Okay, I'm running a Dell vostro 400 PC with intel E6750 processor at stock 2.6 GHZ since I was told my motherboard won't overclock. I got a deal on a new Intel Core2Duo E8400 3Ghz LGA775 W/Ori Heatsink&Fan for about $150. I presume that my motherboard is compatible and wondering if I should upgrade and sell my E6750 used, or try to resell my new E8400. Both cpu's have same FSB speed. The E8400 has more memory and running on 45nm instead of 65nm. What kind of gains can I expect if I upgrade, considering I can't overclock whatever I use.
The compatibility of that CPU is not guaranteed, and is actually pretty unlikely. Additionally the speed boost you'll get will be at most 20-25%, not worth spending the extra on.
Under both E6750 and E8400 CPU Socket Type description says LGA775. I thought this was enough to know. How can I find out? %25 better isn't bad. I play FPS games and have a 8800 GT, but also use this PC as my HTPC. Wondering which processor I will sell and which I will keep. What does the new 45nm technology mean?
No, there's a lot more to it than that, the software and hardware on the board must be compatible with the different architecture. All Core 2 Duo boards can support the E6000 series, but only more recent ones can support the E8000 series. Also, just because the CPU is faster, doesn't mean you'll get an extra 25% performance in games, an E6750 is already an adequately fast CPU for gaming, the bottleneck if you have one will be the GPU. I would sell the E8400 and leave what you already have.
