How old is this giant CPU?

Hi I just got a refurbished HP Compaq Business Desktop DC7800 (GC758AV). Opening it up I see this giant glossy black box attached to the mother board which I assume is the CPU. It's an Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 2.33GHz. The thing is my last new PC (which I fried) has a more powerful CPU (duo 2.5) but looked much smaller with no giant box over it. I'm wondering what's all in there and if that is like an earlier version of the dual core CPU's. And what's with the giant enclosure?

I Especially want to know the disadvantages of an older big CPU in a box like that? Would it be a good idea to unscrew this monster and replace it with a newer smaller CPU of simillar power?

Also, do you think I got ripped off if I paid $250 for this PC? 'Cause looking at this giant thing (with 2 extra fans it's so huge) I'm sort of looking for a reason to ask to return it. Unless you guys think it's not as old as it looks!

Thanks alot for any feedback , Robert

 

Two fans? Your picture is blurry and unclear but in combination with your description, it sound like you are talking about your CPU's heat sink, which removes excess heat that your CPU generates during normal operation. I could be more definitive with a larger, better focused picture.

 

some manufactures use smaller heat sinks and fans that sit on top of the CPU, like if you buy an OEM CPU with the heatsink, you'll get one like that. You can get after markets that are larger with larger fans, but what your most likely looking at is a shroud that has a case sized fan at the end maybe mounted to the front of the case. The manufactures like Dell and HP and I have some IBMs they use the larger case fans with a plastic housing or shroud to channel the air across a larger heat sing for cooling. The reasoning??? you got me? But it really has nothing to do with age. I got a new Dell server in last week T410, had the same get up pnly larger, this massive black plastic shroud to channel air across the CPU and chipset.

 

here's another photo. One fan is at the front the the case as part of the encasing and the second is a second tower fan at the back just below the PSU. The two fans made me think that it's must be running hotter than a smaller more current CPU of the same power and was wondering if that is correct.

Also, I did a little reading on "OEM CPU" it's a little confusing. Is that a cheaper version of the the CPU, like is it still an "Intel" or a no-name equivalent?

 

Most Cpu's are about the size of a Half dollar coin The Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 2.33GHz you have is not really all that old may be about 3 or 4 years old.

If you want to know the computers info use Speccy it should tell you every thing.
http://majorgeeks.com/Speccy_d6358.html

The heat sink is probably the biggest thing in your case Looks like a mess to i would use some wire ties to clean up the wires a little bit.

 

OEM Original Equipment Manufacture stuff is basically sold to system builders, it comes as a 'plain' CPU, usually no heat sink, and the most expensive part the fancy retail box.
OEM is nothing to be afraid of.
Retail = fancy box, manuals, heatsink (in the case of CPUs) - expensive
OEM = plastic case & CPU -cheaper
It is the exact CPU found in the fancy box on the retail store shelf.

 

@foogoo...so are you saying my PC has no heatsink or just that's what ships with OEM? I'm getting mixed messages here.

@Gloozit, yes that's what it looks like only not exactly, it doesn't say dell on it and the shape is different.

There's too much on the Speccy text to post, I don't know what's what in there. But if anyone wants to look at it to confirm how old the CPU is I've attached it. I defiantly didn't think I was paying $250 for a 2007 CPU, should have checked ahead of time.

 

250 is reasonable for that system, running windows seven. In fact i would list simlar systems higher, like 350 at the store i do work for, and it would sell pretty easy. You got a fairly good system at a fairly decent price.

 

That plastic deal is just a casing that helps direct airflow. Your cpu is under that, under the metal heat sink. If your looking for a reason/excuse to return it, there really is none apperent. Different cpu's will have different heat sinks of different size, but thats really not here or there unless your overclocking your system.

 

These are your Specs

Summary
Operating System
MS Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit
CPU
Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 @ 2.33GHz 34 °C
Conroe 65nm Technology
RAM
3.00 GB Dual-Channel DDR2 @ 332MHz (5-5-5-15)
Motherboard
Hewlett-Packard 0AACh (XU1 PROCESSOR) 51 °C
Graphics
Acer AL1913 (1024x768@75Hz)
Intel(R) Q35 Express Chipset Family (Microsoft Corporation - WDDM 1.0)
Hard Drives
156GB Western Digital WDC WD1600AAJS-60M0A0 ATA Device (SATA)
Optical Drives
HL-DT-ST DVD-RAM GH15L ATA Device
Audio
SoundMAX Integrated Digital HD Audio

I probably would not expect this thing to do any kinda hard core gaming.

your mother board seems to be a little warm but that is kinda typical for that kinda case.Just make sure you dust it out once a month or so to keep the dust out.Use a can of air for that.

 

They should have no problem running a 64bit OS on that machine, along with adding in a decent PCI-E GPU, it should work out pretty well, even if they play games on it. I would have killed to get a machine like that for $250 five years ago. Systems these days are going for cheap, since MS is trying to push everyone into the portable life, which will never happen, due to there is still a place for running boxes like that as servers.

 

There is nothing wrong with the machine you have. OEM is a one all statement. Dell, HP, Compaq, Gateway, etc. are OEM. If you move into the servers, the heatsink units will be hardier than what you see on a desktop.

Again, do not see what you are implying, other than that plastic cover is there to help to direct airflow over the heatsink and out of the case.

 

nothing

 

OEM usualy come without a heat sink and the manufacturer has to put one on, thus the different configurations you'll see when you open a case.
Yes your PC has a heatsink or it would fry in seconds.