Can I use stock cooler in i3 2120 to any i5 or i7 2nd or 3rd gen?

[Blizster]

I am planning on upgrading my CPU and my options are on i5 3470 or 3570  or i7 3770 since those are what is limited to what I can upgrade on.

I dont have alot of money.

I was wondering if I could just use a stock coooler from my CPU and would just work fine.

I mainly use my computer for school stuff and would it be worth it to just be satisfied with i5 since it is what I can afford atm?

Specs

HP Compaq Pro 6300 SFF

I3 2120

12gb ram

No gpu

[NonSequitur777]

@Blizster,

Welcome to our HP User Forum!

The short answer is: YES, that is not a problem.  All these processors, including the i7-3770K incidentally -which is also compatible, have the same 77 watt TDP.

[EDIT:] The TDP of an i3-2120 is 65 watt, and your stock CPU cooling fan is perfectly capable to deal with relatively slightly hotter running 77 watt TDP's.

Here is my HP Compaq Pro 6300 SFF Upgrade project in case you want to go all-out (off the HP Reservation): Solved: Upgrading HP Compaq Pro 6300 SFF - HP Support Community - 8184303.

Hope this was helpful.

Kind Regards,

NonSequitur777

[NonSequitur777]

@Blizster,

And lest I forget, the Xeon E3-12xx v2 processor series are also compatible with your desktop, such as the best one, the Xeon E3-1290 v2 in one of my Upgrade configurations:

Link: HP Compaq Pro 6300 SFF Performance Results - UserBenchmark

Kind Regards,

NonSequitur777