q9xxx Y’ chips are fine.

I think the caveat is for Q8xxx series chips, which use a FSB speed of 1333MHz, as opposed to Q9xxx, which use a 1066MHz FSB.
The faster 1333 bus speed appeared towards the end of Core 2 series, so a lot of MB’s seem to be 1066 only.
As is the case with your board, unless there is a BIOS upgrade, but I doubt it.

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Am I to imply from this discussion that XP can run on a quad without getting hopelessly confused? Has anybody actually done this?

:huh:

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Yes, I’ve run XP on a quad. No big deal.
Not as efficient at utilization of all the cores, but can be done without problems.
The above processor (Q9650) ran my XP system for a year or two until I moved up to Windows 7.

The Q9650 will have a locked multiplier, so no multiplier overclocking possile. If the OP’s bus speed on his board
is less than 1333MHz, that’ll eat into the performance of the Q9650.

The Q9650 was part of a home build of mine I did a few years back when XP was still the dominant os.
You gotto make sure the rest of your hardware is up to snuff (board with a default 1333 bus speed) at some point
a simple component upgrade won’t be enough.

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OK, you can get a fair idea how your E7400 cpu compares to several quad-core cpus by using the benchmarks at http://www.anandtech.com . Along the top of the main Anandtech window click on “BENCH”. Now locate “CPU Product Benchmarks” heading. Here you can click the drop-down menu and select either the E7200 or E7500 cpu, then for the second cpu select one of the Core2Duo Quad-core models such as Q6600 or Q9650. Then select “Compare”. There’s a bunch of standard benchmarks here that compare performance of the two chosen cpu’s. A couple of the benchmarks are audio-related. Several more are video/audio. On some bar graphs “Higher is better” while on others “Lower is better” so take note of that when comparing the performance.

A couple of your statements worry me. You said “In some ways I am reaching the limits of this machine, specifically cpu and disc usage.” Can you explain the “disc usage” part, please?

Also, you said “….. my DAW is hitting cpu usage >30 – 40% prior to mixing (ie before plugins where the real hit comes in)….. DAW starts crashing at levels jsut above this.” Why is your work station crashing? Do you get any error messages on screen? Does it say “low on memory” or “not enough disc space”? Usually when you push the system hard for mixing/rendering/converting what happens is that cpu usage goes to 100% (or near that) and the work takes a long while to complete, but it should NOT crash your application/program or cause Windows to crash. Is the system overheating? (You could try doing some heavy work with the side panel removed for open ventilation as long as you don’t touch anything inside the case, of course.) What I’m getting at is if there’s a real problem with your software or Windows then upgrading your cpu and increasing the amount of RAM memory will not cure the problem at all ! A more powerful cpu and extra memory will allow the work to be completed faster but not if the system is crashing, you see?

Is there a chance you have a bad memory stick? You can run Windows memory test or a free third party memory tester to check if the memory is OK. Is there a chance the heatsink/fan on your cpu and/or your power supply is overheating because it’s clogged with dust or dirt? You can use a can of compressed air to blow the dust from the thin metal fins of the cpu +heatsink and blast air through the vent slots of the power supply from inside the case. For these chores be sure to remove the power cord first!

Finally, considering how much a Q9650 will cost, you might want to think about selling your computer and build or buy a new one. Using a Core i5 or Core i7 cpu with 12GB or 16GB or more of DDR3 memory the performance will completely blow away your existing system … completely!! If you decide to build be sure to avoid using a cheapo brand-X power supply. Also, your chosen motherboard will have a list at their website of “qualified” (i.e. verified) memory for that board. Finally, an SSD can read/write much faster than a regular hard drive and is a desirable option but at much higher cost than a regular drive. Don’t skimp on other components just to squeeze an SSD into your budget. A fast cpu and lots and lots of memory is more important.

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great pc brow

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In my opinion a 250 watt power supply is not powerful enough and may cause more problems problems after upgrading to a higher performance CPU and ram. I would replace that with at least a 450 watt PSU.
This is more likely to be the cause of your crashing as if supply is reaching its limit it will cause issues that may result in freezing and crashing due to voltages dropping on CPU and memory and other components.

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Good find and comments Clive, a 250W PSU would be borderline for the original spec. of that computer even when new. Good quality 450+W would be my target as well – poor quality/overstressed PSU’s can, and do, kill data and drives too!

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Good point guys, definitely not worth upgrading if you don’t have the power to do it, and a 250W PSU is just not going to cut it.

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