Upgrading processors myself?

[dominover]

I'm looking at the possibility of upgrading a processor in an existing computer but I have no experience in doing this. I suppose that's how you learn.

I'm looking on ebay and see a number of processors for sale. For example there's allot of i5 processors from China and around.

Does anyone have any experience with buying processors and replacing them yourself?

ALSO.... have you bought any from ebay and are the ones from China reliable. If it's anything like the SD cards you can buy from there (which the majority seem to be fake, I know this from first hand experience), then maybe it wouldn't be such a good idea.

Are good processors that expensive? Any tips would be helpful.
Thanks

 

[crazyman143]

You need to find out what type of CPU socket your motherboard has, and make sure any CPU you are interested in is made to fit in that socket. Also to be safe you should plug your motherboard model number into the manufacturer's website and check the compatible parts list to ensure the CPU will work with that board.

I haven't really seen a trend of counterfeit CPUs coming out of China but when in doubt it's better to be safe than sorry.

 

[Technician1]

The last time I did a processor upgrade, I also had to buy and replace the mainboard, memory and OS as well as the CPU. It was a big jump in processors to be sure, but it was actually a lot easier than it sounds like it might have been.
I went ahead and put in a new GPU at the time too but it wasn't needed to get the CPU I wanted, the rest was.

 

[aHumanError]

It's not difficult really, as long as you match the socket to your motherboard. Generally the CPU is held in by a small leaver, and can only 'go in' one way, often indicated with a small arrow on the corner. It's necessary (It really doesn't need to be a lot) to put a small amount of thermal paste on the top, spread it about slightly, slap the heat-sink back on an you're done.

 

[pete.i]

Apart from Technician who has actually said how it is it really isn't that easy. You have to make sure that your motherboard will take the CPU that you want to buy. Newer CPUs have different pinouts more often than not and it would not neccessarily fit your motherboard. I would think that most, if not all, CPUs are manufactured in China these days. AMD and Intel, who are the two major manufacturers, are not going to pay local wages if they can get away with paying peanuts to chinese workers.

As I say you do need to make sure that your motherboard will take whatever CPU you are contemplating upgrading to. If it wont then, as Technician has pointed out, you will need to change the motherboard, the RAM and possibly your periphal boards such as graphics etc. It could be cheaper to just buy a new computer. Perhaps if you give us the model and make of your motherboard and what processesor you are thinking of upgrading to we could give you some advice as to whether it is feasable or not.

 

[Reece Moore]

It's quite simple to upgrade a Processor. You have to ensure that the Socket type of your motherboard must match your processor type.

Processor's are mainly built by Intel and AMD. Buy a processor according to your need. But ensure that the processor is compatible with the motherboard.

 

[CrackerJacker1]

I wouldn't buy a processor from ebay.. I'm just saying