Can I upgrade my processor to the new Dual Core Duo 2

edited October 2006 in Hardware
Current Specs
Pentium 4 3.0Ghz Prescott
CPU Package Type 775 Contact LGA
BIOS Type Phoenix (03/03/06) [ BIOS ]

BIOS Properties:
Vendor Dell Inc.
Version A08
Release Date 03/03/2006
Size 512 KB
Boot Devices Floppy Disk, Hard Disk, CD-ROM, LS-120
Capabilities Flash BIOS, Shadow BIOS, Selectable Boot, EDD, BBS
Supported Standards DMI, APM, ACPI, PnP
Expansion Capabilities PCI, USB

Processor Properties:
Manufacturer Intel
External Clock 800 MHz
Maximum Clock 4000 MHz
Current Clock 3000 MHz
Type Central Processor
Voltage 1.7 V
Status Enabled
Upgrade ZIF
Socket Designation Microprocessor

Motherboard Properties:
Motherboard ID <DMI>
Motherboard Name Dell OptiPlex GX280

Front Side Bus Properties:
Bus Type Intel NetBurst
Bus Width 64-bit
Real Clock 200 MHz (QDR)
Effective Clock 800 MHz
Bandwidth 6400 MB/s

Memory Bus Properties:
Bus Type Dual DDR2 SDRAM
Bus Width 128-bit
Real Clock 200 MHz (DDR)
Effective Clock 400 MHz
Bandwidth 6400 MB/s

Chipset Bus Properties:
Bus Type Intel Direct Media Interface

Motherboard Manufacturer:
Company Name Dell Computer Corporation
Product Information http://www.dell.com
BIOS Download http://support.dell.com

Is there a way that I can have the Real Clock of my RAM go up to 400mhz instead of 200mhz and for my front side bus go up to 800Mhz instead of 200Mhz.

I would like to upgrade to the:
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz 4M sharing L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail

and probably add 2 more GB of DDR2 ram to my system to have a total of 4GBs of RAM.

Want to increase my hard drive space to
160GB
320GB
320GB
500GB (add this drive to the collection for data storage, for my 3d renders, and photoshop work)

Yeah that's almost 1.5TB or storage. I am starting to run out :( I need to reformat my computer but I wanted to upgrade the processor and everything so it will be seen for the fresh install.

Also does anyone know where to find the Everest Home Edition setup file. I can't find mine on my pc anymore. (It gives you really nice detailed system information)

Comments

  • edited October 2006
    Current Specs
    Pentium 4 3.0Ghz Prescott
    CPU Package Type 775 Contact LGA
    BIOS Type Phoenix (03/03/06) [ BIOS ]

    BIOS Properties:
    Vendor Dell Inc.
    Version A08
    Release Date 03/03/2006
    Size 512 KB
    Boot Devices Floppy Disk, Hard Disk, CD-ROM, LS-120
    Capabilities Flash BIOS, Shadow BIOS, Selectable Boot, EDD, BBS
    Supported Standards DMI, APM, ACPI, PnP
    Expansion Capabilities PCI, USB

    Processor Properties:
    Manufacturer Intel
    External Clock 800 MHz
    Maximum Clock 4000 MHz
    Current Clock 3000 MHz
    Type Central Processor
    Voltage 1.7 V
    Status Enabled
    Upgrade ZIF
    Socket Designation Microprocessor

    Motherboard Properties:
    Motherboard ID <DMI>
    Motherboard Name Dell OptiPlex GX280

    Front Side Bus Properties:
    Bus Type Intel NetBurst
    Bus Width 64-bit
    Real Clock 200 MHz (QDR)
    Effective Clock 800 MHz
    Bandwidth 6400 MB/s

    Memory Bus Properties:
    Bus Type Dual DDR2 SDRAM
    Bus Width 128-bit
    Real Clock 200 MHz (DDR)
    Effective Clock 400 MHz
    Bandwidth 6400 MB/s

    Chipset Bus Properties:
    Bus Type Intel Direct Media Interface

    Motherboard Manufacturer:
    Company Name Dell Computer Corporation
    Product Information http://www.dell.com
    BIOS Download http://support.dell.com

    Is there a way that I can have the Real Clock of my RAM go up to 400mhz instead of 200mhz and for my front side bus go up to 800Mhz instead of 200Mhz.

    I would like to upgrade to the:
    Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz 4M sharing L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail

    and probably add 2 more GB of DDR2 ram to my system to have a total of 4GBs of RAM.

    Want to increase my hard drive space to
    160GB
    320GB
    320GB
    500GB (add this drive to the collection for data storage, for my 3d renders, and photoshop work)

    Yeah that's almost 1.5TB or storage. I am starting to run out :( I need to reformat my computer but I wanted to upgrade the processor and everything so it will be seen for the fresh install.

    Optiplex GX280 is from 2004, it is a little old to have the upgrade compatibility with Core 2. Although I am not optimistic you can only be sure by checking with Dell. But, Dell usually prefers to sell a new computer instead of enabling upgrades. If you confirm with Dell that upgrade is not an option, keep an eye on this company, they might come up with an upgrade kit in the future.
    www.powerleap.com
    These guys came up with many upgrade kits in the past.

    Since Dell does not have any FSB settings in the BIOS, you can try clockgen to play with FSB, PCI, and RAM settings.
  • Sledgehammer70Sledgehammer70 California Icrontian
    edited October 2006
    I am pretty sure the Core 2 Duo will plop in that system... as it is a 775 LGA socket. I would suggest you might want to check out the bios updates from Phoenix and see if they support the new chips... along with call Dell and ask them
  • edited October 2006
    I am pretty sure the Core 2 Duo will plop in that system... as it is a 775 LGA socket. Might want to check out the bios updfates from Phoenix and see if they support the new chips...

    Socket compatibility does not guarantee the upgrade, e.g. many old socket 478 boards produced for Northwood did not support the new socket 478 Prescott chips. I would not risk burning out a Core-2 chip by testing in the socket. Maybe I am too cautious, but if it is tested, I am curious to see the result :)
  • Sledgehammer70Sledgehammer70 California Icrontian
    edited October 2006
    Hence why i said check the Phoenix Bios release notes and see if they added support.

    You can also give dell a call they "might " be able to help you....
  • edited October 2006
    No, that Dell isn't upgradable to any dual core processor, be it netburst based such as the 8xx or 9xx families or the Core 2 Duo series of processors. That board uses the i915 chipset, which is not dual core capable. Intel, in their infinite wisdom :rolleyes:, specifically left out dual core or dual processor capability out of the i915 and i925 chipsets to keep motherboard manufacturers from building cheaper dual processor boards using a cheaper consumer grade chipset rather than their pricey server grade stuff. Quite a few motherboard manufacturers had built dual processor motherboards based on the i875 chipset, which evidently must have upset Intel because that robbed them of server class chipset sales, which are much more profitable. But this came back to bite Intel in the ass when AMD was getting ready to introduce dual core processor because the i915 and i925 chipsets could only control 1 processor core, which made Intel do a respin of both chipsets and you see them as their present dual core capable chipsets such as the i945 and 975X chipsets.

    And Sledge, you have to check on stuff before giving advice such as that, man. If he drops a C2D into that board it could very well fry both mobo and proc. Remember, this is Intel we are talking about and Intel doesn't like to give you much future upgradeability in anything they sell. :rolleyes:

    As for you memory and fsb speed go PP, your system is already running at the proper frequencies. The 800 MHz system bus is merely a 200 fsb that is quad pumped (Intel architecture for the interconnect between proc and MCH) and DDR memory is double pumped (2 operations per clock cycle).
  • edited October 2006
    muddocktor wrote:
    No, that Dell isn't upgradable to any dual core processor, be it netburst based such as the 8xx or 9xx families or the Core 2 Duo series of processors. That board uses the i915 chipset, which is not dual core capable. Intel, in their infinite wisdom :rolleyes:, specifically left out dual core or dual processor capability out of the i915 and i925 chipsets to keep motherboard manufacturers from building cheaper dual processor boards using a cheaper consumer grade chipset rather than their pricey server grade stuff. Quite a few motherboard manufacturers had built dual processor motherboards based on the i875 chipset, which evidently must have upset Intel because that robbed them of server class chipset sales, which are much more profitable. But this came back to bite Intel in the ass when AMD was getting ready to introduce dual core processor because the i915 and i925 chipsets could only control 1 processor core, which made Intel do a respin of both chipsets and you see them as their present dual core capable chipsets such as the i945 and 975X chipsets.

    And Sledge, you have to check on stuff before giving advice such as that, man. If he drops a C2D into that board it could very well fry both mobo and proc. Remember, this is Intel we are talking about and Intel doesn't like to give you much future upgradeability in anything they sell. :rolleyes:

    As for you memory and fsb speed go PP, your system is already running at the proper frequencies. The 800 MHz system bus is merely a 200 fsb that is quadf pumped (Intel architecture for the interconnect between proc and MCH) and DDR memory is double pumped (2 operations per clock cycle).

    Good research and perfect help muddocktor :thumbsup:
    I did not even notice that the chipset was 915, maybe I should not try to help while you guys are doing this.
  • edited October 2006
    Hey, all help is welcome in researching these kinds of things, mirage. It helps a bunch that Dell at least keeps an extensive online help selection on their systems that they sell. Much better than HP for one. That is one reason why I prefer Dell over HP for a prebuilt system. Both are crap for component selection and help from an actual human, but Dell's web documentation is great for their systems whereas HP's sucks donkey nads.
  • Sledgehammer70Sledgehammer70 California Icrontian
    edited October 2006
    I don't see any miss guiding... I said check the new Bios and call Dell? I didn't say drop a CPU in and see if it works...
  • edited October 2006
    I don't see any miss guiding... I said check the new Bios and call Dell? I didn't say drop a CPU in and see if it works...

    I am pretty sure the Core 2 Duo will plop in that system... as it is a 775 LGA socket.

    Yes, you did say to check and see for a bios upgrade or call Dell, but some folks wouldn't read past the quoted statement. :)

    Remember Sledge, this is Intel we are talking about. The same folks that gave us RDRAM and several different chipset designs incompatible with future processors. You really have to watch these things with Intel based stuff; much more so than with chipsets designed for AMD. While Intel can turn out some excellent products, they will also milk their fanboys for every nickel they can on upgrades. ;) :rolleyes2:
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