I have a somewhat old Dell Precision T7500 desktop with this 64-bit Intel Xeon CPU: http://ark.intel.com/products/48768I have been thinking about upgrading this CPU to an Intel i7 CPU.It looks like this CPU corresponds to this one at cpu-upgrade.com:http://www.cpu-upgrade.com/CPUs/Intel/Xeon/E5645.htmlOn the right side of above page at cpu-upgrade.com is a link to a Intel X58 Express page (under Intel Xeon E5645 chipset compatibility). This link leads to this page: http://www.cpu-upgrade.com/mb-Intel_(chipsets)/X58_Express.htmlAbove page lists some i7 CPU's as compatible with the chipset on this motherboard.I have two questions I wanted to ask:Is this information all I need to determine which version of the i7CPU I could upgrade to?If not, how can I determine if I need to replace the entiremotherboard?
How to determine if I can just upgrade the CPU or if have to upgrade the whole motherboard?
processor;motherboard;compatibility
Sockets are the answer.  Generally, modern intel CPUs use sockets in the LGA 11xx format.  I don't know what your CPU uses for it's socket, but before you ask: no, you cannot get socket adapters for cpus.  If the sockets aren't compatible, you need a new motherboard, and maybe more.The socket type should be silkscreened onto the motherboard somewhere.Read the top comment on this answer for a bit more info.