Looking for a good compatible processor upgrade.. any suggestions?

So im looking for a compatible processor upgrade for my old Dell XPS 410. It currently holds the Core 2 Duo E6300..
I am limited to buying only from newegg.com and all I can see thats on the list is the E6700 but its the wolfdale model.. would this be compatible? I was also looking at the wolfdale E7500 and E7600 series.. just trying to see if anyone has had any luck with these in a XPS410.. I want to get the best upgrade possible and I know there are more processors that work besides whats on their compatibility list which Ive attached below.

Thanks for any help!

this is dells list of compatible processors for the XPS 410 with the BIOS update:

PR173 Presler P4 915, 2.80G, 2X2MB, 800FSB, D0
UY273 Presler P4 915, 2.08G, 2X2MB, 800FSB, C1
YW816 Presler P4 925, 3.00G, 2X2MB, 800FSB, D0
XJ848 Presler P4 930, 3.00G, 2X2MB, 800FSB, C1
PU963 Presler PD 935, 3.20G, 2X2MB, 800FSB, D0
DK050 Presler P4 940, 3.20G, 2X2MB, 800FSB, C1
RT922 Presler P4 945, 3.40G, 2X2MB, 800FSB, C1
UJ776 Presler P4 950, 3.40G, 2X2MB, 800FSB, C1
CJ163 Presler P4 960, 3.60G, 2x2MB, 800FSB, B1

DK593 Cedar Mill 631, 3.00G, 2MB, 800FSB, C1
PN407 Cedar Mill 641, 3.20G, 2MB, 800FSB, D0
PY394 Cedar Mill 641, 3.20G, 2MB, 800FSB, C1
KU339 Cedar Mill 651, 3.40G, 2MB, 800FSB, D0
PY395 Cedar Mill 651, 3.40G, 2MB, 800FSB, C1
DK594 Cedar Mill 661, 3.60G, 2MB, 800FSB, C1
DT883 Cedar Mill 661, 3.60G, 2MB, 800FSB, D0

HU587 Conroe E4300, 1.80G, 2MB, 800FSB, L2
DX483 Conroe E4400, 2.00G, 2MB, 800FSB, L2
RX522 Conroe E4400, 2.00G, 2MB, 800FSB, M0
DT893 Conroe E6300, 1.86G, 2MB, 1066FSB, B2
DU362 Conroe E6300, 1.86G, 2MB, 1066FSB, L2
DX485 Conroe E6320, 1.86G, 4MB, 1066FSB, B2
DU361 Conroe E6400, 2.13G, 2MB, 1066FSB, L2
KN977 Conroe E6400, 2.13G, 2MB, 1066FSB, B2
DX484 Conroe E6420, 2.13G, 4MB, 1066FSB, B2
KU345 Conroe E6600, 2.40G, 4MB, 1066FSB, B2
PN416 Conroe E6700, 2.66G, 4MB, 1066FSB, B2
WM543 Conroe XE X6800, 2.93G, 4MB, 1066FSB, B2

FG941 Smithfield P4 820, 2.80G, 2MB, 800FSB, Mainstream, B0
UY272 Smithfield P4 805, 2.66G, 2X1MB, 533FSB, B0

HU585 Kentsfield Quad Core Q6600, 2.40G, 8MB, 1066FSB, B30
MP626 Kentsfield Quad Core Q6600, 2.40G, 8MB, 1066FSB, G0

UT713 Prescott P4 531, 3.0G, 800FSB, 1MB, ALT, G1
UT714 Prescott P4 541, 3.2G, 800FSB, 1MB, ALT, G1
UY274 Prescott P4 524, 3.06G, 1MB, 533FSB, G1


thanks guys!
 
The Q6600 seems the most future proof to me? but does Newegg sell it? sorry, not had a look at the site so, probably would be a good starting place.
 
The entire list you've shown is ancient history. If you can lay your hands on any of the Conroes, you should. The rest is just asking for poor performance.

As to whether you can just slap any old (new) CPU in your machine, frankly, I doubt it. Anything newer is 45nm process, and they probably won't work correctly without a compatible BIOS update.
 
Captain has a point, maybe you should look into a new motherboard as well as a proccessor?
 
unfortunately I couldnt find the Q6600 on there it was one of my first choices.. I originally ordered a Q9550 but apparently that was way out of my pcs capabilities.. which sucks.. Im really debating on possibly the E6700 which is all I could find on their site.. do you think it would be compatible even though its the wolfdale version? and would I even notice a difference?

Im pretty savvy but havent swapped motherboards before.. is it a difficult process? Also do you know what kind of motherboard I would need for the Dell XPS 410.. ?
 
I don't think the Wolfdale will be compatible with your motherboard as it is a 45nm chip. The Conroes were all 65nm.
 
.....[ ]... Im really debating on possibly the E6700 which is all I could find on their site.. do you think it would be compatible even though its the wolfdale version? and would I even notice a difference?
As Ritwik pointed out, that's not happening. Intel resurrected both the "Pentium" name, and the "E6700" part number, presumably just to confuse people, or simply because they could. The E6700 Pentium (Wolfdale), requires a LATER BIOS, than many of its contemporary CPUs, since it was one of, if not the very latest Wolfdale release. Simply put, if your board is more than about 1 1/2 years old, then you would need to update the BIOS. Your Conroe & board is pushing 4 (?).

Im pretty savvy but havent swapped motherboards before.. is it a difficult process? Also do you know what kind of motherboard I would need for the Dell XPS 410.. ?
Swapping a board, or for that matter, building from scratch is not really difficult, as long as you take great care with anti-static issues, and mounting those damnable Intel heat sinks. I don't have trouble with them, but many people complain bitterly about that task. I must be noted, that they all have higher technical ability than me, so perhaps being under qualified is a virtue.

The one other problem that nobody's mentioned thus far, is that your board has DDR2 RAM. DDR3 has become the standard, and accordingly, your RAM will probably have to go as well.

Personally, I wouldn't even consider upgrading an LGA775 socket package, period.
Even the lowliest of the "Core i3" series (530) will run rings around most any of the LGA775 processors, unless they're massively over-clocked. But then, they can be overclocked massively themselves! (The i3 series are hyper-threading, so they act like a quad anyway).

Anyway here's my suggestion for an upgrade path. The board is MATX form factor, so everything else from the Dell would be usable, including the case.

CPU; http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115221&cm_re=i3-540-_-19-115-221-_-Product (If you are near a "Microcenter", the i3-540 is always on sale for $99.95, on a walk-in basis only)

Motherboard; http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...421&cm_re=Gigabyte_H55-_-13-128-421-_-Product

Memory; http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...e=gskill_ddr3_1333_4gb-_-20-231-189-_-Product

The Core i3 series has built in graphics, inside the processor. I don't know what video card your Dell has, but whatever card it has would be usable also. If you do have an add-in video card, you can bump the memory speed up to DDR3-1600, with this set; http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231193

Your PSU, although it's getting on in years, would be usable also, as the i3-540 uses much less power than the LGA775 CPUs, since it's 32nm process. (about 27 watts at idle). That being said, it might be time to replace your PSU anyway, even if you maintain the system you have now.
 
the q6600 would be your only option. To help us help you more, we would really need to know the chipset of your motherboard. My guess would be that it is an Intel 965 chipset, and the q6600 would be your best option.
 
unfortunately I couldnt find the Q6600 on there it was one of my first choices.. I originally ordered a Q9550 but apparently that was way out of my pcs capabilities.. which sucks..

the q6600 would be your only option. To help us help you more, we would really need to know the chipset of your motherboard. My guess would be that it is an Intel 965 chipset, and the q6600 would be your best option.

Try and keep up there speedy. :rolleyes:

Although, Intel 965 is probably what he has. That said, even if our OP were to find a Q6600 for sale, it would likely be at Ebay or some other place you might be better served not doing business with.

The fact remains, with a BIOS that's locked, and no further upgrades available, it's time for a new board. The Q-6600 would only be better than the E6300 (Conroe), under certain circumstances anyway. Either CPU is reasonably potent, but would require over-clocking to barely keep up with today's offerings running at stock speeds. Again, with that said, over-clocking would require another motherboard. Boards with Intel P-45 chipsets should run either of those CPUs out of the box, with the shipping BIOS

Keep in mind that nothing has been said about why "dreamtildead" wants to upgrade the CPU. "Because I want to", is good enough for me. But, you must bear in mind, with most apps, you won't notice the difference. If gaming is the issue, then slapping a better video card in this machine might be the way to go.
 
ok so I was looking at the q6600 and the x6800 (extreme).. theyre both on the compatible list.. my questions is that the wattage is different.. the q6600 shows that its 105W, the x6800 is 75W and my current E6300 is 65W .. Would my current heat sink be fine? or would I need one of those newer heat sink fan units? also which would I be better off with? I do a lot of gaming but I also multitask like crazy on my pc.. and it gets bogged down a lot when im extracting and transferring large amounts of big files.. but if the extreme one is going to be better for gaming ill definately go that route.
 
The Q6800 would make you the envy of every kid on the block, if this was October 10th, 2007.

That said; here's a CPU test report; http://techreport.com/articles.x/18448 Take note, that the Core 13-530 blows the Q6600 away in many of the tests, despite it being a lowly, 100 dollar, bottom of the line CPU.

With that in mind, do whatever you like, you win, I quit.
 
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