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Dimension 4700 processor upgrade choices
Hello everyone,
Need some advice on processor upgrade choices for a Dimension 4700 with a Pentium 4. I use this machine primarily to run Cubase 4.5, and an Emu Proteus system and I'm running to the limit of my tracks and sampling. I can't go any further than 12 tracks and that includes three tracks of 48k samples simultaneously. It sounds incredible but it's not quite good enough to accomplish my recording goals. It seems that what I really need is a Quad-Core or even an I7. On my budget that's not going to happen. My budget is $400.00 and that's pushing it. I realize that these specs maybe don't support upgrading to even a Dual-Core, and even if I could how much of a difference would I hear and actually experience in Cubase and Proteus ?
What I would really like to get out of this system is a 24 track machine with as many 48k samples as I need for serious recording, I'd settle for 8 simultaneous samples per song along with the 24 tracks. Basically it would be 16 normal tracks from Cubase's VST's plus 8 sampled tracks from Proteus. That would rock !
If a serious processor upgrade is plausible, do I need to upgrade my CPU cooling fan and XP Home to Pro ? Is my only option a faster Pentium 4 ?
Here's the specs:
Number of cores 1 per processor
Number of threads 2 per processor
Name Intel Pentium 4 530
Code Name Prescott
Specification Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.00GHz
Package Socket 775 LGA
Family/Model/Stepping F.4.1
Extended Family/Model F.4
Core Stepping E0
Technology 90 nm
Core Speed 2992.6 MHz
Multiplier x Bus speed 15.0 x 199.5 MHz
Rated Bus speed 798.0 MHz
Stock frequency 3000 MHz
Instruction sets MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3
L1 Data cache (per processor) 16 KBytes, 8-way set associative, 64-byte line size
Trace cache (per processor) 12 Kuops, 8-way set associative
L2 cache (per processor) 1024 KBytes, 8-way set associative, 64-byte line size
Northbridge Intel i915P/i915G rev. B1
Southbridge Intel 82801FB (ICH6) rev. 03
Memory Type DDR2
Memory Size 4096 MBytes
Memory Frequency 266.0 MHz (3:4)
CAS# Latency (tCL) 4.0 clocks
RAS# to CAS# (tRCD) 4 clocks
RAS# Precharge (tRP) 4 clocks
Cycle Time (tRAS) 12 clocks
Mainboard Vendor Dell Inc.
Mainboard Model 0M3918
BIOS Vendor Dell Inc.
BIOS Version A10
BIOS Date 01/04/2006
Memory SPD
Module 1 DDR2, PC2-5300 (333 MHz), 1024 MBytes, Nanya Technology
Module 2 DDR2, PC2-5300 (333 MHz), 1024 MBytes, unknown brand
Module 3 DDR2, PC2-5300 (333 MHz), 1024 MBytes, Nanya Technology
Module 4 DDR2, PC2-5300 (333 MHz), 1024 MBytes, unknown brand
Software
Windows Version Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 3 (Build 2600)
DirectX Version 9.0c
shesagordie
10 Elder
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February 11th, 2011 11:00
salvia
No.
The Dimennsion 4700 supports the following socket LGA 775 processors:
Intel Pentium 4 processor 520, 530, 540, 550, 560, or 570 with HT Technology, plus the following.
Prescott P4 64bit 571, 3.80GHz, 800FSB, 1MB, Socket LGA 775, E0
Prescott P4 660, 3.60GHz, 800FSB, 2MB, Socket LAGA 775
Prescott P4 64bit 561, 3.60GHz, 800FSB, 1MB, Socket LGA 775, E0
Bev.
salvia
11 Posts
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February 12th, 2011 01:00
Thanks for your reply but are you certain that the Pentium 4 HT 6x1 range don't work in a Dimension 4700?
If it supports a P4 660 (Prescott 2M) then shouldn't it support a P4 661 (Cedar Mill)?
Cedar Mill is simply a die shrink from 90 nm to 65 nm, otherwise identical to their Prescott 2M 6x0 series equivalents and due to the 65nm lithography they use less power and also run cooler.
Isn't this the chipset that's in the Dimension 4700? Click Compatible Products and look at the Compatible Processors.
Also, you say it supports a 570 but on Intel's site and Wikipedia there's no "570" but there's a 570J.
shesagordie
10 Elder
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February 12th, 2011 10:00
salvia
You can find the info, on intel's website for the Pentium 4 570, HERE and more info, HERE
Regards to the P4 661, as you already have the processor, why not install it and see if it is compatible, the worse that can happen, if it's not compatible, the 4700 will not boot, or give a blue screen.
Prior to installing the processor, check that you have the latest BIOS version A10, when support for newer processors was added.
Bev.
salvia
11 Posts
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February 13th, 2011 05:00
Is there an updated processor support list available somewhere or how do you know which CPU's are/aren't compatible? I flashed to BIOS revision A10 years ago and reflashed a few times. Would it give a blue screen before the BIOS screen or?
salvia
11 Posts
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February 14th, 2011 14:00
Bev are you going to reply?
Do you know if the BIOS has to have the exact processor in the microcode for it to work?
Thanks.
shesagordie
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February 14th, 2011 14:00
salvia
I have already posted my answers and have nothing more to add to them, maybe another member can help.
Bev.
salvia
11 Posts
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February 14th, 2011 15:00
Edit: The Pentium 4 661 SL9KD D0 I bought works perfectly in my Dimension 4700. :emotion-11:
C J1
7 Posts
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April 27th, 2013 17:00
hi everyone, im also rebuilding a dell 4700 for a entertainment storage to hook up to my wide screen tv.
im new at this, i had the 4700 laying round the house for about 5 years gathering dust so i thought why not try to get it up and running for entertainment purposes and it would not cost me much if i stuff it as it was laying around doing anything anyways
I've already upgraded the ram to 4gb but as its a 32bit system, only can pick up 3.25gb and ive also installed Windows 7 Ultimate 32-bit, and everything works well
as im new learn as i go, i only started about two weeks ago searching the net and tons of forums including this one to try to understand how PC's work internally
my main question is could someone show me a step by step instructions or even to a link on how to update the bios as ive been reading you have to be very careful or you can stuff the motherboard, my bios is A06 atm and from what ive read A10 BIOS was the last update
im thinking of updating the P4 processor as well from the original 530 to maybe a 650, for about $10 on ebay that will not brake the bank, would by any chance any of the Extreme Edition Pentium 4's work? maybe a SL7GD (M0) or SL7RR (M0) or SL7NF (M0) and last one SL7RT (M0)
im going to upgrade the powersupply to a 750w and the hard drive from 80gb to 1tb and get a 256gb SSD for secondary drive
plus im planing on getting a new ATI Radeon HD5450 DDR3 2GB 64bit PCI-E VGA DVI HDMI Graphics Card
anything else i can do to upgrade the 4700 which is in a dell 4550 case for more space and easier access
what would be the best heatsink paste to use? ive been told Arctic Silver paste is good?
also can i use the heatsink from a 4700C? reason i ask this is because these had a fan on these which i would bolt a after market fan in it
here are the specs of the system
rdunnill
6 Professor
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April 27th, 2013 18:00
May I ask how you got a 4700 board in a 4550 case? The 4550 has a proprietary front panel connector not shared by the 4700.
Regarding a video card, I'd suggest a 6450 in place of the 5450. And a 750-watt power supply is absolutely not necessary; such a wattage is normally needed only for gaming rigs. I'd suggest an 80 Plus Bronze (or Gold) of around 500 watts.
If you're going to spend all this money on a home theater PC, you might consider a different mainboard and CPU, because the old P4s are underpowered for some tasks, including high definition video playback. (Although they will work, with the occasional dropped frame.)
C J1
7 Posts
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April 27th, 2013 19:00
hi rdunnnill, im a spray painter so a bit of body work not to hard for me what i did was cut the proprietary front panel of the 4550 backing board, most screw holes lined up with both mother board only the 4 that hold the heatsink didnt line up so i hammered toughs four down plus 2 others and drilled in the correct spots and put spacer in between to get the correct height and the 4700 proprietary front panel connector sits nicely in the same hole in the 4500 case
so now if i want to take the mother board out i dont have to unscrew anything as the backing plate in the 4550 just clips in
do you think 500w is enough even if i put in 3 fan
thanks for your reply
rdunnill
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8.8K Posts
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April 27th, 2013 19:00
500 watts should be more than enough; in fact, 300 watts should be enough. Note that the 4550 case has to be modified to accept most ATX power supplies, but this one should fit with little or no case hacking.
C J1
7 Posts
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May 5th, 2013 04:00
thanks rdunnill for your replies, i have a mate that is giving me a 550w power supply,
update on what ive done lately, ive updated the bios from A06 to A10 which was strait forward, went to Dell website, and downloaded the A10 Bios to a folder then ran it, only took a few mintues to complete, way easier than i thought from reading from heaps of forums
plus i've just installed a ASUS AMD ATI Radeon HD5450 5450 1024MB 1GB PCI-E low profile LP HDMI Video Card,
which i bought for $28 NEW in the box, its smaller than i wanted but the price was to good to go past
which was a bit of a hassle to get working, ive uninstalled the old graphic card driver but the computer kept trying to re-install the old driver before i could get a chance to load the disc which came with the graphic card
finally got it done and all works now, but i have to start the computer with the blue tv cabble first then take it out to put in the HDMI cabble to get high def
if i load the computer with the HDMI connected i cant see anything on the screen even if i take the HDMI cabble out and put in the blue cabble in, still cant see anything, have to force the computer of and put in the blue cabble in and turn ity back on and works, and yes i do switch the tv between HDMI TO PC sources
and yes ive updated the driver to the latest update.........any ideas? on what i need to do get get it to load up on HDMI so i can see
can i load up pictures to this forum to show the work on the 4700 in the 4550 body, ive taken the Dell round side plates of and carefully cut the dell out and put speaker mech under it, and cut a hole into the body on both sides and added two fans with red leds under the round dell side plates with VW beatle 20cm speaker spacers and painting the body in a 57 chev stile, candy apple red and white
C J1
7 Posts
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May 5th, 2013 06:00
also can someone tell me if these hard drives would work in the 4700 system,
im confused, ive been reconmended to get sata (1) 300mbps, and told the sata 3 (6gb/s) will not work, but as you can see below (especially the last link) say these have 300mbps interface but its a sata 3 when i do research on this model
Seagate Barracuda TB 7200 RPM 3.5" (ST31000340NS) Hard Drive
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/321112476612?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649#ht_2053wt_1377
1Tb SATA-3Gb/s Hitachi HDS721010CLA332
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/160992063224?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649#ht_1023wt_1397
Western Digital WD Caviar Green WD20EARS Serial ATA 3/Serial ATA 2048 GB Hard..
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/221221001687?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649#ht_500wt_1414
Seagate Barracuda Serial ATA 1000 GB Hard Drive
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/151040110222?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649#ht_600wt_1397
OrangeSVTguy
16 Posts
0
May 5th, 2013 06:00
C J1
7 Posts
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May 5th, 2013 18:00
thanks orangesvtguy so do you think this 1tb hard drive http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=151040110222&ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:AU:1123#ht_600wt_1265 be a good choice for my system
what heatsink paste did you use when you upgraded the CPU for your sister, and what is the best way to apply the paste, any programs need to be done when upgrading the cpu, or its a strait swap and go ive just got a 660 p4 with a fan
a quick cap of my system as it stands now