Upgrading Pentium to i5 CPU

[jim_heaney]

Hi

 

I have an HP 3130 Microtower with the following specs:

• Intel G6950 2.8 GHz Dual Core
• 8GB Ram
• Nvidia GT1030 GPU
• 128GB SSD
• 220W PSU

 

I have been using it for over a year now and I feel like the CPU is its biggest bottleneck. I know the PC is very outdated and most people will believe it's not worth spending the money on but for me a little more CPU performance is all I need. I am a full time student so my budget is fairly limited so replacing motherboard, power supply etc is not really an option. 

 

If anyone could recommend a CPU that would work with my system and be a straight fit it would be greatly appreciated. Ideally something with the same power requirements as the 6950 and preferably quad core. 

 

Thanks 

[Ansuex]

Hi Jim!

 

I would agree your CPU is a bottleneck, but 220 watt PSU is very limiting.

With some luck you could find some compatible quad core xeon's for the cheap, but I think you would have to ge a better PSU to actually avoid running into problems.

[jim_heaney]

Just now, Ansuex said:

Hi Jim!

 

I would agree your CPU is a bottleneck, but 220 watt PSU is very limiting.

With some luck you could find some compatible quad core xeon's for the cheap, but I think you would have to ge a better PSU to actually avoid running into problems.

 

 

Hi, yea i was worried that might be a problem. I have been looking at the i5 680 as it is on the list of recommended CPUs by HP. From the data sheet I can see that it draws 73W the same as the G6950. Do you think this would be a suitable upgrade?

[Ansuex]

I think you will see some extra performance, But it is still a dual core with HT. I think to be worth the investment it would be better for you to actually upgrade to a quad core

[TrigrH]

put a i7-860 or nothing.

 

Update the bios and install a Intel Xeon X3460.

[jim_heaney]

11 minutes ago, TrigrH said:

put a i7-860 or nothing.

 

Update the bios and install a Intel Xeon X3460.

 

Thanks for your reply. Wiil this chip definitely work with my motherboard. Also where is the best place to obtain Bios updates as from HP the most recent version is 6.16 from 2011 which I currently have installed. 

[TrigrH]

5 minutes ago, jim_heaney said:

 

Thanks for your reply. Wiil this chip definitely work with my motherboard. Also where is the best place to obtain Bios updates as from HP the most recent version is 6.16 from 2011 which I currently have installed. 

this is the only post i can find

 

https://browser.geekbench.com/v4/compute/768011

 

and a similar pc:

https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Desktop-Hardware-and-Upgrade-Questions/CPU-Upgrade/m-p/6669078#M158620

[Bilal Sohail]

You can get really cheap deals on used 2nd/3rd gen i5s (complete systems). I would suggest, you save up if you have to and get those as they would definitely last longer than what you're going with. No?