CPU upgrade

[PooleGooner]

I have a Foxconn 945 purchased as a bundle with a P4 3Ghz last year. I understand they support Core 2 Duo CPUs, what is the highest spec CPU I can put in it? (and is it worth the effort?)

[matz]

the highest spec would be the newer wolfdales
if your on a budget the E6750 is your best bet, you also might need bios update

for £160 ish you can get E8400 Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 LGA775 'Wolfdale' 3.00GHz
its all about precerience

are you a gamer? higher fsb and high cores are better

[Coops]

We are going to need to know exactly what 945 Mainboard you have.

If you know the stock code of your product you bought or your order number we can have a look,

Early 945 Chipset designs do not support Core 2 Duo at all.

Later 945 designs support 1066FSB Core 2 Duo. ( Conroe based )

There is only a couple of 945 Chip revisions that support 1333 FSB CPU (Wolfdale) and these are obviously brand new boards being sold now so your board will not support these at all.

Once we know the exact board you have we can provide a better idea of supported CPU.

[PooleGooner]

The order no. is 3893176 and the order code BB-P453151

Thanks for your help

[Coops]

Ok that product according to my information is not 945 Chipset.

It is SIS 661 Chipset

Going by the information i have this product does not support Core 2 Duo.

Based up on what you have already against what it supports there is no viable upgrade i could recommend CPU wise.

Could it be the wrong model code?? You have bought some other product from us including a barebone that did have 945GZ Chipset. The barebone was bought summer of last year. The order information you gave me above was ordered in late 2006.

But if the information you just provided is for the product you intend to upgrade then there is nothing i can recommend.

Regards

[matz]

unlucky, i think you might need a MSI P35 neo2 FR motherboard
this motherboard is cheap and at good quality with nice heatpipes
its a way you can get one of the latest CPU's

[PooleGooner]

Sorry, my mistake.

The order was BB-CD3251 and I am sure it has a foxconn 945 xxxx motherboard.

[Coops]

Ok yep if it is this one that changes things.

BB-CD3251 has Foxconn 945GZ7MC Mainboard

This board does not Support 1333 or 1066 based CPU so therefore cannot support E6xxx or E8xxx or Quad CPU.

It supports:

Conroe Based Celerons using 800 FSB ( 400,420,440 etc)
Core 2 Duo E4xxx Series using 800FSB (E4300, E4400, E4500 etc)
Pentium Dual Core E2xxx using 800FSB (E2140,E2160 etc)
Pentium D 8xx and 9xx Series using 800FSB ( D925,D935,D945 etc)

You will also need to make sure that your board is flashed up to the latest BIOS as the board may need that to support some of the above CPU correctly.

Hope that helps.

Regards

[matz]

i advise the P35 neo2 FR
its affordable and worth it, loads of people have the P35 chipset and its easy to overclock :P

[soptom]

i advise the P35 neo2 FR
its affordable and worth it, loads of people have the P35 chipset and its easy to overclock :P
He wants a new cpu for his existing motherboard, not a new board.

[matz]

E4500 maybe?

[PooleGooner]

Thanks for all your help, I placed an order for an E4600 which I will install this evening. It could be fun flashing the BIOS without a floppy drive though!

[matz]

how would you flash it then?
maybe a usb stick?
you might not even need it flashed
check your bios ;)

[PooleGooner]

Could not have been easier. Noticable improvement, thanks all

[Jonny2Bad]

That chip overclocks very well you should get at least 3ghz which will give a real power boost.