Help a newbie find the right CPU?

Ren_Li · Mar 11, 2016

I'll try to be brief. My other half recently bought an all-in-one desktop but neglected to do the research; I'm now upgrading it so I can use it for gaming, despite being completely uninformed myself.
Specifically (if it helps at all) I want to be able to play Dragon Age: Inquisition without it looking awful.

However, trying to find the "right" thing is mind-boggling, and then of course we factor in budget...
So, it came with an Intel Celeron cpu n3050 1.6ghz. Does that mean I can get any Intel processor?
Other than that, any suggestions? The rest of my computer is (obviously) not going to be top of the line, although I've got 16GB of RAM now, so I don't want to spend money on power I can't use. I'm not concerned about overclocking (I'm not even sure what that IS!) and I'm willing to go slightly cheaper and have to upgrade a little sooner down the line (where hopefully I'll have more of a clue what I'm doing.)
I'd like to keep it under £200 (or about the same USD) and I'd need to get a cooler for it, which is going to be an adventure all of it's own.
I'm running Windows 10. If it means anything to anyone the motherboard is HP 2b46 apparently.

Any suggestions or help would be appreciated because my mind is rather thoroughly boggled by the amount of information out there.

Abxolute · Mar 11, 2016

What is your graphic card,some people prefer intel i3 6100,it's considered like quad cores.

techgeek · Mar 11, 2016

We need to know what the rest of your system specs are. Is this an OEM computer or did you build it yourself? If it's an OEM computer, please give us the make and model. If you built it we need to know what parts you used.

Ren_Li · Mar 11, 2016

I assume OEM means one that was purchased pre-made? If so, it's supposedly a HP Slimline 410-000nf. But- and this is an enormous and very annoying one- the information on the official website doesn't seem to be correct. I got burned buying RAM because of that; and the processor it claims to use on the website is not the same one that my settings tell me I'm using.
So either the seller gave the wrong model number or the website is incorrect. Making things even harder for someone who has no idea what they're doing.

Ren_Li · Mar 11, 2016

As for my graphics card... All that I'm finding is Intel HD Graphics. Does that mean it's built into the CPU...?
(I did mention I was a complete newbie. Apologies.)

techgeek · Mar 11, 2016

Because this is an OEM system, it likely has limited upgrade option. OEM systems have very bare bones BIOS's and therefore will only recognize a limited amount of CPU's.

According to the support site, you have only two options, the i5 4460T and the i3 4170. I assume part of the reason these two CPU's are supported is that he VRM's are of limited capacity and these two upgrade options are low power (35 and 54 Watts respectively).

It's a bit tricky upgrading an OEM system because of these limitations. If I were you, before purchasing anything, get in contact with HP support (via e-mail or over the phone) and make sure that you have the correct information.

techgeek · Mar 11, 2016

Ren_Li :

Yes it's integrated into the CPU. However your motherboard does have a PCI-E slot, so you may have some room to upgrade there. That said there are a few limitations here as well. Not every card is guaranteed to be recognized by the motherboard. Beyond that, OEM's are notorious for only giving a large enough power supply to power the system with all their possible configurations. So there will likely be very little power left over for upgrading. It may not even have the PCI-E power cables needed to power some of the mid to higher range cards. So depending on what sort of card you want to upgrade to, you may have to replace the power supply too.

SirDoctorK · Mar 12, 2016

Ren_Li :

I'd trust a utility like CPU-Z for the correct CPU information. Then look up what socket it is, and you're probably OK with any CPU of that socket. However, the CPU you ID'd in your original post seems to be a mobile processor, in which case upgrading may be impossible. But on the other hand, the model number for the computer you provided seems to be a small form factor desktop, which from my experience, generally have a desktop CPU in a standard socket.

Other considerations would be thermals and power. Make sure its power supply is powerful enough to power whatever CPU you want to replace it with. The stock cooler should be fine, although possibly a bit noisy under load, as long as you don't overclock. If you find for whatever reason that it won't cut it, there are some good low profile options that should fit inside that case no problem.

If it's compatible, I like a previous commentor's suggestion of the i3-6100. It's a lower-power option than, say, the i5-6600 or i7-6700, so thermals and power delivery are less likely to be issues, plus the lower cost. Of course, that's only an option if your current CPU uses that socket. If not, probably a decent i3 from whatever series shares a socket with your current chip.

Now, if you want to do anything beyond very casual gaming at decent quality, you'll need a decent graphics card. Unfortunately, half-height video cards, especially gaming-capable ones, are few and far between. However, it looks like Gigabyte has a low-profile implementation of one of the most popular budget gaming cards out there, and one that requires no additional power connectors: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125680&cm_re=gtx_750_ti-_-14-125-680-_-Product

techgeek · Mar 12, 2016

SirDoctorK :

Ren_Li :

I'd trust a utility like CPU-Z for the correct CPU information. Then look up what socket it is, and you're probably OK with any CPU of that socket. However, the CPU you ID'd in your original post seems to be a mobile processor, in which case upgrading may be impossible. But on the other hand, the model number for the computer you provided seems to be a small form factor desktop, which from my experience, generally have a desktop CPU in a standard socket.

Other considerations would be thermals and power. Make sure its power supply is powerful enough to power whatever CPU you want to replace it with. The stock cooler should be fine, although possibly a bit noisy under load, as long as you don't overclock. If you find for whatever reason that it won't cut it, there are some good low profile options that should fit inside that case no problem.

If it's compatible, I like a previous commentor's suggestion of the i3-6100. It's a lower-power option than, say, the i5-6600 or i7-6700, so thermals and power delivery are less likely to be issues, plus the lower cost. Of course, that's only an option if your current CPU uses that socket. If not, probably a decent i3 from whatever series shares a socket with your current chip.

Now, if you want to do anything beyond very casual gaming at decent quality, you'll need a decent graphics card. Unfortunately, half-height video cards, especially gaming-capable ones, are few and far between. However, it looks like Gigabyte has a low-profile implementation of one of the most popular budget gaming cards out there, and one that requires no additional power connectors: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125680&cm_re=gtx_750_ti-_-14-125-680-_-Product

If the link to the system is accurate, and by extension, the motherboard information is accurate, then Skylake (i3 6100) is out of the question. It has to be a LGA 1150 socket. According the motherboard information only two CPU's are supported, either because of a limited microcode, or limited capacity of the VRM's. Either way, I wouldn't suggest anything beyond what the manufacturers site recommends.

techgeek · Mar 12, 2016

Ren_Li :

Can you take a picture of the motherboard and post a picture here so we can verify the accuracy of the information given by the HP support site.

Here is an image of the motherboard I found on HP's support site:

Ren_Li · Mar 12, 2016

Thanks for your time everyone. Unfortunately the answer here is "my other half and I are both morons", as not only did we fail to fully research what we were buying, but the model number we were looking at wasn't even correct. It is, apparently, HP Slimline 411-a000na, and the CPU is not upgradable.
So, lesson learned, do a lot more research and if all else fails bother people on forums BEFORE buying. I'll see if the store will take it back, but if not, well... The lesson will be learned by way of being out of pocket.

Sorry for wasting all of your time, but I do appreciate your attempts to help. Thank you.

techgeek · Mar 12, 2016

No problem, stuff happens.

If down the road you wish to replace this computer, consider building one yourself (lots of people here to help), or if you aren't comfortable doing that, go to a reputable computer shop in your area and get them to do it. Or if you are lucky enough to have a friend / family member, you could get them to do it.

A custom built computer might not be as "cheap" as an OEM computer, but you get to decide what parts are in it and the quality of those parts. OEM's build to a dollar value, so some things will be skimped on. They aren't usually as flexible when it comes to upgrades (as you've found out), so you could get pigeon holed with replacing the whole system for want of upgrading a single part.

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