dimension 2400 cpu upgrade

In the specs for the 2400 it says that this system supports an FSB speed of 400MHz or 533MHz. This means that if you put an 2.8GHz processor that uses an 800MHz FSB, the system lowers this processor to half the spec'd FSB, and therefor half the total speed.

If you wish to upgrade, look for a Pentium 4 that uses a 400 or 533MHZ FSB.

Ok Thank you for your information. The 2.80ghz that i had installed was infact a 800 fsb cpu so I pulled it out and put my old cpu back in (which is actually a p 4 2.40ghz so I dont mind sticking with it but i noticed when I first turn on the system with the 2.40ghz in it, it is very fast but after just a few minutes of use the output goes from 2.40ghz down to 0.60ghz of output and the system becomes almost unuseable. I am not that tech savy so I am thinking that this may be caused by the cpu getting hot butt i also never had this problem with the other (2.80ghz) cpu in the system. So any thoughts on what could be causing this to happen and is there a way to prevent it?

By the way the cpu output dropped like that just from surfing the web and my goal is to use the system as a mild gaming system.

I'm assuming that you cleaned the dust from the heat sink, cleaned the mating surfaces of the CPU and heat sink, and applied the thermal compound before assembly.  Having done all that you need to make certain that the case fan is working.  The Dimension 2400 has a fan that pulls air through the CPU heat sink as well as a fan in the power supply.

Yes I did clean the old thermal paste from both the heat sink and cpu and applied new before installation, and the power supply and case fan both spin (note; the case cpu fan does not pull alot of air) I'm not sure how prowerful its supposed to be but it does move some air. Does thermal paste take time to bond because I turned the computer off for about 3 hours and so far it seems to be fine surfing the web I have yet to try playing and games though. I am also wondering if anyone knows of a way to install a heat sink and fan combo into a dimension 2400 because I'm worried that gaming might run the cpu too hot without a fan on top of the heatsink.

Thermal paste does take some time to reach the maximum benefit, but I'm surprised that you noticed such a large problem.  The case fan moves a moderate amount of air and is positioned so that it pulls this air from the plenum that covers the heat sink.  So long as that is working properly your CPU should be adequately cooled.

Jack thank you for all your help after you mentioned the fan I just got down with the side of the case opened and watched the fan... it spins fast for the first 2-3 minutes and then just slows to a stop from which it spins very slow. So I think it may be time for a new case fan.

I was wondering if you know of a place I could pick one up pretty cheap. I looked on newegg but cant seem to find anything on there that would work.

Thanks again.

bobbydisco

You can buy a Dell OEM Dimension 2400 fan/shroud unit,from HERE

Bev.

Thank you so much for the link I just ordered so hopefully I will be back up and running in a week or so... right now i just have my case open with a floor fan blowing into it, but I can't do any gaming until I get the case fan in there.

Anyways thank you to all that helped me out  

bobbydisco

You are welcome.

Bev.