Is it possible to upgrade a Dell processor?

[jakobkraft]

I was wondering if anyone has done this successfully, and if so, was it difficult?

 

[Gunbuster]

If the CPU that was sold as an option in it's model line it should be no problem at all

 

[John]

Originally posted by: jakobkraft
I was wondering if anyone has done this successfully, and if so, was it difficult?

Absolutely. You have a Dimension 8200 w/ RDRAM, so look here for specs.

Intel® Pentium® 4 microprocessor

1.50, 1.60, 1.80, 1.90, 2.00, 2.20, or 2.40 GHz (400 MHz); or

2.26, 2.40, 2.53, 2.66, or 2.80 GHz (533 MHz)

 

[dexvx]

Originally posted by: John

Originally posted by: jakobkraft
I was wondering if anyone has done this successfully, and if so, was it difficult?

Absolutely. You have a Dimension 8200 w/ RDRAM, so look here for specs.

Intel® Pentium® 4 microprocessor

1.50, 1.60, 1.80, 1.90, 2.00, 2.20, or 2.40 GHz (400 MHz); or

2.26, 2.40, 2.53, 2.66, or 2.80 GHz (533 MHz)

Some of the initial revision 8200s can only take 400FSB procs (not validated for 533, but its definitely worth a try).

 

[jakobkraft]

Thanks for all the info, will definitely give it a shot


Also, how proprietary would it be, since I would like to grab the processor from someplace like newegg rather than Dell. If I abide by my FSB requirements and get the right model, would it be a problem?

 

[jakobkraft]

bump for someone eager to give newegg more of my money...

 

[bjc112]

Yes, most likely your board supports 533,

What speed is it right now?

If your below 2ghz grab a 2.4@ overclock it like no other

Oooooooor since you have a dell, you might want to grab the fastest CPU you can because your ram may be limiting you.

 

[dullard]

Originally posted by: bjc112
Yes, most likely your board supports 533,

What speed is it right now?

If your below 2ghz grab a 2.4@ overclock it like no other

Oooooooor since you have a dell, you might want to grab the fastest CPU you can because your ram may be limiting you.

I don't think overclocking a Dell is possible without a new motherboard. But maybe I'm wrong with that one.

The forums at Dell are full with posts of people upgrading their CPUs. So yes it is possible. That is a decent place to see if people have been having unexpected problems (BIOS related or whatever).

 

[bjc112]

Originally posted by: dullard

Originally posted by: bjc112
Yes, most likely your board supports 533,

What speed is it right now?

If your below 2ghz grab a 2.4@ overclock it like no other

Oooooooor since you have a dell, you might want to grab the fastest CPU you can because your ram may be limiting you.

I don't think overclocking a Dell is possible without a new motherboard. But maybe I'm wrong with that one.

The forums at Dell are full with posts of people upgrading their CPUs. So yes it is possible. That is a decent place to see if people have been having unexpected problems (BIOS related or whatever).

Really? I thought they would have some sort of FSB setting.. What about memory timings?

 

[DeviousTrap]

I'm not sure that you can buy just a CPU is you want to get with the 533mhz FSB. You would also need to upgrade your RAM as you seem to have PC800 (400Mhz.) I dont see any reason to buy a 533Mhz FSB processor only to run it with ram running at 400Mhz.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Originally posted by: DeviousTrap
I'm not sure that you can buy just a CPU is you want to get with the 533mhz FSB. You would also need to upgrade your RAM as you seem to have PC800 (400Mhz.) I dont see any reason to buy a 533Mhz FSB processor only to run it with ram running at 400Mhz.

Why not? It obviously won't get all the bandwidth it can use but it will still run the same in all the other situations where bandwidth isn't a bottleneck.

 

[dexvx]

Originally posted by: DeviousTrap
I'm not sure that you can buy just a CPU is you want to get with the 533mhz FSB. You would also need to upgrade your RAM as you seem to have PC800 (400Mhz.) I dont see any reason to buy a 533Mhz FSB processor only to run it with ram running at 400Mhz.

Doesnt matter, a 533FSB proc will engage the 3X Rambus multipler and be set down to 400Mhz again (3x133). RDRam has no memory timings, its all the same.

There are no known SofTFSB settings for Dell motherboards. To overclock, you have to do a hardware mod of the Pentium IV proc.

 

[Mloot]

If you get a CPU with the same fsb speed as your old one, then swapping is not a problem at all. Last winter I swapped out my celeron 1.7(400) for a P4 2.4(400) with no difficulties. The whole process took about 10 minutes, and likely would have been alot shorter if I wasn't a noob to working inside a pc.

The P4 has been rock solid and folding 24/7 ever since.


I would be more cautious of trying to place a 533 fsb CPU if you have a 400 fsb CPU right now. I frequent the Dell forums and I seem to remember several posts awhile back of people experiencing difficulties when they attempted that.

Good luck on your upgrade.

 

[bjc112]

Originally posted by: Mloot
If you get a CPU with the same fsb speed as your old one, then swapping is not a problem at all. Last winter I swapped out my celeron 1.7(400) for a P4 2.4(400) with no difficulties. The whole process took about 10 minutes, and likely would have been alot shorter if I wasn't a noob to working inside a pc.

The P4 has been rock solid and folding 24/7 ever since.


I would be more cautious of trying to place a 533 fsb CPU if you have a 400 fsb CPU right now. I frequent the Dell forums and I seem to remember several posts awhile back of people experiencing difficulties when they attempted that.

Good luck on your upgrade.

I would think it would work without issue, just throttle down to 400 mhz fsb.

Anyone?