Dell Inspiron 530

I know you guys seem to field alot of Dell questions so im sorry if this is just a repeat. It seems like my own dell is a bit different than the other ones as the processor is listed by everest as a Pentium 3 Xeon, where cpuid says its a Pentium dual core, which may be the same thing but im way behind on processor education, and have no clue about motherboards. I have searched to no end on the net and forums all around and found that this motherboard has so many questions and not enough answers. I was hoping to upgrade to a quad core, but it seems like most answers state that a high end core 2 duo is a better way, and more cost effective way, to go. The only reason i was even thinking about a quad is that the prices seemed reasonable and id like to pimp this sucker out sooner rather than later, and would not want to have to rebuy a processor.

Cpuid says: Wolfdale, socket type 775 LGA

Pentium Dual Core: E5400@2.70 ghz
Bus speed:199.5
Fsb:798
Core speed:1197
L1 Data:2X32kbytes 8way
L1 inst: 2X32 kbytes 8way
Level 2:2048 kbytes

Ive already upgraded my vid card to an Ati 4850 HD and Psu to a 550W OCZ, so im assuming power shouldnt be an issue.

I will also attach the everest report. let me know if you need anything more, i think ive covered the bases.

Any help is greatly appreciated and welcomed.

 

Hey blatherbeard welcome to MajorGeeks.

Im ashamed to say I can't help you with your problem, but i just wanted to say.....

Well done on your Post, that is a Well laid out, highly informative, perfect example of what an OP should be.

If you don't get the help you need I will learn whatever needs to be learned to help you get sorted! :lol:





Q

 

:wave Welcome to Major Geeks! :major

The reason Everest reports the wrong CPU is because the free version of Everest has not been updated in a couple years as it is no longer supported or actively being developed by the folks at Lavalys Software. You may be able to use the current paid version (as a free trial) to get accurate info, you can download it from this link. Anyway- a bit of research tells me the motherboard in the Inspiron 530 is made by Foxconn, and is basically a 'cut rate' version of the G33M (more info here). Here's a direct quote about the CPU support for that motherboard:

However, I could not find any 'solid' info as to exactly which CPUs are supported, and which are not, so you may have to contact Dell directly (YIKES!!!! :eek ) either via email or direct 'tech' chat, but I have a feeling they'd do everything in their power to dissuade you from upgrading the CPU. Generally speaking, when you buy a PC from one of the mass-marketers (Dell, HP, Gateway, etc), the PC is not designed to be easily "pimped out" by the end user, so keep this in mind. And your warranty will be voided the moment you open the case..... So...... good luck, and let us know what you decide to do!

 

This was a refurb anyway and my warranty is up 5/2010, so meh.

Dell's own website states the processor as one of their "cusomer option replacement part" or something to that effect. I read it as, you can fix it yourself, or have us do it, the way it was worded LOL

This would be my first processor upgrade, EVER lol that i had done myself and i was just hoping to not have to buy one, then argue with a supplier that i bought the wrong one and need another type. The problem is, that if i buy online, i havent found a site that has any kind of return policy that isnt just "return for same part only". Even on newegg the policy was no return other than replacement,which is discouraging to say the least when you have a company like this who not only makes it hard, but nearly impossible to figure out what you can do for a processor.

Makes choosing a video card look like a cakewalk

But needless to say im not too worried about voiding warranty since the psu and vid card are already changed out LOL

OH and i forgot to just thank you guys for all your hard work, and i know its hard because im pretty good at finding info on the web and i came up with squat,

ive also know about the fan/heatsink crap with new ones so im going to have to buy aftermarket fan/cooler, another 12 to 50 bucks, so id like it to be right the first time if possible, im sure you understand. lol

 

I couldnt edit my last post, just including an updated everest report, MUCH different than the first.

Prob wont help but i figure it was worth a shot, thanks again, sorry for the bump.


had to break it up into 2 docs, 250k limit is a bit low for a document but i understand there needs to be limits ;D

Hope this helps more but if not, well, we shall see LOL

 

Just wanted to update and maybe ask another question. Not gonna bother with attaching reports, just wondering if anyone has an answer off the top of the head. Gonna see how it reacts to gaming before i get my panties in a wad.

I ended up "upgrading" to the E6600 Core 2 Duo 1066FSB 4MB L2 cache.

In Cpu-z the Core speed, bus speed and rated Fsb are for sure almost double what the old ones were. (in original post). But yet my "windows experience" went from 5.5 to 5.2 because of the processor, and my benchmark which was over 1k with passmark, went down to 933. That said, can you run it, now says id be able to play both Assassins Creed 1 AND 2, where it said i could not with the other processor.

Any ideas why the scores would be lower?

Will know tomorrow how games perform, which as we all know, is the true test.....well that and if my folding speeds up

 

Another place to check (I found this one from another thread here) is:

http://www.yougamers.com/games/

Click on the first letter of the games name, find your games title, then click on "Run Now".