I need some help with CPU upgrade possibilities

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Hunter2451

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Jul 30, 2013
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I have a Dell Studio XPS 435t, it has an Intel i7-950 3.04ghz quad core with 14gb of RAM.

I would like to upgrade the CPU but the motherboard is so old that the i7-950 is about as good as it gets, and because Dell is Dell, the case and motherboard are proprietary so I can't just buy a new mobo without a case.

What I want to do is buy a motherboard and case, along with a better CPU, and transfer all of my current components (GPU, RAM, etc) to the new case. But I am new to building PC's so I don't know if my RAM will be compatible with the new motherboard or if I'll have to buy different fans/power supplies, etc.

Here are the specs of my current PC:
Stock Dell Studio XPS 435t motherboard
Intel i7-950 3.06ghz quad core
EVGA Geforce GTX 660 Signature2 FTW (2gb)
Two 1TB HDD's
14GB (I believe it's DDR3) RAM

What do you guys recommend I do? Any help would be greatly appreciated, and I apologize if this question doesn't make sense.
 
Solution
wildfire707
According to Dell, that is DDR3, but 1066 was the fastest speed they offered. The memory probably would work in a new setup, but it would severely slow down the CPU as newer system expect DDR3 1600. Also keep in mind that newer setups use dual channel or quad channel memory, and your system may be using three channel memory (15GB?).

If your hard drives are SATA and not SAS, you can use them in a new system. Your video card will be good as well (of course).
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GorfTheFrog

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Hi -

The question makes complete sense. You're trying to make the most of your older components, for which you've already paid, and carry these forward into a newer, upgraded system. Did I hit the mark?

Making some assumptions about your setup, if you are in the i7-950 as your base, then chances are that the new CPU/MOBO combination will be more advanced than your existing components. Oh, the components will probably be compatible, but you'll never reach the performance potential that you might with new RAM, disk, GPU, etc.

May I ask why you want to upgrade? Or asked another way - after you complete your upgrade, what is it that you'll be able to do that you can't do now?

Knowing your objective will help us to recommend a solution.


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Hunter2451

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Jul 30, 2013
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Spot on! Thanks for the great reply.
It's a gaming PC, and lately my PC has been struggling to run the newest games, even on the lower settings (More specifically, Titanfall and Battlefield 4). I have an EVGA GeForce 660 Signature2 FTW, so everything runs smoothly until the game server starts getting full, so I'm being bottlenecked by my CPU, that's why I wish to upgrade it. I'm going to update my post with my current full specs.
 
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wildfire707

wildfire707

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Dec 29, 2011
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According to Dell, that is DDR3, but 1066 was the fastest speed they offered. The memory probably would work in a new setup, but it would severely slow down the CPU as newer system expect DDR3 1600. Also keep in mind that newer setups use dual channel or quad channel memory, and your system may be using three channel memory (15GB?).

If your hard drives are SATA and not SAS, you can use them in a new system. Your video card will be good as well (of course).
 
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Solution
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Hunter2451

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Jul 30, 2013
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Would the CPU upgrade even be worth it with the RAM only being 1066?
 
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wildfire707

wildfire707

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Probably not. Of course, it is only about $90 for an 8GB (2 x 4GB) memory kit or $170 for a 16GB kit (2 x 8GB). You could also add an identical kit in the future, if you purchase it soon, so you could start with 8GB and go to 16GB for your final setup.
 
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