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7958
Inspiron 620, CPU upgrade, i5-2400?
Hello I have a dell Inspiron 620 with core i3 2120 and want to upgrade my cpu to core i5 2400 and was wondering if that’s okay and if I can use the same cpu fan for the new cpu (sorry for weird spelling I don’t know much about computers)
Anonymous
5 Practitioner
5 Practitioner
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274.2K Posts
2
March 13th, 2019 21:00
I was 14 once, actually got my first computer (an 8086) when I was ten, and was modifying it all the way until I was twelve and built a better one with parts I acquired on the cheap through social networking and elders who appreciated my commitment. Back in those days you needed 3-5k for a computer and 9600 baud modems were the shlishnit. Had I not “tinkered” I would not be where I am now- playing with SIPRNet by day and holding down a 20 plus home computer network by night.
Your post caught my eye as I was just thinking about updating my Dell Inspiron 620. I currently run an I5 2400, and am thinking about guinea pigging the 2400k… for ships and giggles. This is the only “store bought” computer I have ever owned, and it runs so good I still use it as my general terminal most of the time.
First off- don’t buy a new computer. You are 14 and they cost way too much. The 620 you have now is actually very powerful. Two cores is plenty, you are not exactly being “forced” to multitask, and most programs/apps are not programmed to fully utilize a zillion cores and a zillion threads.
Gaming will suffer, but you didn’t say you were looking to upgrade for gaming, so rather than throw rocks at your glass house, why not just give you the answer you are looking for?? GHz is where it’s at. Sure, cache, bus speed, ect are all to be considered but overrated. The I5 2400 is actually a beast of a processor, and many gamers still prefer the I5 2400k version- that should tell you something. The beauty of this CPU series is that they are pretty durable. This was right around the time Silicon Valley hit thermal limitations with current technology and had to figure out a way to “keep the market fresh”, or fuel capitalism if you want me to be more direct.
You can use the I5 2400, it will work fine. You can even use the same heatsink and fan without issue- just be sure to change out the thermal paste. And don’t be fooled by “super thermal” marketing. Just buy a two gram three dollar tube of economy stuff. It will work fine and save you some loot. The I5 can be had for roughly 20 bucks used on eBay- not to shabby and sure beats buying a new computer. Dell has not yet tested this CPU, but myself and a few others have ran it flawlessly.
See, when Dell makes a system, they have to support it for a little while to keep customers happy, then they pull the plug and a particular model gets ignored. Dell does not sell CPU’s, they sell “Systems”. It does not behoove Dell to not sell you a new system, nor Dell shareholders.
I5 2320 is a good CPU also, and definitely affordable. I would keep this as an option also. See what you find first for the best price. I want to test the I5 2400k out- no one has done that yet. You have to be careful with K-chips though because a lot of over-clockers either don’t know what they are doing and/or get greedy- you don’t want to end up with an intermittently quirky system.
I even run basic Adobe Photo Shop and Gimp on mine without issues. The more cores you have, the more you can do at one time. Just do less at one time. Two core rocks, one core for system background and A/V, and another core for what you are doing.
This could be upgraded down the road for a killer 1080P setup. You would have to upgrade your power supply first, relocate the HDD cage assembly for room, and run a better video card. Remember, an Xbox One S is graphically only equivalent to a GTX660. This is doable with the aforementioned upgrades. It actually does not take a lot to make a PC outperform most console devices- but go ahead and believe everyone who tells you that your 620 is junk if you prefer.
Good luck, and keep tinkering to advance your learning curve, even if the results are not utterly efficient. At least my answer will cost you less than 20 bucks and will offer you a performance boost- what you originally wanted, right?
PS: If you are going to do this, try to make sure your Bios is upgraded to at least A10 02/22/2013. Also, 4GB of RAM hit the spot 8 years ago, but with today's demands 8GB will make your machine perform night and day better!! Grab two used 4GB Samsung: M378B5273CH0-CH9 for 15-20 bucks per module.
Mary G
2 Intern
2 Intern
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20.1K Posts
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March 13th, 2019 07:00
No you should not upgrade the processor. The 620 is 8 yrs old now. Processors are matched with the motherboard. So you are limited to the same processor you have now or one not much better. That would not make the computer any faster. To speed up an old computer--add more memory (ram) or a faster hard drive. But it really is not worth spending any money on it. Save the money for a new computer.
See this old post with the same info from experts--
https://www.dell.com/community/Desktops-General-Read-Only/Inspiron-620-Max-Processor-Upgrade/td-p/5134462
Ricey cake
5 Posts
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March 13th, 2019 12:00
😖 this is really sad for me because I am 14 and don’t have money but thank you for reply you save me
Ricey cake
5 Posts
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March 14th, 2019 07:00
Yes thank you
I am selling my shoes and some stuff I got for Christmas to make a new computer it shouldn’t take more than 6 months to save, I won’t upgrade cpu I’ll just use that money for new because my computer is clunky and even my siblings make fun of me for it but thanks for speech it really make me open minded
Clanmizer
3 Posts
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December 31st, 2019 17:00
MARY G that is absolutely bogus info and you have no clue what youre talking about at all whatsoever ..who says you cant upgrade I just went from an i5 2400 to an i7 2600 and with a evga 1060 6gb this machine plays gta online like a dream .. the tricky part is I had to move the hard drive up to where the floppy type drive mount is and remove the bottom array by drilling out the rivets (very simple just sounds complicated) .. and the dell website says these are both compatible aswell as i5 2500 i5 2550k and the i7 2700k ...why give false information to people on here ?
KenHash
2 Posts
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April 1st, 2020 02:00
I upgraded my 9 year old Inspiron 620 MT from Core i3 2120 to Core i5 2400. It is extremely easy and takes about 5 minutes. If you purchase a Core i5 2400 CPU with the Intel heatsink/fan and you want to use that, you will have to remove the motherboard. This is because Dell uses a screw in system which is very easy and solid but has securing buts on tje other side of the mounting holes. With those there, the plastic securing posts that Intel comes with will not go in. So either remove the motherboard and clear the mounting holes, or use the original heatsink/fan that came from Dell with your Core i3 2120 CPU. The i5 2400 is known to run hotter than the i3 2120, but users have reported that the stock Dell supplied heatsink/fan is sufficient.
There are people who will tell you that it's not worth "upgrading" an 8 year old PC, and it is true that you can not fit a Core i7 into the Inspiron 620, However, because it is so old, you can buy a Core i5 Sandy Bridge CPU for really really cheap. Used is not an issue wth CPUs, they never run poorly, they simply run or don't run. No point in upgrading an old PC with brand new components, even if they were still being made (which they are not).
So my Inspiron 620, now with Core i5 2400 CPU, 8GB RAM, SSD runs very noticably faster than when first bought back in 2011.
lambdapro2
128 Posts
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April 1st, 2020 03:00
I5-2400 will work, but i5-2500K is a bargain higher performance upgrade. $25 or so on large online auction site. Works great with existing heat sink.
I ended up going with an i7-2600k in one 620 and an i7-2700k in another, but it was more money.
David
savvy2
2.5K Posts
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April 1st, 2020 04:00
14yo, selling shoes for newer gen2 CPU. some shoes,no? now has i5 2310? 95w.
620 thin case or wide case? and 300watt PSU?
640 uses a h61 south bridge. (and the limits there of)
first off look here
I7-2700 (needs 95+ watt heat sink) dp/n Dell WDRTF (I think you have this heatsink now, but looking at its tag on wins all bets, fan tag.
max there is for folks willing to upgrade PSU and upgrade, BIOS.
2700 goes for $80 used , that is alot of lawns to mow, no?
same price as whole PC, used.
jscoppeto
5 Posts
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December 2nd, 2021 19:00
Great advice. easy cheap upgrades can make a big difference.
I have a 620 I will also upgrade and keep as it is working fine. I also have a gx620, old and other then the case, wont keep the parts.
Ricey cake
5 Posts
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December 14th, 2021 20:00
Thanks to everyone that replied, but I ended up not dealing with the pc and sold it at the time.
Ended up saving money and building my dream pc.
erpster05
219 Posts
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December 14th, 2021 20:00
my family's Dell Inspiron 620 desktop pc came with an intel i5-2310 CPU in late 2011 and later upgraded it to an i5-2500 several years later in late 2016 and up the RAM from 6Gb to 8Gb
now all that's left is to replace the 1Tb western digital HDD with a very good quality SSD to improve performance further - currently running Win10 LTSC 2019 and no longer using Win7
donovanw9
1 Message
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November 17th, 2022 17:00
i can verify that an i7 2600k works just fine along with 16 gb of 2400 ddr3 ram as well. i also have a i7 3770 but even tho both are same socket the 3770 seems to be too much for it. but yeah as long as its in the 2999 range throw in an i7 and youll def see a big difference
Elvis28ii
1 Message
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September 6th, 2023 18:13
@donovanw9 would I need to update the bios?
bradthetechnut
6 Professor
6 Professor
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7.3K Posts
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September 7th, 2023 02:29
If you don't have the latest BIOS that's for your system already, it's wise and best to have the latest before updating hardware.