Will This CPU Work With My Current Specs?

[XMaster160]

I have a Dell Optiplex 755 sff. I think it has the stock mobo(motherboard), and I have an AMD Radeon HD 5450 Graphics Card. I use my rig for gaming and it runs modded skyrim and minecraft, each with around 100 mods pretty decently. I have been stuck with an Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 @2.20 GHz for a while and wanted to upgrade to a decent quad core cpu for a low price.
Will the following CPU be compatible with my current specs?:

INTEL SL9UL Core 2 Quad QX6700 2.66Ghz 8MB 1066FSB JW.

If not is there another cheaply priced quad core CPU compatible with my rig, and good for gaming?
(P.S.: My mobo has an LGA775 cpu socket.)

 

[gussrtk]

Yeah that will work. I think that's about as good as you can get for that build. Maybe make sure you have a good CPU cooler / and or/ replace at the same time.

Seems like you can pick one up of those for pretty cheap (used). If you're motherboard supports overclocking, then definitely do some hehe

 

[XMaster160]

Yeah that will work. I think that's about as good as you can get for that build. Maybe make sure you have a good CPU cooler / and or/ replace at the same time.

Seems like you can pick one up of those for pretty cheap (used). If you're motherboard supports overclocking, then definitely do some hehe

Great!! Thanks for answering!
Found one for $50 on Amazon.

 

[gussrtk]

you could even look locally, craigslist or local computer shops. but yeah.

 

[BFG-9000]

Both Q6600 and Q6700 are on Dell's QVL. Of the two I would strongly recommend the Q6600 because it's $16 on eBay and chances are excellent it will run at the board's maximum 1333 FSB at stock voltage (the Dell mobo has no voltage adjustments) with a simple BSEL 266-333 padmod, to give you 3.0GHz.

Just look for a G0 SLACR stepping Q6600 and connect the two pads with defroster grid repair paint. The Q6700 is not likely to run stable at 3.33GHz at stock voltage in a Dell.
I wouldn't even consider that QX6700 because it's a B3 stepping, and 130w TDP is too much for the crappy 4-phase VRM (the G0 Q6600 and Q6700 have a TDP of 95w so the stock Dell heatsink is fine even if overclocked). Its only useful feature is the unlocked multiplier which is useless to you because the Dell's BIOS does not allow you to change it.

BTW that HD5450 is only 1/5 as fast as the recommended HD4890 for Skyrim on High settings.

 

[XMaster160]

Both Q6600 and Q6700 are on Dell's QVL. Of the two I would strongly recommend the Q6600 because it's $16 on eBay and chances are excellent it will run at the board's maximum 1333 FSB at stock voltage (the Dell mobo has no voltage adjustments) with a simple BSEL 266-333 padmod, to give you 3.0GHz.

Just look for a G0 SLACR stepping Q6600 and connect the two pads with defroster grid repair paint. The Q6700 is not likely to run stable at 3.33GHz at stock voltage in a Dell.
I wouldn't even consider that QX6700 because it's a B3 stepping, and 130w TDP is too much for the crappy 4-phase VRM (the G0 Q6600 and Q6700 have a TDP of 95w so the stock Dell heatsink is fine even if overclocked). Its only useful feature is the unlocked multiplier which is useless to you because the Dell's BIOS does not allow you to change it.

BTW that HD5450 is only 1/5 as fast as the recommended HD4890 for Skyrim on High settings.

I am just now learning about CPUs and, forgive my ignorance, don't know what alot of that means. Until I further my knowledge about Processors all i want to know is which one would work the very best with my computer. And thank you for the advice.

 

[BFG-9000]

Bottom line is the Extreme Edition QX CPU you mentioned is not listed by Dell as compatible with your system. It may work, or might not, but is really expensive because of a feature your Dell cannot use.

Get a Q6600 SLACR, or Q6700 SLACQ and be happy. If you want to try running the Q6600 at 3.0GHz, note the diagram shows the bottom of the CPU and you simply paint the red line shown with a conductive pen or defroster paint. If it doesn't work completely stable just scratch off the paint with a fingernail, but I have never seen it not work in many Dells, Lenovos and HPs with G31 chipsets or better, DDR2 667 or better and with power supplies as low as 250w.

 

[XMaster160]

Bottom line is the Extreme Edition QX CPU you mentioned is not listed by Dell as compatible with your system. It may work, or might not, but is really expensive because of a feature your Dell cannot use.

Get a Q6600 SLACR, or Q6700 SLACQ and be happy. If you want to try running the Q6600 at 3.0GHz, note the diagram shows the bottom of the CPU and you simply paint the red line shown with a conductive pen or defroster paint. If it doesn't work completely stable just scratch off the paint with a fingernail, but I have never seen it not work in many Dells, Lenovos and HPs with G31 chipsets or better, DDR2 667 or better and with power supplies as low as 250w.

so this cpu will make a decent upgrade until i can get a new PC altogether? all i need to know is if it is fully compatible with my pc. and thank you again for your time.
And is it safe to buy a used cpu?

https://www.amazon.com/Intel-Q6600-2-4GHz-2-40GHz-Processor/dp/B00BNHUGHG/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1478578119&sr=1-1&keywords=Q6600+SLACR

 

[BFG-9000]

Yes, it came as original equipment on some Dell Optiplex 755.

It is very safe to buy a used 65nm CPU like the Q6600 because it's the 45nm ones that died if abused with excessive voltage. The Q6600 has a good reputation for being very tolerant of abuse (even if the heatsink falls off it only downclocks to 200MHz until you put it back on but keeps running the whole time).

The buy-it-now price on eBay is fully $110 less than that Amazon listing (which also doesn't claim to be unused) so you could buy eight of them for the same price.

 

[XMaster160]

Going to get this one. Sorry for not being on in so long. Been really busy.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-Core-2-Quad-Q6700-SLACQ-CPU-Processor-2-66GHz-8M-Cache-LGA775-/172546487871?hash=item282c92763f:g:NiMAAOSwx6pYrzVM

And this WILL increase performance? Like for the games i listed in the original question?

 

[BFG-9000]

You listed Skyrim, which only uses two cores, and Minecraft, which only can use one, so the only performance increase will be entirely due to clock speed and cache (the extra 2MB is worth ~200MHz in games). The HD5450 is also pretty slow.

For other general usage, 4 cores are nowadays much better than 2.

That Q6700 is fine if you are happy with 2.66GHz as there's no way you are going to overclock it to 3.33GHz on a Dell which doesn't allow adjusting multipliers or voltages. The 2.4GHz Q6600 from a US seller is half the price and nearly always overclocks to 3.0GHz in a Dell.

 

[XMaster160]

Final Decision. Ordering Now.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-Core-2-Quad-Q6600-2-40GHz-8M-1066MHz-775-CPU-SLACR-/382012188777?hash=item58f1b36869:g:CSEAAOSwuLZY0Yjy

http://www.ebay.com/itm/20g-Tube-Syringe-Silver-Thermal-Paste-High-Performance-Heatsink-Compound-CPU-GPU-/131753508718?hash=item1ead1eff6e:g:eGUAAOSwuLZYzszp

 

[XMaster160]

Installing it now. Any thing you need to tell me/advice to give?

 

[BFG-9000]

Not really, just follow the instructions on p152. If you want to try overclocking, use a conductive pen or paint a line of defroster grid repair paint connecting the two pads on the bottom of the CPU as shown in post #5. You can always do that later though, since you bought such a huge syringe of paste!

 

[XMaster160]

Not really, just follow the instructions on p152. If you want to try overclocking, use a conductive pen or paint a line of defroster grid repair paint connecting the two pads on the bottom of the CPU as shown in post #5. You can always do that later though, since you bought such a huge syringe of paste!

Got it installed and it works great so far. Going to try playing some games with it later.

 

[XMaster160]

Any recommended graphics card upgrades for my pc? Will either upgrade that or RAM next. And thank you for helping me out so much. I really appreciate it.

 

[BFG-9000]

You can only fit low-profile cards, which rather severely limits your GPU choices.

As there should be room for a double-slot heatsink, the fastest are MSI and Gigabyte 4GB 1050TI or 2GB 1050 low-profile cards.
MSI also made double-slot 750ti and 750 low profile cards. Here's one in a 755SFF.

If you don't have room for a double-slot heatsink then many HD7750 or R7 250 are very nearly single-slot, like the low profile Sapphire or Visiontek R7 250 models, though it's difficult to recommend them because they are barely faster than Intel's integrated graphics nowadays--but that's still more than 5x faster than your HD5450 so Skyrim should be playable on High. If you can find one for a very low price then it would be fine, but keep in mind that cards this old don't support FreeSync.

A CPU bottleneck just means you can crank up the eye candy for "free," as in there is no change in FPS.

 

[XMaster160]

What about this one? Do you think this would work/would you suggest buying from this person?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-AMD-Radeon-R7-250-2GB-DDR5-192Bit-PCI-Express-Video-Graphics-Card-/282195704056?hash=item41b42cb8f8:g:H80AAOSwXeJYLq-K

 

[BFG-9000]

That's a full-height card that won't fit in your case. And costs as much as some full-height 750Ti cards despite being far slower. A low profile 250 is one like this or like this (both are used)

Not only do you need a low-profile card but you also need it to come with a low-profile bracket or it won't fit. Searching eBay for 750Ti low profile only shows a $120bin card from Newegg which is exactly the same price as the 1050 at Newegg.

Both come with the low profile bracket in the box (and have a DVI to interfere with your case) but the 1050 is more than twice as fast so a far better deal. Just keep in mind it doesn't support Windows XP or analog VGA out.

 

[XMaster160]

I have extra fans and have the lid off my case with my computer laying open on my desk, which i clean nearly every other day. If you mean any said card wont fit in the case because of the lid, that wont bother me. Dont care too much about looks.

 

[XMaster160]

Might get the 1050 you left a link to newegg on after awhile. Any other way it would interfere with my pc/be incompatible? Would i really need a psu upgrade or does it not require too much more power to run?

 

[BFG-9000]

The problem with a full-height card even then is you won't be able to screw it down because the bracket will be 1 5/8" above the screw hole. And one of the ports may be blocked by the case.

Look very carefully at where the DVI port is because it's not removable (not on a ribbon cable) and may interfere with your case when installed. If there's room for a dual-slot card but not ports on the 2nd slot then the new MSI RX460 LP may be your best bet. It's a little cheaper, but make sure it comes with the low-profile bracket too.

Both are 75w cards that draw all of their power from the bus. Because people have used the 60w 750Ti with the 755SFF we can conclude the slot is not limited to 25w like some SFF systems are. So it depends on whether your old PSU is still healthy enough to deliver >200w under load without excessive ripple or voltage drop. Modern cards work fine with either Legacy BIOS or UEFI with GOP. They do not work with early UEFI implementations without GOP (some 750Ti cards will only because they have a BIOS switch), but your system is too old to have UEFI at all so it should work.

While the Q35 northbridge has only ~half the TDP of the G35, I'd still point a case fan at it with airflow over the VRMs too. You could cut a hole in the lid for that, and mounting the fan on the outside of the lid will ensure you have room to mount as large a fan as you'd care to.

 

[XMaster160]

How about this one?

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814137089&ignorebbr=1&nm_mc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-PC&cm_mmc=KNC-GoogleAdwords-PC-_-pla-_-Video+Cards+-+AMD%2FATI-_-N82E16814137089&gclid=Cj0KEQjwk-jGBRCbxoPLld_bp-IBEiQAgJaftRYG1x857ZHZ6NIP12rGjSMgATr4H2cweP1VhuE6Qf4aAnwk8P8HAQ&gclsrc=aw.ds.

 

[BFG-9000]

That's the same as the one I linked to, only at their store instead of eBay. $15 rebate, too!

From the Q+A and reviews it does include a low-profile bracket that may require a little filing to clear the HDMI

 

[XMaster160]

So it's confirmed. This will be my eventual gpu upgrade. Have you any suggestions on which ram to get? Planning on upgrading from four Gigabytes to eight gigabytes of ram. Also need new storage. Out of space on my 250 gigabyte HDD.