The 4 letter "D" word hassles

[Guest]

Hey folks,
Got a problem, partially because I am a novice at best, and partly because "Dell" Refuses to answer a question.
Q1) I have a Dell Inspiron 546 AMD Athlon II X2 240 processor, 8gig (4x2gig) PC6400 ram. I am disabled, and swivled my chair around, snagging and breaking the flip down door off, with my jean material. I want to know if anyone knows if the "Guts" from this case will drop into a replacment "Barebone" type ATX/Small ATX replacment case?
Q2) I was thinking while I was going to swap the hardware over, an upgrade may be in order. I spotted an AMD Athlon II X4 9850 CPU, which uses an AM2 base socket. My question was would my MOBO support a quad core? The retailers tech support said probably, but not certain. Since I want better odds, I called Dell to find out what "Socket type" my processor was, and would my board work. Dell kindly offered an answer, after I paid $75 to renew my phone support....WTH...my warranty expired last month!! So if anyone knows the answer here, shoot me a thread. I am planning to install a CPU cooler to utilize some of the added 300+ Watts of PSU power in the new case, but I'm not a Game'r or speed freak (no offense) I just want to wring out all I can on a budget.
Thanks and as always Kind Regards to all.

 

[popatim]

The Phenom 9850 is a 125w parts and not likely to work with your motherboard.
You'de be way better off getting the any of the series 2 cpus (Athlon2, phenom2) just stay 95w and under. You might want to research what processors were officially offered and get one of those. A friend of mine has a athlon2 630 in his, I beleive, and its a decent performer.

 

[popatim]

I did the homework. LoL

AMD Phenom™ II X4 945 (3GHz/8MB cache)
AMD Phenom™ II X4 820 (2.8GHz/6MB cache)
AMD Athlon™ II X4 630 (2.8GHz/2MB cache)
AMD Athlon™ II X4 620 (2.6GHz/2MB cache)
AMD Phenom X3 8750 (2.4GHz/1066Mhz FSB/3.5MB cache)
AMD Phenom X3 8650 (2.3GHz/3600Mhz FSB/1.5MB cache)
AMD Athlon™ II X2 250 (3GHz/2MB cache)
AMD AthlonTM X2 5600+ (2.9GHz/0.5MB cache)
AMD AthlonTM II X3 435 (2.9GHz/1.5MB cache)
AMD AthlonTM X2 5400+ (2.8GHz/1MB cache)
AMD Athlon™ II X2 240 (2.8GHz/2MB cache)
AMD AthlonTM X2 5200+ (2.6GHz/0.5MB cache)
AMD AthlonTM X2 7450 (2.4GHz/1800Mhz FSB/1MB cache)
AMD AthlonTM LE1660 (2.8GHz/0.5MB cache)
AMD SempronTM LE1300 (2.3GHz/800Mhz FSB/0.5MB cache)
AMD SempronTM LE1250 (2.2GHz/800Mhz FSB/0.5MB cache)

 

[Guest]

Hey Papa,
THANKS a ton! The CPU was an afterthought, but seemed like a good way to kill some dead time for me...(sorry oxymoronic comment). I appreciate the list, but where did it come from? Tiger D was the retailer who could not provide app's, and Dell was a total waste of time (as has been my experience since my first Austin built 1994 PC, they rocked then). Just wondering if everything listed is a safe bet, in that 95>Watt range? Is the inspiron 546 a socket AM2 or AM2+? I forgot to mention the Athlon II, I now have is 2.8ghz already, so would a swap to a 3-4 core 2.8ghz be a real advantage just in the additional cores?
Also, any comments on the case swap? I have been a pro-luthier (guitar repair) since before my accident in 1/06, doing it full time from home now. I say this as I am fairly skilled with dremels, etc, and have made some unusual guitar repairs & part resizing/refitting/inlay repair etc. Not bragging, just skill wise, if a slight case mod, or wiring/rewiring issues arise, I can prob handle them.
I am suprised I havn't gotten into PC repair before now? Any good text's you'd recommend? I seem to like the change from years of guitar repair, and many skills & tools seem applicable. Any info you care to offer is truly appreciated!! I may just follow this into a total build, and overclock, just to learn how, and again, kill what often feels like permanant house arrest, and I committed no crime-time. The change is good, and I love researching and browsing parts sites etc. I was a mechanic for 27 years, and it is much the same feeling as hopping up a car & engine, and hitting the strip. (Mopars Rule...LOL!)
Thanks again Papa, sincerely you're very kind indeed!
"Q-dude"

 

[Guest]

Best answer selected by Quaadude.

 

[popatim]

I got the info right from Dell; all their processors were listed in their specifications for that system since it came with so many 'options'. would you see a benefit depends alot on what else you do and how many apps you have open at once. The cores between an athlonII x2 and an x4 would be identical so its just a question of would you make use of the extra's.

As for what texts to recommend for repairing pc's... well I learned a long time ago and accumulated the rest over time but one book I found very useful is called "Upgrading and Repairing PC's". I still have one in my desk at home.

It seems we have alot in common. I have a Dreadnaught at home and an Eaton in my Pontiac.