Can you Upgrade the CPU on a XC-780?

tmen

I have a Acer Aspire XC-780 with a Intel Core i5-6400 CPU @ 2.70ghz.

I ran the Microsoft Health Checker to see if I would be able to upgrade to Windows 11 and it said the processor isn't currently supported.

I was wondering if I could upgrade the CPU to one that is supported, if so what would people recommend ?

//Edited the content to add model name.​

billsey

Nope. You can upgrade the processor, but only within the 6th generation family, so i7-6700 would be a possibility. The TPM needed by Windows 11 isn't included in the 6th gen chipset (IIRC you need at least 8th gen). Windows 11 will require a whole new motherboard, new processor and new memory, so it's much easier to just get a newer computer...

billsey

Nope. You can upgrade the processor, but only within the 6th generation family, so i7-6700 would be a possibility. The TPM needed by Windows 11 isn't included in the 6th gen chipset (IIRC you need at least 8th gen). Windows 11 will require a whole new motherboard, new processor and new memory, so it's much easier to just get a newer computer...

tmen

Thanks for the reply, I was hoping as my current processor supports tpm version 2 I would have been able to upgrade it and it would be OK. It looks like I will be staying on windows 10 for a bit longer and replace the machine before Microsoft ends support for windows 10.

billsey

No, TPM didn't come out until later. You need (I believe) an 8th gen or newer.

Not really a problem, I believe support for W10 hangs around for at least five more years...

tmen

My chip does support TPM.

When I run the Microsoft Health Checker it says "TPM 2.0 enabled on this PC TPM:TPM 2.0"

If I run tpm.msc it shows manufacturer INTC manufacturer version 11.0.1.100 Specification Version 2.0

So there must be something else it doesn't like about this chip

As you say Windows 10 support will still be around for a while so I will stick with that.

DDFLINK

I have an Acer Aspire XC-780 with an Intel Core i7-6700 CPU @ 3.40ghz.

The Microsoft Health Checker said the processor isn't currently supported for Windows 11. Can I upgrade the CPU to one that is supported, if so what would people recommend?

billsey

Nope, an upgrade would require a motherboard, CPU and memory on your system. The current motherboard is designed using the 6th gen Intel chips, so 6th gen is all it can do. Go ahead continue to run Windows 10 until you feel ready for a hardware update, then switch to a newer machine.

martcole

Could I impose of the apparent experts on this thread maybe to confirm what I understand, though a year late...

I have an XC-780 in the UK with an i5-6400 2.7Ghz, 5 years old and getting a little slow!

 

Do I get it that I could 'just', in order of improvement value.  Per @StevenGen in a prev post

1) Plug in an i7-7700 as it will just fit and work on my old board?  Do I assume that an i7-6700 will just be a little slower, I am looking at 2nd hand as new is £350 and I might as well start anew.

2) upgrade memory with max 32GB at DDR4-2133MHz (PC4-17000) 1.2V 288-pin DIMM

3) after that I see improved Graphics card and power supply, but I don't game, just browse and simple financial stuff.

Many thanks, if I am not too far and too late!!

ttttt

@martcole

Are you still using the original mechanical HDD? If so, your PC will be slow for sure. The old HDD is the bottleneck.

Your PC using 6th gen intel CPU will not be qualified for Win 11 and Windows support will end in 2025.

I suggest you change the mechanical HDD to a 2.5" SATA3 SSD. This will be a big improvement for your PC's performance. Upgrading the CPU for the same gen CPU will not help much.

If you need help on how to migrate from the old HDD to the SSD, start a new thread later.

billsey

No, your 6th gen motherboard will not work with a 7th gen i7. You have to have the 7th gen motherboard they used on later models of the XC-780 to use the i7-7700. In order of potential speed boost:

1. Change from booting from a HDD to booting from a SSD
2. Upgrade memory until you are using less than 75% under your heaviest load
3. Improved GPU over the stock one built into the CPU
4. Upgrade the CPU to an i7-6700
   

In my opinion the only one of those that might be worth doing on that old of a system is the SSD. It make a huge difference in boot time and improves application load times by just as much as the boot improvement.

StevenGen

tmen said:

I have a Acer Aspire XC-780 with a Intel Core i5-6400 CPU @ 2.70ghz.

I ran the Microsoft Health Checker to see if I would be able to upgrade to Windows 11 and it said the processor isn't currently supported.

I was wondering if I could upgrade the CPU to one that is supported, if so what would people recommend ?

//Edited the content to add model name.​

You need to get a new mobo and get a new cpu of the lowest win-11 spec type, which is the 8th Gen Intel (that are listed on the Win-11 compatibility list) and a mobo that is 2.0 TPM compliant. The XC-780's mobo can be replaced by an mATXor an ATX type mobo (as its not an acer proprietary type like the XC-870) so you have a choice between just upgrading to the 8th Gen Intel or AMD type mobos, its your choice? As with an 8th Gen mobo with the Intel B460 chipset, you might be able to use the OEM XC-780 ram the DDR4-2133mhz, psu and case that you have, so check that out first if you are on a budget and are going to want to use as many interchangeable parts from your XC-780 that you have. Otherwise for you to buy a new type mobo, cpu, ram and psu and upgrade to be Win-11 compliant, you might as well either buy a new Aspire or Nitro desktop as it will be cheaper.