Motherboard/CPU Question

[kingruss]

Hi Everyone,

 

Newbie here!

 

I currently have a rubbish PC:

Foxconn 6627MA-RS2H Mobo, Intel Celeron D 3.2GHZ CPU and 2gb OCZ DDR2 667 ram. the PC struggles with the most basic of tasks and I believe that upgrading the CPU will give me a boost - I don't game just browse web and watch films/play music.

 

I have seen the following CPU: INTEL PENTIUM DUAL CORE E5300

FSB is 800mhz which my mobo is capable of and both are socket LGA 775 and all other key things seem to be supported by the board.

 

I had a look on the mobo website to see if it is supported but couldn't see this one listed, I could see similar processors just earlier models of this one.

 

I would like to know if this processor will still work if I were to get it and install it.

 

Thanks in advance

 

Russ

[Synapse]

Personally I wouldn't install a CPU that isn't on the supported list. It may work just fine, but if it doesn't you have to take it out, sell it and buy one that is supported. For a £50 CPU swap it aint worth the hassle.

 

Get yourself an E4700, they are supported and the difference for real world computing will be minimal to not measureable. There's one on ebay as I type......

[kingruss]

Personally I wouldn't install a CPU that isn't on the supported list. It may work just fine, but if it doesn't you have to take it out, sell it and buy one that is supported. For a £50 CPU swap it aint worth the hassle.

 

Get yourself an E4700, they are supported and the difference for real world computing will be minimal to not measureable. There's one on ebay as I type......

 

 

so are you saying that changing the CPU won't make much difference?

 

the ones on Ebay are not new and don't come with Heatsink/fan, is the one I have on the Celeron OK to use?

 

Thanks for your response by the way

[Synapse]

Changing your existing CPU to E5300 or E4700 will speed up your system no end.

 

I was trying to explain that the difference between the CPU you chose, the E5300, and the E4700 which is a supported CPU, is minimal and so my choice would be for the sure bet E4700.

 

If it were mine I'd swap the cooler for a better quality one, but the old one should fit ok. You will need heatsink paste if you use your old cooler, and will have to clean the cooler mating face - ie make it perfectly clean before adding a thin layer of paste. New coolers come with a small sachet of paste or a layer already applied to the cooler base.

 

The other way to do it is Google a retail pack E4700, that comes boxed with a cooler, I think they are getting a bit thin on the ground now.

[kingruss]

Thanks a lot for that!

 

Will the performance of a used cpu still be as good as if I bought it new?

[Synapse]

Will the performance of a used cpu still be as good as if I bought it new?

 

Yes.

 

Obviously buying a used CPU has its dangers - I've had a few in the past and luckily can say there has never been a problem. I've bought second user motherboards from ebay and at times had lots of problems. Check the returns policy and if you use ebay, the feedback of the seller.

[Dalo Harkin]

You wont see any 'real world' performance with a dual core chip over the one you have, not in the tasks you mention its performing.

I would be looking at the root of the problem, has the PC always been slow since it was made/bought?

[Synapse]

Celeron D is way old technology and a look around the net agrees that a newer CPU will give a a performance, perhaps read as useability boost. Of course, there still may be another problem too.

[kingruss]

You wont see any 'real world' performance with a dual core chip over the one you have, not in the tasks you mention its performing.

I would be looking at the root of the problem, has the PC always been slow since it was made/bought?

 

 

It's never been great but has got noticeably slower, even with a format and fresh install and minimal programs installed. it also gets very hot performing basic tasks like flash games and has been known to shutdown due to the temperature.

[Dalo Harkin]

Personally, I would remove the heatsink, re apply thermal paste, get a decent uprated cooler like an arctic freezer 7*, whack that on and then look at updating the chipset drivers and all the other drivers from the Foxconn website.

 

*If you have an after market cooler already what make is it? - if its says Intel on top of it then chuck it in the bin or use it as a paper weight.

 

If its shutting down to heat then its not uncommon for the thermal paste to degrade over time, it should be reapplied every 2 or so years.

Have you checked that all the fans are clear and not clogged with dust? get some compressed air and go over them all anyway. short sharp burst as extended spraying causes moisture to build up and thats :eek:

 

I think with the above your PC will have a new lease of life :)

If you need help with anything more there is always someone here on a daily basis :D

 

Synapse - the PC is fit for purpose, you could get an i7 and a new MOBO and run Crossfire, but its no good if your favourite game is Pacman :D

[kingruss]

Hi Guys,

 

sorry for the lack in response!

 

I went and bought an E4700 and am waiting for it to arrive.

I currently do have the standard Intel heatsink and fan - I will clean the arctic silver off and get all the dust out of it and then apply some new paste and see how it goes temperature wise - if it is rubbish I will buy a different one.

 

Thanks for all your help!

[Synapse]

You should be ok with the heatsink as the newer Core 2 and Dual Core's run much cooler. It may be that you use that and go with a better one later on.

 

Please come back and let is know your experience with the new CPU :)

[kingruss]

You should be ok with the heatsink as the newer Core 2 and Dual Core's run much cooler. It may be that you use that and go with a better one later on.

 

Please come back and let is know your experience with the new CPU :)

 

 

Hey!

 

The new CPU works fine, a wierd issue I have though is that my graphics card stops the PC from booting, when I unplug the graphics card and use the onboard vga everything works fine.

 

I have had a look in the bios and can't see anything that would prevent this from working. it is strange because I can see the info on the screen with the graphics card plugged in, it just restarts before post. there are no beep codes either which is strange. any tips??

 

Cheers

[Synapse]

Try a BIOS reset by removing the power cord and then remove the BIOS battery for 30 seconds.

 

Put it back together, boot to the BIOS (you may need to be connected to onboard VGA first time around), disable onboard VGA, check your other settings and reboot to your video card ouput.