Nicholas Nicolaou :
how do I check which motherboard I have?
Like I was saying in my earlier posts, large computer manufacturers like Dell often hide that information. You can search for your model at
this Dell User Manual Website. If it shows a different product, choose "View Different Product."
I went and got a sample manual (
see here) just to see if they give specifics about the motherboard. It doesn't. The term "mother" doesn't even appear. It calls the motherboard a "system board," and it only appears in the context of error codes and images (pointing out in unhelpful diagrams roughly where the motherboard is located).
Your manual will likely have similarly vague information. I'd call Dell's customer support line to find out more, but chances are they will look at the same information to which you have access, though they may have something in their system you can't see online.
LilTwist :
. . . you should always check to see if you need a bios update to support the new cpu . . .
That's exactly the issue, isn't it? If you can't even find your motherboard model, it's going to be even more difficult to find which CPUs the BOIS supports and whether there's a BIOS update supporting the CPU you want. Often times the information is secret because the company supplying the motherboard (often a subsidiary of ASUS) knows the boards are not up to industry standards (because they don't need to be for such a specific use in a pre-assembled computer), and they don't want their name associated with the product. They only supply them because the likes of Dell, HP, and others create a large demand for them.
This is a major part of the reason people who care about specific configurations will just build their own computers. When you do, you do so with industry-standard parts that are made to be compatible with literally anything that fits on the board. Another reason is that swapping out a CPU will often void your warranty, which is a huge hint the machine isn't designed to accommodate different configurations.
Lesson learned, right? Next time, just take the plunge and build your own. You can't go wrong if you use www.PcPartPicker.com
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