advice on upgrading processor for HP A6010n (P5LP-LE Leonite MOtherboard)

[Rzetek]

Hi i did some searching around and yes i did find some results but most of those were posted back in 2006 so i am sure there are many new products and information since then.

I am currently attempting my first real pc rebuild and i am using my old Hp A6010n desktop (http://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c00877010

I have just dropped in 2x 1gb AE ram (AE 1GB DDR2 667 CL5, PC2-5300U-555 AET760UD00-30D) along side the 2x 512mb samsung ram that came with the system. i know ...i know i should have gotten 4x 1gb matching ram but i bought it locally for $20 and the only other ram available is 2gb dd2 which i dont think the mobo can support 

now i am trying to upgrade the proccesor in hopes that would be the next big step. currently i have the Intel core Duo 2 E4300 which came with the system and i am looking to upgrade to the best that this mobo could handle. I have read that the fastest should be the intel E4700 @2.6 GHZ but then i read " should be able to pop in a quad Q6600 and POST.  Bottomline is if you have the right BIOS, then board will run well with any Intel 65nm Duo or Quad" so if anyone could shed some light on that would be awesome.

now this info is more than 5 years old. What i am aiming for is to upgrade this computer for gaming. Specifically I am still playing Skyrim so i would like to find what proccessor would be the "best" for this specific build and any instuction on what to do after i receive the processor in turn of installing the hardware and any software steps i would need to take would be appriciated as well

Edit: I forgot to mention that i did upgrade to an external video card which is as follows : ATI Radeon HD 4300/4500 series according to CCC: 1791MB Memory size, 600Mhz core clock. i would like to upgrade but have no idea what to look for.

also have Adata 6gb/s SSD used strictly for games.

Much thanks in advance 

[old_geekster]

Rzetek, welcome to the forum.

There is a BIOS update available.  You should be extremely cautious if you do the upadate.  A failed BIOS flash makes a very good boat anchor.

Here are the processors supported by the motherboard:

Socket type: 775

Motherboard supports the following processor upgrades:

• Core 2 Duo E6x00

• Core 2 Duo E4x00

• Pentium D 9x0 Dual Core

• Pentium D 8xx Dual Core

• Pentium 4 6x1 series

• Celeron D 3xx series

Now, you may be able to install other processors, but this would be at your own peril.  HP has their motherboards made to their specs.  They are not the same as a retail mobo.

You are correct about the memory, because the mobo supports Dual channel memory architecture.  However, since you are running Vista 32-bit, the system will only recognize 3.25 GB of 4 GB the total supported.  It would be a bit faster in Dual channel.

Please click the "Thumbs Up+ button" if I have helped you and click "Accept as Solution" if your problem is solved.

[Rzetek]

Hi @old_geekster thank you for a promp reply, I should note i have upgraded to a Windows 8 x64 and could you please enlighten me on the bios update?

also after some more reaseach i found that supposedly that according to (http://ark.intel.com/products/27720/Intel-82945G-Memory-Controller#@compatibility) the Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E6700 (4M Cache, 2.66 GHz, 1066 MHz FSB) seems to be the proccessor with the highest Ghz and Cache In the Core 2 duo category that my has official compability with my chipset. 

now thats official support but could someone please explain if the Duo 2 E7600 @3.06 With LGA 775 and 1066Mhz be compatible?  it seems to have overall better specs. It is the correct FBS and socket is there a reason why it wouldnt work?

once again this is for the hp A6010n desktop with a Leonite P5LP-LE motherboard and Intel 945G Chipset

thank you

[old_geekster]

You are welcome.

The BIOS update will only work with Vista.  You can't do a BIOS update with an OS other than the original configuration.

According to the specs that I listed in my previous post, the E7600 is not compatible with the mobo.  Remember, HP has their mobos made to their specs.  The information on the Intel site is not applicable.  If it were me, I would stick with HP's recommendations.  Otherwise, you may be buying a processor the you have to return.  You have to make the call.

[JakeKay]

Rzetek:

Are you still around? Did you complete this upgrade? What are your results and which parts did you settle on?

I am currently upgradiing the same machine. I made the mistake of opting for the BIOS update and bricked the motherboard. I got a used replacement mobo from eBay and I'm just waiting for an upgrade CPU. I figured since the board and old CPU were out I may as well put in a better CPU. I ordered the E6700 @ 2.66 MHz which may be the best available for this machine. Found the CPU on eBay for $12.95 from a reputable seller.

I installed new RAM, 4 x 1GB of PC2-5300 @ 667 MHz (32-bit Windows was recognizing about 3.5 Gigs of that)

Also installed a graphics card. I chose an nVidia GT 730 card (low power requirement and decent performance).

After installing the RAM and graphics card the Windows Experience Index improved from 3.1 to 4.9. Most of that improvment was due to the graphics card.

Then I decided to update the BIOS and that's when the #$% hit the fan  😞

If the replacement mobo and CPU work the WEI number should take another jump.

[JakeKay]

I replaced the borked motherboard today.

I installed the upgrade CPU: Intel E6700 a2 2.66 MHz

So far it is running fine. I did some software adjustments, adding and removing various programs.

I am now updating my friend's Vista installation which was woefully out of date.

So far so good. The WEI number took another jump and is now up to 5.5 which is now reasonable for this machine.

[Ejwalla]

Edit:
Hi JakeKay, glad the upgraded processor worked! What bios version are you using?

[JakeKay]

The machine is running on BIOS v.5.13. Earlier in the upgrade project I attempted to update the BIOS to v.5.23.

That turned out to be a mistake since the BIOS flash failed and bricked the motherboard.

http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Desktop-Boot-and-Lockup/Pavilion-a6010n-BIOS-update-frozen/m-p/5388636#...

I found a replacement motherboard on eBay and it all worked out well in the end. If the BIOS update had not failed I would not have wound up upgrading the CPU so call it a silver lining.

Bottomline is that BIOS 5.13 runs the E6700 CPU just fine so I suggest standing pat with that BIOS rather than taking an unecessary chance on a fatal failure.

One side note: I think the E6600 CPU @ 2.40 GHz will work as well as the E6700 CPU @ 2.66 GHz. Another machine I upgraded (a Dell Optiplex) runs the E6600 chip and it scores a tick higher on the Windows Experience Index in the CPU category. I think it was 5.9 vs 5.5 or something similar.

If I had both CPU's on hand I might still use the E6700 though. I think that other machine may have a slightly newer chipset and it uses 8 GB of RAM rather than the 4 GB maximum in the HP machine so it's not an exact comparison

[Ejwalla]

Thanks for responding! I actually have bios 5.08 in mine. I am thinking of putting in the same processor you did. $9.99 on ebay. One thing I don't like about my bios version is that you can't boot to USB. But maybe I won't risk it.

[JakeKay]

It may be best to do your homework. Look closely at the release notes of the BIOS update file to see if you actually need it. Also review the original recomended updating directions. I think HP has installed some software that is involved in these sorts of updates: "HP Update".

I don't know how it's supposed to work but I suspect that you should either do the update from within "HP Update" or you shoud make sure that "HP Update" is not running at all before you attempt to do the update manually. This may have been the reason that my BIOS update failed, I attempted to do the BIOS update manually before I ever learned of the existance of "HP Update". Just try to check the original documentation.

My advice would be to try to avoid the BIOS update unless you become sure you need it. In our case v.5.13 is running just fine and the Website makes no mention of needing the BIOS update in order to upgrade the CPU.