Pentium 4 CPU Upgrade

logo897 · 06 May 2015

Hello,

I have an old dell optiplex gx270 tower that I've already upgraded the RAM, OS, and Video card. I know I can't go past Pentium 4 but are there any options to upgrade to a Pentium 4 but with higher GHz? right now I have 2.79 GHz and heard of some that have over 3 GHz?

Is it possible at all to upgrade the CPU? If it is please post a link to one that is better then mine.

And no, I don't want to buy a new PC, I prefer sticking to older PC's like this one. The main reason I'm asking this is so my CPU isn't always at 100% usage.

Thanks.

TVeblen · 08 May 2015

Here is the list of Pentium 4 processors:
List of Intel Pentium 4 microprocessors - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I have to assume you currently have Socket 478, so only the Socket 478 processors would physically fit on your motherboard. You would need to see if your BIOS supports the processor though.

But must say you will not see much improvement in CPU usage with the faster processor. Some, but not much. Doubtful the small improvement would be worth the cost. But if you are just playing, then sure, why not.

whs · 08 May 2015

How about a SSD for the OS rather than a faster CPU. With an additional SSD you will get a LOT better performance and it is no problem to install and migrate the OS.

SSDs are cheap these days - figure $50 to $80 for a 120GB model.

Amazon.com: 120gb ssd

AddRAM · 08 May 2015

You have to find the cpu upgrade list for the optiplex gx270, start digging through google and you will find it, it will tell you the highest P4 that that motherboard will support.

Example: My Gateway GT5404 came with a Pentium D 915 2.8 GHz cpu running on an 800 MHz FSB, but it could be upgraded to a Core 2 Duo E6700 2.66 GHz cpu running on a 1066 FSB. So I found one on Ebay for $15 and also added a Crucial M550 SSD.

Even though the sata ports are only 3 Gbps, it runs much faster, after all it`s just my experiment machine, which has Windows 10 on it at the moment.

If it supported more then 4 GB of memory it would run even faster, but it`s just fine :)