Does Core 2 Quad work on DDR2 Boards?

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parama3500

parama3500

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Sep 23, 2017
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I've the HP dx7400 Microtower.

Quick Specs:
CPU- Core 2 Duo E6550 @ 2.33GHz LGA775
MOBO- MSI MS-7352 ver1.0
RAM- 3*1GB DDR2 667MHz
PSU- 300W
HDD- 1*1TB + 1*160GB (7200rpm-SATA)
No GPU as of now!

Yeah, I want to remove the Core 2 Duo and get a decent Core 2 Quad! Mostly for gaming!
Suggest me a decent and compatible C2Q for this mobo. And I've already selected the C2Q Q9400 or Q9650, will any of these be compatible with the board and the 300W of the PSU?

I heard from a random PC guy that none of the C2Q's are compatible with the DDR2 boards, is this true?

Help!
Thanks.
 
Solution
W
It supports Q9650. GTX 1050 would work well with that. 6GB RAM with GTX1050, 8GB for GTX1050Ti.
With modern GPUs that have 2GB RAM memory speed isn't that big a factor anymore. DDR2 has lower latency than DDR3 so DDR2-800=DDR3 1066 anyway. Dell T3400 workstations can run QX9650 @ 4.15GHz with DDR2 so no problem there.
http://www.findlaptopdriver.com/ms-7352-cpu-support-list/
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UnkownPlayer

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Jun 29, 2017
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I personally wouldn’t buy another cpu if your still on ddr2 you would probably be better off buying a cheap motherboard and cpu and ram probably a a8 7600 and 2x4 gb ram MSI A68HM-E33 V2 FM2+ Sure it’s a good entry level APU but I had it. It is a good cpu
 
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oneblackened

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Sep 16, 2010
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I don't think it's so much that it's Core 2 Quads as I'm fairly certain the Q6600 would work with that but rather that the chipset is not compatible with that generation of CPU.

Realistically I would say you've gotten about as much life out of that as you can - and I wouldn't trust a PSU in a 10 year old budget system. It's time to upgrade.
 
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BFG-9000

BFG-9000

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Sep 17, 2016
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I advise you to find a smarter random PC guy. The best boards for C2Q are all DDR2 boards, because it better matches the FSB they use*, Intel chipsets from that era can hold twice as much DDR2 as DDR3, plus only very low-density 2Mbit DDR3 works with them--which is near impossible to find nowadays.

*Core 2 used a FSB with external memory controller which is a bottleneck and cannot use the extra bandwidth of DDR3 unless if using the IGP. So a 1333FSB would be completely saturated by a single channel of DDR3 and going dual-channel would offer no gain

That said, whether C2Q works in your particular board depends on the chipset, VRM and its BIOS. As far as I can tell, the fastest Quad that computer ever came with was the 65nm Q6700 so I would not expect any 45nm Quad like the Q9650 to work. I would get a $10 Q6600 (G0 SLACR) and BSEL padmod it to 3.0GHz/1333 FSB.

300w is plenty and can even run a 60w card like a 750Ti. The 3GB of RAM is too little but 8GB is inexpensive now that used 2GB sticks of DDR2-800 are only $6 on eBay. Then you would be all set for vintage gaming on your 10-year old PC
 
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Solandri

Solandri

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Jan 4, 2012
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Lots of people try to get more life out of old systems like this, but it just isn't worth it. The problem is Intel didn't take power consumption seriously until about Sandy Bridge. Systems before that would idle at 75+ Watts. Sandy Bridge systems would idle at around 45 Watts. Current-gen systems idle closer to 25 Watts. The Q9400 you're considering upgrading to will make the system idle at 146 Watts. So compared to a modern system, your upgraded C2D system will burn 120 Watts more at idle. The Q9650 will be even worse.

http://www.legitreviews.com/intel-core-2-quad-q9400-processor-review_939/12

By a happy coincidence, if you pay the U.S. average of 11.5 cents/kWh and leave the system on 24/7, then each Watt the system uses will cost almost exactly $1 in a year. So:

  • ■if you leave this system on 24/7, you'll be paying an extra $120/yr in electricity.
    ■if you use this system 12 hours/day, you'll be paying an extra $60/yr in electricity.
    ■if you use this system 8 hours/day, you'll be paying an extra $40/yr in electricity.
So if you use it a lot, or you live in an area like California with even higher electricity prices, it doesn't take many years before you've spent as much on electricity as it would've cost you to just upgrade to a newer system.

There are only two people I've recommended continue to use their C2D systems (both dual core systems which only use about 80 Watts idle). One is elderly and only uses the computer about 1 hour/day. The other is poor and per my recommendation has turned on powersave so the system will go to sleep after 5 minutes of inactivity.

Between SATA 3, M.2 NVME, USB 3.0, the amount of RAM you have, and the age of the PSU, I'd say give this system a proper funeral and buy a new system. If you can't afford a brand new system, look for a decent used one that's Sandy Bridge or newer (USB 3.0 support was added with Sandy Bridge).
 
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william p

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Sep 22, 2010
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It supports Q9650. GTX 1050 would work well with that. 6GB RAM with GTX1050, 8GB for GTX1050Ti.
With modern GPUs that have 2GB RAM memory speed isn't that big a factor anymore. DDR2 has lower latency than DDR3 so DDR2-800=DDR3 1066 anyway. Dell T3400 workstations can run QX9650 @ 4.15GHz with DDR2 so no problem there.
http://www.findlaptopdriver.com/ms-7352-cpu-support-list/
 
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parama3500

parama3500

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Sep 23, 2017
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Thanks for the info bro!
 
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