INTEL XEON W3530 2.8GHZ Quad Core

Unfortunately N15235 is not the model number. I am not sure what this number means but it was used on many different motherboards. Tthe model number however should be underneath that or on one of the stickers.

look at this picture: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/91oX3%2B-f%2BbL._SL1500_.jpg

see G31MPX series under N15235? That is part of the model number for the pictured board, NOT YOURS! Then on the sticker to the right you will see G32MPX-K that is the model number and what is needed to figure out how to proceeded.

What is your model number?

What is your budget?

Even with not knowing the model number he has said that its a 775 and that the new Xeon W3530 is LGA 1366, either way he need to get a new motherboard if he is to use the Xeon W3530

You are correct, however you are assuming that they have the money to purchase MB, RAM, and prob. GC, OS. Since the W3530 sells for about $9 on ebay I am assuming their is not money to buy MB, RAM, GC, OS. If all they want to do is have a better windows 7 experience and run programs better/faster (which is what it looks like to me) then what I am asking for is necessary information. It may be that their best and cheapest route to a much better running computer on the cheap is a Core 2Q for about $30.

From P4 to C2Q is completely doable depending on the board and the performance difference will be drastic. P4 just sucks really bad on Windows Vista and above.

I recently upgraded a family members computer from a single core NetBurst CeleronD 320 with 2 GB RAM that would barely run anything (windows took forever to boot as well) to a Quad core XEON 5450 with 8GB RAM. The difference was night and day their was no comparison to before and after. It only cost about $50 in eaby parts. It all depends on the board. I had never seen such drastic improvement from an upgrade before the 775 platform had great legs for its potential upgrade ability.

The XEON W3530 is just the XEON version of the i7 930. The chip specs for these two models are almost identical, the only real difference being the XEON supports ECC RAM.

Why did you buy the W3530? Do you already have some related parts? An i7 930 would have been cheaper I'm sure, indeed the somewhat better i7 950 or 960 are also cheap. Either way, these CPUs are intended for motherboards with an LGA 1366 socket, which on the consumer side are known as X58 boards (because they use Intel's X58 chipset). This is rather old technology now. If you have a chance to change your mind about the XEON purchase, I would recommend doing so. A newer build, even from tech just 1 or 2 generations old, eg. Z68 or Z77, would be much better.

If you do want to go ahead and use the CPU though, then you need to find an X58 motherboard which will support that CPU (many consumer X58 boards do not support XEONs, or only a limited number of them) along with one or more triple-channel memory kits (3x2GB or 3x4GB was typical, or you could slightly cheat by obtaining three identical 2-channel kits). Some Gigabyte X58 boards have good support for XEONs, especialy the GA-X58A-UD3R, but this is a highly valued model on the used market today. Asrock often has good support aswell. By contrast, ASUS generally doesn't bother with much in the way of XEON support on its consumer boards.

Either way, you're still likely looking at a used mbd purchase, with all the relevant risks involved.

If you are on a limited budget, then the used market can be incredibly useful, I buy stuff on eBay all the time. However, if you're starting from scratch, IMO you're better off trying to win a motherboard/CPU/graphics bundle, there tend to be quite a few of these at any one time, and at least that way you will have a matching set of parts. Then you just need a CPU cooler, case, PSU, graphics card, etc., all items which are much less problematic if obtained separately. Sometimes a bundle with already include one or more of these other items, especially the CPU cooler.

To answer your question though, yes that CPU will run Win7 ok, and it will be a lot faster than your old P4, but do try and get more than 4GB RAM even so. 8GB would be a more sensible minimum these days. Thet key point though is that the W3530 is not compatible with your existing motherboard, etc. You would need a matching X58 motherboard and newer triple channel DDR3 RAM in order to make use of the W3530.

Thus, if you have the option, I recommend returning the W3530, look for a Z68, Z77 or even a Z87 CPU/RAM/mbd bundle instead, eg. something like an i5 2500K, entry or medium level board (eg. ASUS P8Z68-V Pro/Gen3, Asrock Z68 Extreme4, Gigabyte GA-Z68Z-UD4P, etc.), with 8GB or 16GB RAM at 1600MHz minimum. This would be a decent starter setup which should not cost that much. Note that RAM is now quite cheap, so even just getting a CPU/mbd bundle is another option, ie. buy the RAM separately (I go for GSkill because it has lifetime warranty, eg. last week I won a 16GB 2133MHz kit for 58 UKP). This would open up a wider range of relevant auctions. For safety, look for sellers who list items with, "Returns accepted", ie. ignore any listing that says, "NO RETURNS", it's not worth the trouble. Make sure the mbd listed includes its original I/O shield (backplate), and if possible look for a bundle which already has the CPU installed on the mbd, because then you won't have to worry about doing that.

Remember you will also need a CPU cooler and thermal paste. Plenty of options here, both used and new.

Lastly, has to be said, if all you're looking for is a general tasks machine, it's hard to ignore the basic, no-frills but cheap prebuilt systems available from OEMs like Dell, HP and numerous highstreet sellers. Do you really need to build something yourself? Perhaps if the budget is very limited... but then maybe you should consider looking for a complete 2nd-hand PC, instead of separate parts. Old X58-based Dell XEON workstations are very cheap these days.

Ian.

Great information ! Nice to see people that put effort into explaining things!

Thank you i'm just looking for a 1366 motherboard that the Xeon Qud will fit into i have about 4GB RAM at the moment

i'm sorry the model number for my current board Foxconn should be 45CM

A 1366 motherboard for a XEON Quad core processor.