Name that socket!

[Viper27]

My father's computer is a Dell Dimension 2400. I'm thinking of getting him a new CPU for christmas, but I don't know what socket the mobo is, and can't find out without making it obvious what I'm planning. Please let me know what his socket probably is so I can order one from Newegg in time for christmas. Thanks.

 

[haelduksf]

Since it's a Dell, it must be Intel

Since it's inexpensive, it's 99.9% likely to be a S478, unless it's >3 years old, in which case it might be a P3.

My money is on S478

 

[Viper27]

Don't know exactly the processor type, but I do know it's running stock at 2.8Ghz. Don't know if this helps any.

 

[racer42]

2.8 is a Pentium 4 for sure. What does he do on his PC? If he just uses the web and office apps he probably wouldn't notice much of a speed bump from a processor alone. More memory would probably have more of an impact.

 

[Bozono]

You can run a little prog. called CPU-Z. That'll tell you what mobo and CPU and RAM type he has. Probably not worth the $ for the little performance gain you'd see putting a new CPU in it though.

 

[Zap]

Dimension 2400 is socket 478 with no AGP/PCIe slots. Use CPU-Z as suggested. If he's running a P4, no need to switch. If a Celeron (those used Northwood Celerons) then upgrade. Keep in mind that the board likely doesn't support 800MHz FSB and likely doesn't support Prescotts. The Dimension 2400 that my aunt has used the Intel 845GV chipset, good for 400/533MHz FSB and Northwood chips, no dedicated video slot.

How much RAM is your father running? Perhaps that would help him more. What applications does he use?

 

[JWade]

my wife has a 2400, it has 3 PCI slots in it, 2 memory slots, to the best of my knowledge it only has the 400mhz bus, but i may be wrong. she has in hers a 2.6ghz chip. if he already has a 2.8 chip in it, cant go much faster. I would say probably increase his ram on him.

if you update the bios, you should be able to put a PCI card in it, my wife has a BFG fx5200 256mb card in hers.

 

[biostud]

you probably wont get much extra performance getting a new CPU for it.

 

[Heckler 5th]

only if you are maxing out your CPU at 100% would a CPU upgrade reap any benefits. verify this with task manager to be sure. maybe RAM or a LCD monitor would equal money better spent.

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: biostud
you probably wont get much extra performance getting a new CPU for it.

Agreed. Even 1GHz is really enough for basic Internet and word processing.
What is this PC actually being used for?

 

[Jeff7]

I double posted. 20 lashes with His Noodly Appendage.