I have a Dell Vostro 420 with a Core 2 Duo CPU  (E7400@2.80 Ghz)
 
I have 8 Gigs of DDR-PC2-6400 (800Mhz) RAM
OS is Windows 7 64-bit
Sonar X2a
 
Everything is still working fine but I am notiicing a heavier CPU usage as I use more and more plugins
 
I will eventually upgrade the whole thing, but I still use a PCI audio interface and I am not really too limited with my current practices...So...I am just wondering - if I could find a Core 2 Quad on the cheap:
 
What Intel CPU would you recommend - given that I had relatively slow RAM to boot :).
 
I don't want to spend too much on old technology, but I also hate to fill up the landfill when this setup still mostly gets the job done....
 
Any constructive advice would be most welcome!
 

 I would say any LGA 775 will work. LGA 775 quads at amazon

Thanks for the reply, Grant.  Also - nice ZZ Top cover!

  Thanks Eric, glad you liked it bro.

 I am planning an upgrade of 2 socket 775 dells for my folks. One of them I have a feeling I will need to upgrade the power supply because there is already a high end video card an added hard drive and several USB devices he always uses.

 I'm thinking if you have done a lot of upgrading already, like video and power consuming USB and firewire devices. You may need to upgrade your PSU as well.

Hey Grant - thanks for the head's up - I didn't even think about the PSU being a limiting factor here.... Doh!
 
I have an extra internal HDD, an upgraded vdeo card, two extra USB drives and multiple other USB devices on this computer.  I just looked online and it seems like the Vostro 420 comes stock with a 350 watt PSU - so I better figure out what I am currently drawing before I make any other changes.
 
Thanks again!
 
-Eric

When you do decide to upgrade, you could always continue to use your old PC for any word processing, internet surfing, and all other regular type stuff, and then use your new machine strictly for your DAW and audio apps.  The generic stuff requires very little computer power, and for that, older computers are often quite fine (the one I use for that stuff is far older, with much lower specs, than yours).

Generally, the advantage of an upgrade is not the increased processing power but the addition of new features. That requires a new motherboard, which in turn usually requires new memory processor etc. If you do want to just upgrade the processor, consider getting a used one. The world is full of processors that people pull from their old machines and would be happy to sell cheap. I bought a new Q6600 for my last build for about $250.00. You can probably find one for $60.00 used on eBay now.

Yeah - these are the two paths I am considering.
 
I am still leaning towards picking up a Core 2 Quad on the cheap (likely used) - I found a site that estimates my current power usage and it looks like I would still be within the 350 watts of my current PSU - even with the addition of a Q6600.  I'm thinking of picking up one of those Kll-A-Watt meters to confirm this  - Any of you have any opinion on the reliabillity of these devices?

To be honest bro 350 sure seems like it might be too low. Pretty much every DAW user is a PC power user and IMO I think you may need a little more power than that. I may be wrong. 

If I'm understanding, correctly, that kill-a-watt thingy is for estimating cost from what the PSU is drawing. I don't think that will give you the details you need.

There is a free demo of Everest that you can measure what your voltages are on the separate rails. I would have a look at what all of your voltages read at idle and then load your heaviest project and see what it's at. If I remember correctly, the text will turn red in the voltage measurement category if you are stressing it.



Everest 30day demo
Hope that helps

Thanks Grant - I'll check this out.