Can I replace a P4 with a C2D?

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MacAllah

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Sep 19, 2008
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Hello!

My friend's got an old VAIO (Model #: VGC-RB30) that's got a Pentium 4 in it (Model #: 530J).

The P4 is socket 775 and has an 800 mhz FSB. The E4600 is also socket 775 and 800 mhz FSB.

I'm wondering, can I swap out the P4 and put a E4600 in there? The only problem I can forsee is that the P4 is 90nm and the C2D is 65nm. Could there be some sort of BIOS issue where it won't like the newer chip? It's also 32-bit to 64-bit... Will I need a 64-bit OS? The mobo only supports 2 gigs of RAM anyhow.

Going from Core 2 family to Core 2 family I've done and it's easy. Like an E8400 to Q6600 for example, I just wanna take a bigger step.

Can I do it?
 
MacAllah said:
Hello!

My friend's got an old VAIO (Model #: VGC-RB30) that's got a Pentium 4 in it (Model #: 530J).

The P4 is socket 775 and has an 800 mhz FSB. The E4600 is also socket 775 and 800 mhz FSB.

I'm wondering, can I swap out the P4 and put a E4600 in there? The only problem I can forsee is that the P4 is 90nm and the C2D is 65nm. Could there be some sort of BIOS issue where it won't like the newer chip? It's also 32-bit to 64-bit... Will I need a 64-bit OS? The mobo only supports 2 gigs of RAM anyhow.

Going from Core 2 family to Core 2 family I've done and it's easy. Like an E8400 to Q6600 for example, I just wanna take a bigger step.

Can I do it?
Click to expand...

No, not with an Intel 915G chipset.

And going from a 32bit CPU to a 64bit one does not mean you need a 64bit OS, a 32bit one will work just fine.
 
Thanks, guys! I did some more Googling myself and the P4 voltages are different than C2D ones. So, ain't gonna work. Oh well.
 
If you're into keeping the Vaio Case, you could see if you could simply swap out the motherboard as well. There are plenty of decent budget motherboards out there that can handle C2ds and get the job done right.
 
Technically, you can, provided:

1) Chipset supports it
2) Board has acceptable voltages for the C2D
3) Manufacturer has released a BIOS with support for the CPU

If all of these are yes, then make sure you manually drop the voltages to C2D level to allow the board to POST.
 
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