Upgrade my CPU processor a bit

Yeah they are pretty loud. That whole era had loud fans across the board these are nearly comparable to rack gear of the time but maybe not quite as loud.

Malneb said:

I don't think a gpu addon card would make much difference unless you were going to put something considerably stronger than a gt 710 combined with more workload like rendering. An older GTX card in it like a 1050 sff or something.

Unfortunately H/W is above my pay-grade so I don’t know what you mean by rendering.
I see some used GTX 1050’s but they aren’t cheap,
especially if I don’t need it for an end-of-life box (avg price is $80-$100).

I ordered a 3770 for $35 and will report back when I install it.
I also assume there’s no setup involved, just replace the old with the new, is this true?

I do have one last Q and I hope I don’t need a new thread for this,
but when I bring up a web page, after a brief pause, I get, “You’re Not Connected”,
even though the wifi icon on the task bar shows connected.

A second or two later the page connects.
Do you think the 3770 will alleviate this problem?

GTX 1050 is a lot difference in performance from GT 710 but it is also in cost. Unless you play some demanding games or edit HD video and similar creative work you won't need it. "Rendering" is the process of calculating all the visual effects in a game or video and display the result or record it on file.
Yes, it is plug and play. You remove the old CPU and put the new in the socket. Then you clean all traces of the old thermal paste from the heat sink (metal part of the CPU cooler), apply new paste and then put the cooler back in place. If you don't have new paste but there is enough on the heat sink, you could put it back as it is, but not recommended. Windows will show you a new CPU at Settings, System, Info. No driver needed.
It looks like some issue with your wireless adapter. Check if there is a new/different driver at manufacturer's site and install it. Some times Windows Update replaces the manufacturer driver with a Microsoft driver for the adapter. Go at Device Manager, expand the Network section, right-click on your wireless (802.11) adapter and select Update Driver. Then select the second option (manual installation) and then the second again (select from a list). You might see two entries, one from your manufacturer (such as Mediatek) and on from Microsoft. Select the manufacturer driver and click next to apply. See if that solves your issue. No replacing the CPU won't fix that.

ejaggers said:

Unfortunately H/W is above my pay-grade so I don’t know what you mean by rendering.
I see some used GTX 1050’s but they aren’t cheap,
especially if I don’t need it for an end-of-life box (avg price is $80-$100).

I ordered a 3770 for $35 and will report back when I install it.
I also assume there’s no setup involved, just replace the old with the new, is this true?

I do have one last Q and I hope I don’t need a new thread for this,
but when I bring up a web page, after a brief pause, I get, “You’re Not Connected”,
even though the wifi icon on the task bar shows connected.

A second or two later the page connects.
Do you think the 3770 will alleviate this problem?

No this will be unrelated to your CPU it will be some issue with software or the OS

It is a driver issue. Try updating the Wi-Fi driver as suggested in my previous post. Replacing the CPU won't fix it since it is unrelated.

The whole point is to repair the old fans, if possible, not buy new. Are you sure you cannot remove the cover of the PSU and clean or replace the fan?

The one Phil upgraded is still making a racket can be clearly heard on the video

Improve your HP Elite Small Form Factor PC - YouTube