Dell Vostro 360 CPU upgrade Intel i5 2400s to i7 2600s?

[nwc]

Hi everyone.

I recently got a really good bargain on a second hand Dell Vostro 360 all-in-one PC, which is very servicable for my parents office (internet surfing, email etc). As I got it for a good deal, I have some money left over to upgrade the innards. It already comes with 6gb of RAM, 1TB SATA drive but I can't touch the graphics (onboard Nvidia 540m), so I'm principally looking at the CPU.

Model in question:
http://www.dell.com/uk/business/p/vostro-360/pd

It currently has an Intel i5 2400S (socket 1155), and looking at the chipset (Intel H61), it could be upgraded to an i7 2600s (or even an i7 3770s if I wanted to push the boat out!).

http://ark.intel.com/products/52806/Intel-BD82H61-PCH

Firstly, is it worth the upgrade?
Secondly, will the newer chip runner hotter / draw too much power for the 150/180w power supply?

Any help appreciated!

http://images10.newegg.com/User-Manu...83-155-459.pdf

[XBEAST]

Not worth for general use. Might be worth for 3D, video rendering or anything else that makes use of Hyper-Threading.

[nwc]

Thanks XBeast.

The i7 3770s is set @65w, while the current 2400s is @ 95w. I'm not quite sure what this would mean if I was to upgrade - would the 3770s run cooler with less juice?

[XBEAST]

i5 2400S has a TDP of 65W, just like i7 2600S and i7 3770S. Models with S suffix are power saving versions.

I don't think i7 3770S would run cooler. It would run faster, but it's not worth if this PC is used mainly for internet surfing, office work, etc. It's a high-end CPU and is meant for work with heavy applications.

i5 2400S is more than enough for general use. As a matter of fact, even a cheaper Pentium G or Core i3 would be enough. Maybe even Celeron G.

[nwc]

Smashing, thanks again.

[sykozis]

Being a pre-built system, you can't go by the chipset processor support list. The H61 chipset requires a bios/UEFI update to support Ivy Bridge processors. If Dell doesn't provide a supporting bios/UEFI, then the system won't support the processor.

[nwc]

Thanks Sykozis; I've been through Dell's Bios updates for the Vostro 360. The aren't very forthcoming with compatability. The only thing it explicitly states in the A04 bios release earlier this year is that is now supports 'CPU Microcode for SandyBridge D-2/Q-0 stepping, Revision 1A.' Unfortuantely, I don't know what CPUs this refers to....

[sykozis]

Just increasing Sandy Bridge compatibility.... Dell doesn't want people upgrading their systems so they don't typically release firmware updates that add support for newer processors.

[nwc]

Hi there - in case anyone else is interested, I received a message from Dell. The Vostro 360 CPU can be upgraded to i7 (you will need the latest Bios, A08). Link to system compatible specs below:

http://support.dell.com/support/edoc...s/sfits_en.pdf