Upgrading a DC7700 processor (CPU)

[DC7700_E6800]

I'll chime in having just done a these few upgrades recently.

Firstly the 6700 is the easiest and best. I benchmarked/used the 6700, e6800 and e7500 and there was no discernable difference.

The last two require stuffing around with crystal cpu and bios.

The problem with the bios is v1.16 doesn't do the micropatch properly (my belief). I got the last two cpu to work (no full speed cpu fan) by installing the microcode patch after the bios (even though that same microcode patch is included in 1.16).

I changed the stepping using CrystalCPU. To get it to run auto at boot you can first create a settings shortcut (using CrystalCPU) and place said shortcut in the startup folder (Windows 7 in the start menu).

The 6700 benchmarked the best but I cant be bothered puting it back in. Using the e6800 as that was the last one i installed.

There are xeons you can try too but I suspect they will benchmark the same aswell.

If someone has used the Extreme X6800 (If it works?) then let us know how it went.

I'm currently running a 750TI LP Nvidia aswell and it runs fine. Could upgrade to 1050TI but really, the money  would be better spent on a newer PC. The CPU is a bottleneck for many games.

I use this PC for WoT only, and it will run the CPU constantly at 98 percent. If trustedinstaller.exe starts or MsMpEng.exe while gaming you can kiss your framerate goodbye.

Happy Upgrading

Cheers.

[cyri2]

Hi.

I have been using for the past 2 years the X6800 core2 extreme in my DC7700 usdt and it works great with no issues.  It is properly recognised in BIOS and runs at the correct speed.  This is the fastest CPU that can be used in the DC7700

[mastermarg]

and what about core 2 quad cpu?

like q6600 and q6700

[DC7700_E6800]

No, they will not work.

I recently upgraded to a DC7800 motherboard which will accept those cpu's. I'm using an Xeon X3370. Both were cheap.

It will fit but only if you are handy with tools.

The CPU cooler needs to be filed down to clear some motherboard capacitors.

The CD drive mount needs to be cut down.

The case needs case drilled and new motherboard mounts fitted  (I used brass metal threads).

The rear of the case needs to be filed to allow for the different audio port position.

The air guide at the front needs to be cut down.

I had the bits and pieces allready so it was convenient for me and didn't actually take all that long to do.

Otherwise pick up a cheap DC7800 or 8300 Elite.

[Necrolatry]

Updated the microcode with dc7900 version 1.01, just download rufus, make a msdos usb, copy over the files from swsetup to the usb,  https://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp51001-51500/sp51181.exe run flashbin in dos, i had a spare pc lying around so wasn't worried about bricking, well it worked, maybe the original microcode for the dc7700 was bugged?, it asks you if you want to downgrade, accept, then you can use the E7600 1066 FSB processor and the Q6600/Q6700 1066 without processor errors 🙂 If it causes you problems, which I haven't had at all, you can then *upgrade it back to 1.06 for the dc7700. It will not work with the E8xxx family or anything with 1333 fsb because the chipset doesn't support it.