I just upgraded my sluggish PC with a E6400 (Core 2 Duo @ 2.13Ghz) with a Xenon E5450 which uses a LGA 771 socket. Fortunately for me, the LGA775 I have is *somewhat* compatible with the LGA771 that the Xenon needs, and it is pretty simple to do. Saved me some bucks to do a wholesale upgrade of the machine which has been running without much attention other than an SSD, for several years now.
The main reason for doing this is the price of the processors. A 3GHz Quad Core Xenon E5450 runs around $40 on Ebay, while the comparable Q9650 Core 2 Quad runs around $90. So for about $40, I was able to upgrade my pokey 2.13Ghz system to a quad core 3Ghz system - and bumped up my windows "experience" score by 2 points. The only drawback I can see is that the Xenon is multiplier locked, but I could care less about that. The bus speed can still be played with to OC the chip, but I don't want to invest money in a cooler and the stock config will give my PC a couple more years at least. Huge thanks to whoever found this mod and also to the folks who run the site linked below which has a guide for doing the mod.
http://www.delidded.com/lga-771-to-775-adapter/2/
Note this mod does take an "adapter" which is basically a sticker, and requires some cutting on the socket since the Xenon has notches in the wrong places. My motherboard supported the new processor without resorting to any BIOS mods - which is probably something I was ready to try if I had to, but only because my PC has a dual BIOS :D The above link also has a list of compatible motherboards.
The main reason for doing this is the price of the processors. A 3GHz Quad Core Xenon E5450 runs around $40 on Ebay, while the comparable Q9650 Core 2 Quad runs around $90. So for about $40, I was able to upgrade my pokey 2.13Ghz system to a quad core 3Ghz system - and bumped up my windows "experience" score by 2 points. The only drawback I can see is that the Xenon is multiplier locked, but I could care less about that. The bus speed can still be played with to OC the chip, but I don't want to invest money in a cooler and the stock config will give my PC a couple more years at least. Huge thanks to whoever found this mod and also to the folks who run the site linked below which has a guide for doing the mod.
http://www.delidded.com/lga-771-to-775-adapter/2/
Note this mod does take an "adapter" which is basically a sticker, and requires some cutting on the socket since the Xenon has notches in the wrong places. My motherboard supported the new processor without resorting to any BIOS mods - which is probably something I was ready to try if I had to, but only because my PC has a dual BIOS :D The above link also has a list of compatible motherboards.
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