advice on new cpu

I just bought an old gateway gt5622 from a pawn store with the sole purpose of something to play with. So far, minor stuff like keyboard, trackman mouse. Heavier stuff like GeForce GT430, and WiFi Nic upgrades.

The cpu is OK until I get a few apps open than kwin starts sucking up 10-15% of cpu. Eyecandy is probable main reason. But in the game of tee-for-ta, eyecandy rules. So that’s why I’m thanking “new cpu”.

After reading through wiki it seems I’m limited to the Core2 Dou (because of socket 775). Now what I don’t know is whether the MOBO can handle that. When you start talking NorthBridges and cache and what-not my eyes start glazing over. Some advice on what my options might be, and how much of openSUSE 12.1 would I have to upgrade if I went from i686 to 64 bit.

Here’s output from dmidecode:

dmidecode 2.11

SMBIOS 2.3 present.
28 structures occupying 2013 bytes.
Table at 0x000FBAF0.

Handle 0x0000, DMI type 0, 24 bytes
BIOS Information
Vendor: American Megatrends Inc.
Version: 080013
Release Date: 08/31/2007
Address: 0xF0000
Runtime Size: 64 kB
ROM Size: 512 kB
Characteristics:
ISA is supported
PCI is supported
PNP is supported
APM is supported
BIOS is upgradeable
BIOS shadowing is allowed
ESCD support is available
Boot from CD is supported
Selectable boot is supported
BIOS ROM is socketed
EDD is supported
5.25"/1.2 MB floppy services are supported (int 13h)
3.5"/720 kB floppy services are supported (int 13h)
3.5"/2.88 MB floppy services are supported (int 13h)
Print screen service is supported (int 5h)
8042 keyboard services are supported (int 9h)
Serial services are supported (int 14h)
Printer services are supported (int 17h)
CGA/mono video services are supported (int 10h)
ACPI is supported
USB legacy is supported
LS-120 boot is supported
ATAPI Zip drive boot is supported
BIOS boot specification is supported
Function key-initiated network boot is supported
Targeted content distribution is supported
BIOS Revision: 8.13

Handle 0x0001, DMI type 1, 27 bytes
System Information
Manufacturer: Gateway
Product Name: GT5622
Version: 1.0
Serial Number: CCS7A 110 01732
UUID: 00020003-0004-0005-0006-000700080009
Wake-up Type: Power Switch
SKU Number: To Be Filled By O.E.M.
Family: To Be Filled By O.E.M.

Handle 0x0002, DMI type 2, 15 bytes
Base Board Information
Manufacturer: ECS
Product Name: 945GCT-NM
Version: 1.0
Serial Number: 00000000
Asset Tag: To Be Filled By O.E.M.
Features:
Board is a hosting board
Board is replaceable
Location In Chassis: To Be Filled By O.E.M.
Chassis Handle: 0x0003
Type: Motherboard
Contained Object Handles: 0

Handle 0x0003, DMI type 3, 21 bytes
Chassis Information
Manufacturer: Gateway
Type: Desktop
Lock: Not Present
Version: To Be Filled By O.E.M.
Serial Number: To Be Filled By O.E.M.
Asset Tag: To Be Filled By O.E.M.
Boot-up State: Safe
Power Supply State: Safe
Thermal State: Safe
Security Status: None
OEM Information: 0x00000000
Height: Unspecified
Number Of Power Cords: 1
Contained Elements: 0

Handle 0x0004, DMI type 4, 35 bytes
Processor Information
Socket Designation: Socket 775
Type: Central Processor
Family: Other
Manufacturer: Intel
ID: FD 06 00 00 FF FB EB BF
Signature: Type 0, Family 6, Model 15, Stepping 13
Flags:
FPU (Floating-point unit on-chip)
VME (Virtual mode extension)
DE (Debugging extension)
PSE (Page size extension)
TSC (Time stamp counter)
MSR (Model specific registers)
PAE (Physical address extension)
MCE (Machine check exception)
CX8 (CMPXCHG8 instruction supported)
APIC (On-chip APIC hardware supported)
SEP (Fast system call)
MTRR (Memory type range registers)
PGE (Page global enable)
MCA (Machine check architecture)
CMOV (Conditional move instruction supported)
PAT (Page attribute table)
PSE-36 (36-bit page size extension)
CLFSH (CLFLUSH instruction supported)
DS (Debug store)
ACPI (ACPI supported)
MMX (MMX technology supported)
FXSR (FXSAVE and FXSTOR instructions supported)
SSE (Streaming SIMD extensions)
SSE2 (Streaming SIMD extensions 2)
SS (Self-snoop)
HTT (Multi-threading)
TM (Thermal monitor supported)
PBE (Pending break enabled)
Version: Intel(R) Pentium(R) Dual CPU E2160 @ 1.80GHz
Voltage: 1.3 V
External Clock: 200 MHz
Max Speed: 1800 MHz
Current Speed: 1800 MHz
Status: Populated, Enabled
Upgrade: Other
L1 Cache Handle: 0x0005
L2 Cache Handle: 0x0006
L3 Cache Handle: 0x0007
Serial Number: To Be Filled By O.E.M.
Asset Tag: To Be Filled By O.E.M.
Part Number: To Be Filled By O.E.M.

Handle 0x0005, DMI type 7, 19 bytes
Cache Information
Socket Designation: L1-Cache
Configuration: Enabled, Not Socketed, Level 1
Operational Mode: Write Back
Location: Internal
Installed Size: 64 kB
Maximum Size: 64 kB
Supported SRAM Types:
Other
Installed SRAM Type: Other
Speed: Unknown
Error Correction Type: Parity
System Type: Data
Associativity: 8-way Set-associative

Handle 0x0006, DMI type 7, 19 bytes
Cache Information
Socket Designation: L2-Cache
Configuration: Enabled, Not Socketed, Level 2
Operational Mode: Write Back
Location: Internal
Installed Size: 1024 kB
Maximum Size: 1024 kB
Supported SRAM Types:
Other
Installed SRAM Type: Other
Speed: Unknown
Error Correction Type: Single-bit ECC
System Type: Instruction
Associativity: 8-way Set-associative

Handle 0x0007, DMI type 7, 19 bytes
Cache Information
Socket Designation: L3-Cache
Configuration: Disabled, Not Socketed, Level 3
Operational Mode: Unknown
Location: Internal
Installed Size: 0 kB
Maximum Size: 0 kB
Supported SRAM Types:
Unknown
Installed SRAM Type: Unknown
Speed: Unknown
Error Correction Type: Unknown
System Type: Unknown
Associativity: Unknown

Handle 0x0008, DMI type 5, 24 bytes
Memory Controller Information
Error Detecting Method: 64-bit ECC
Error Correcting Capabilities:
None
Supported Interleave: One-way Interleave
Current Interleave: One-way Interleave
Maximum Memory Module Size: 4096 MB
Maximum Total Memory Size: 16384 MB
Supported Speeds:
Other
Supported Memory Types:
DIMM
SDRAM
Memory Module Voltage: 3.3 V
Associated Memory Slots: 4
0x0009
0x000A
0x000B
0x000C
Enabled Error Correcting Capabilities:
None

Handle 0x0009, DMI type 6, 12 bytes
Memory Module Information
Socket Designation: DIMM0
Bank Connections: 0 1
Current Speed: Unknown
Type: DIMM SDRAM
Installed Size: 1024 MB (Double-bank Connection)
Enabled Size: 1024 MB (Double-bank Connection)
Error Status: OK

Handle 0x000A, DMI type 6, 12 bytes
Memory Module Information
Socket Designation: DIMM1
Bank Connections: 2 3
Current Speed: Unknown
Type: DIMM SDRAM
Installed Size: 512 MB (Single-bank Connection)
Enabled Size: 512 MB (Single-bank Connection)
Error Status: OK

Handle 0x000B, DMI type 6, 12 bytes
Memory Module Information
Socket Designation: DIMM2
Bank Connections: 4 5
Current Speed: Unknown
Type: DIMM SDRAM
Installed Size: 1024 MB (Double-bank Connection)
Enabled Size: 1024 MB (Double-bank Connection)
Error Status: OK

Handle 0x000C, DMI type 6, 12 bytes
Memory Module Information
Socket Designation: DIMM3
Bank Connections: 6 7
Current Speed: Unknown
Type: DIMM SDRAM
Installed Size: 512 MB (Single-bank Connection)
Enabled Size: 512 MB (Single-bank Connection)
Error Status: OK

Handle 0x000D, DMI type 11, 5 bytes
OEM Strings
String 1: 000000009C00000006020000002400005253413100040000010001002DDCA14E
String 2: 6EEBD69A990359AFED66A8FB2C801465B378BEBC1521907F23E581CC1DEE9BBB
String 3: 2316BDC9A1ACE2E27E05F68E698C04D486B8E538727FC9D613C080BE44E5BE7A
String 4: A4D61350CCCEB0083B510C8437073C166A829E3EE62A6C698988AEA7B651B0D6
String 5: FAAF6882D190677F7B08E5B44032B136222C19A9511928DF66E7AF9401000000
String 6: B60000000000020047415445574153595354454D202057494E444F5753200000
String 7: 00000000000000000000000000000000000073ABF5436CC0B5309C0CDDB69C67
String 8: 0BDC725D414ED042072D87EE84A57E8BE3CFD6F361DBA655EF806F57881CF3D4
String 9: ED490C1E6CBCF5FC0C5DE442F5042F2D923FE1CDAC4788272F27B17DF864EBF6
String 10: F57A88FBFE095DABB3E13DF793AFEEEBB262D8B92706B2EAB0F6D0489D00B40B
String 11: F841A7F2A4998D761C32E256CF8F2F3E93F1

Handle 0x000E, DMI type 13, 22 bytes
BIOS Language Information
Language Description Format: Abbreviated
Installable Languages: 1
en|US|iso8859-1
Currently Installed Language: en|US|iso8859-1

Handle 0x000F, DMI type 15, 55 bytes
System Event Log
Area Length: 1008 bytes
Header Start Offset: 0x2010
Header Length: 16 bytes
Data Start Offset: 0x2020
Access Method: General-purpose non-volatile data functions
Access Address: 0x0002
Status: Valid, Not Full
Change Token: 0x00000000
Header Format: Type 1
Supported Log Type Descriptors: 9
Descriptor 1: Single-bit ECC memory error
Data Format 1: Multiple-event handle
Descriptor 2: Multi-bit ECC memory error
Data Format 2: Multiple-event handle
Descriptor 3: Parity memory error
Data Format 3: Multiple-event
Descriptor 4: I/O channel block
Data Format 4: Multiple-event
Descriptor 5: POST error
Data Format 5: POST results bitmap
Descriptor 6: PCI parity error
Data Format 6: Multiple-event handle
Descriptor 7: PCI system error
Data Format 7: Multiple-event handle
Descriptor 8: System limit exceeded
Data Format 8: Multiple-event system management
Descriptor 9: OEM-specific
Data Format 9: POST results bitmap

Handle 0x0010, DMI type 16, 15 bytes
Physical Memory Array
Location: System Board Or Motherboard
Use: System Memory
Error Correction Type: None
Maximum Capacity: 4 GB
Error Information Handle: Not Provided
Number Of Devices: 4

Handle 0x0011, DMI type 19, 15 bytes
Memory Array Mapped Address
Starting Address: 0x00000000000
Ending Address: 0x000BFFFFFFF
Range Size: 3 GB
Physical Array Handle: 0x0010
Partition Width: 4

Handle 0x0012, DMI type 17, 27 bytes
Memory Device
Array Handle: 0x0010
Error Information Handle: Not Provided
Total Width: 64 bits
Data Width: 64 bits
Size: 1024 MB
Form Factor: DIMM
Set: None
Locator: DIMM0
Bank Locator: BANK0
Type: SDRAM
Type Detail: Synchronous
Speed: Unknown
Manufacturer: Manufacturer0
Serial Number: SerNum0
Asset Tag: AssetTagNum0
Part Number: PartNum0

Handle 0x0013, DMI type 20, 19 bytes
Memory Device Mapped Address
Starting Address: 0x00000000000
Ending Address: 0x0003FFFFFFF
Range Size: 1 GB
Physical Device Handle: 0x0012
Memory Array Mapped Address Handle: 0x0011
Partition Row Position: 1
Interleaved Data Depth: 1

Handle 0x0014, DMI type 17, 27 bytes
Memory Device
Array Handle: 0x0010
Error Information Handle: Not Provided
Total Width: 64 bits
Data Width: 64 bits
Size: 512 MB
Form Factor: DIMM
Set: None
Locator: DIMM1
Bank Locator: BANK1
Type: SDRAM
Type Detail: Synchronous
Speed: Unknown
Manufacturer: Manufacturer1
Serial Number: SerNum1
Asset Tag: AssetTagNum1
Part Number: PartNum1

Handle 0x0015, DMI type 20, 19 bytes
Memory Device Mapped Address
Starting Address: 0x00040000000
Ending Address: 0x0005FFFFFFF
Range Size: 512 MB
Physical Device Handle: 0x0014
Memory Array Mapped Address Handle: 0x0011
Partition Row Position: 1
Interleaved Data Depth: 1

Handle 0x0016, DMI type 17, 27 bytes
Memory Device
Array Handle: 0x0010
Error Information Handle: Not Provided
Total Width: 64 bits
Data Width: 64 bits
Size: 1024 MB
Form Factor: DIMM
Set: None
Locator: DIMM2
Bank Locator: BANK2
Type: SDRAM
Type Detail: Synchronous
Speed: Unknown
Manufacturer: Manufacturer2
Serial Number: SerNum2
Asset Tag: AssetTagNum2
Part Number: PartNum2

Handle 0x0017, DMI type 20, 19 bytes
Memory Device Mapped Address
Starting Address: 0x00060000000
Ending Address: 0x0009FFFFFFF
Range Size: 1 GB
Physical Device Handle: 0x0016
Memory Array Mapped Address Handle: 0x0011
Partition Row Position: 1
Interleaved Data Depth: 1

Handle 0x0018, DMI type 17, 27 bytes
Memory Device
Array Handle: 0x0010
Error Information Handle: Not Provided
Total Width: 64 bits
Data Width: 64 bits
Size: 512 MB
Form Factor: DIMM
Set: None
Locator: DIMM3
Bank Locator: BANK3
Type: SDRAM
Type Detail: Synchronous
Speed: Unknown
Manufacturer: Manufacturer3
Serial Number: SerNum3
Asset Tag: AssetTagNum3
Part Number: PartNum3

Handle 0x0019, DMI type 20, 19 bytes
Memory Device Mapped Address
Starting Address: 0x000A0000000
Ending Address: 0x000BFFFFFFF
Range Size: 512 MB
Physical Device Handle: 0x0018
Memory Array Mapped Address Handle: 0x0011
Partition Row Position: 1
Interleaved Data Depth: 1

Handle 0x001A, DMI type 32, 20 bytes
System Boot Information
Status: No errors detected

Handle 0x001B, DMI type 127, 4 bytes
End Of Table

Thanks for the advice

TTFN
JohnP

On 01/08/2012 07:46 PM, ogbi-web kenobi wrote:
> it seems I’m limited to the Core2 Dou
> (because of socket 775). Now what I don’t know is whether the MOBO can
> handle that.

what does Gateway say?

> how much of openSUSE 12.1 would I have to upgrade if I went from i686 to
> 64 bit.

does Gateway say the motherboard 64 bit capable?

well, if it is, you can still run 32 bit openSUSE 12.1 on it, and
nothing in openSUSE will need to be changed…

on the other hand, if you decided to move to 64 you would need to do a
complete new install and then join your old data back in…


DD http://tinyurl.com/DD-Caveat
openSUSE®, the “German Engineered Automobiles” of operating systems!

On Sun, 08 Jan 2012 18:46:02 +0000, ogbi-web kenobi wrote:

> Some advice on what my options might be, and how much of openSUSE 12.1
> would I have to upgrade if I went from i686 to 64 bit.

If the current CPU isn’t 64-bit, then you won’t need to worry about this
because AFAIK there are no CPU sockets that can take either a 32-bit or
64-bit CPU - it’s one or the other.

Jim


Jim Henderson
openSUSE Forums Administrator
Forum Use Terms & Conditions at http://tinyurl.com/openSUSE-T-C

Well Pooh! I thought this processor was 32 bit. Can some tell me if I’m right. My cpu type When it says instruction set 64 bit. That means it’s 64 bit. Right?

Am 08.01.2012 22:46, schrieb ogbi-web kenobi:
>
> Well Pooh! I thought this processor was 32 bit. Can some tell me if I’m
> right. ‘My cpu type’ (http://tinyurl.com/8a6r77v) When it says
> instruction set 64 bit. That means it’s 64 bit. Right?
>
>
If you want to be sure run the “grep flags /proc/cpuinfo” command
mentioned here
http://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/linux-how-to-find-if-processor-is-64-bit-or-not/
and look for the “lm” flag, it does not matter if you run a 32bit linux
right now.
If you are not sure howto interpret the output post it here.


PC: oS 11.4 (dual boot 12.1) 64 bit | Intel Core i7-2600@3.40GHz | KDE
4.6.0 | GeForce GT 420 | 16GB Ram
Eee PC 1201n: oS 11.4 64 bit | Intel Atom 330@1.60GHz | KDE 4.7.4 |
nVidia ION | 3GB Ram

flags : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe nx lm constant_tsc arch_perfmon pebs bts aperfmperf pni dtes64 monitor ds_cpl est tm2 ssse3 cx16 xtpr pdcm lahf_lm dts
flags : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe nx lm constant_tsc arch_perfmon pebs bts aperfmperf pni dtes64 monitor ds_cpl est tm2 ssse3 cx16 xtpr pdcm lahf_lm dts

It said ‘lm’ mode means 64 bit, that means this thing is indeed 64bit, right?

Did you not find this page from a search?

Gateway Support - Specifications

The E2160 is indeed 64-bit capable. Most current desktop CPUs from Intel are 64-bit capable. Only where the CPU is a budget line or where the 64-bit instruction set is unlikely to be needed is it omitted.

The motherboard, socket and the FSB constrain what you can put in place of the E2160. From List of Intel Pentium Dual-Core microprocessors - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, it looks like in theory you might be able to go up to E5800, but you should check on any Gateway forums to see if your desired CPU is supported in practice. What is supported often depends on the BIOS and revision. Also don’t forget other constraints like current draw (power supply limits) and physical space (new CPU might require more cooling and a bigger heatsink than will fit).

Good luck. Be sure to research it thoroughly before you swap or you may end up with a white elephant CPU.

Good luck. Be sure to research it thoroughly before you swap or you may end up with a white elephant CPU.

I already have one of those. lol. But yeah, this is going to require a bit more research.

thanks everyone for all the answers.They have been helpful.

TTFN
John