I need to upgrade my old core 2 duo computer and was thinking of going to an older Xeon but I'm not sure if that is the way to go. They are good with multi threading apparently. I'll probably use a single CPU as I want to minimize power consumption. I was wondering if I'm better off using Win8 or 10 if I go this route.
As long as the xeon that you choose is that of similar specs with the Core 2 Quad Q9450-Q9650, go for it! It's cheap and has exactly the same specs as it's Core 2 Quad counterpart.
That will probably not fit because Xeons of LGA 775 have it's own socket. The LGA 771. You can buy an LGA 771 to LGA 775 adapter online and remember to watch tutorials on how to fit the Xeons in a 775 socket.
I don't expect to keep this archaic motherboard.
My aim is to get the most forward thinking Xeon compatible motherboard possible for whatever socket I choose. This way I can upgrade ram and CPU without reinstalling the operating system. I need a board that would support DDR3 to the highest speed possible (hopefully 1600 mhz at least) and has a few PCI-E and PCI slots so I can experiment a bit with various hardware. I don't game but often have several things running at once so hopefully the multi threading capabilities of Xeons will benefit me.
Any recommendation as to what socket I should focus on?
I've been trying to gauge CPU's at cpubenchmark.net and find it very confusing as there is no indication what socket each is. Do you think that website is a good way to measure CPU performance or should I look at precisely what programs I'll be running and how many will be running concurrently and try to get an idea? I'm kind of lost. And when I talk to others I realize most people just look at CPU speed, number of cores and maybe the cache to try to get an idea of how well a CPU will perform. Yet if cpubenchmark.net is any indication this is a very poor way of gauging real world performance.
In other words, you will simply install your current hard drive, with the current install of Windows 7, right back into the computer after changing the CPU? From a Windows perspective, this will likely work without a problem, except that you may have to install some drivers to get your current install to work with the new CPU.
(I'm not commenting on whether there will be hardware issues; I'm commenting only on potential Windows issues.)
Once you have installed the new CPU and got everything up and running, check the listings in Device Manager to make sure that all are in good working order. If any of the devices have an exclamation point or an X next to them, you will need to reinstall that same driver, or update the driver with the correct one for the new CPU.
In my opinion, everything should just work; but you never know till you try...
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