Upgrading two Dell Inspiron 530's

[Daratum]

Hello everyone! I currently have two Dell Inspiron 530's that I'm looking to upgrade for my friend's parents.
OS: Windows Vista = Will be upgraded to 7
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 @ 2.8GHz
RAM: 3.00GB Dual-Channel DDR2 @ 253MHz ( 6-6-6-18 )
Motherboard: Dell Inc. 0G679R (Socket 775)
Graphics: VX2250 SERIES
Hard Drives: 298GB Seagate

Im looking to up the RAM for these computers and possibly the processors.
What could I get for these?

 

[mattius92]

For more RAM, you will need a 64-bit OS, because a 32-bit OS can only use up to 3.5GB of RAM. What is your budget? For the CPU, the Dell manual says that Core 2 Quads are supported if you have the correct motherboard (DG33M03), if not, you are limited to Core 2 Duos.

 

[Daratum]

For more RAM, you will need a 64-bit OS, because a 32-bit OS can only use up to 3.5GB of RAM. What is your budget? For the CPU, the Dell manual says that Core 2 Quads are supported if you have the correct motherboard (DG33M03), if not, you are limited to Core 2 Duos.

I intend to upgrade both OS' to Windows 7 64-bit.
How do I check which motherboard I have?
My budget is around $400 to upgrade them both. Im looking to possibly get 8GB of RAM as well.

 

[Kisianik]

For more RAM, you will need a 64-bit OS, because a 32-bit OS can only use up to 3.5GB of RAM. What is your budget? For the CPU, the Dell manual says that Core 2 Quads are supported if you have the correct motherboard (DG33M03), if not, you are limited to Core 2 Duos.

I intend to upgrade both OS' to Windows 7 64-bit.
How do I check which motherboard I have?
My budget is around $400 to upgrade them both. Im looking to possibly get 8GB of RAM as well.

It is actually very simple - open PC cases and check wattage of power supplies - on this particular models Dell used 305 watt for systems compatible with Duo and 350 watt for Quads, so if there is 305 or 300 watt power supply, motherboard supports only Duo and the fastest one is E8600.

What is the purpose of this upgrade?

 

[Daratum]

For more RAM, you will need a 64-bit OS, because a 32-bit OS can only use up to 3.5GB of RAM. What is your budget? For the CPU, the Dell manual says that Core 2 Quads are supported if you have the correct motherboard (DG33M03), if not, you are limited to Core 2 Duos.

I intend to upgrade both OS' to Windows 7 64-bit.
How do I check which motherboard I have?
My budget is around $400 to upgrade them both. Im looking to possibly get 8GB of RAM as well.

It is actually very simple - open PC cases and check wattage of power supplies - on this particular models Dell used 305 watt for systems compatible with Duo and 350 watt for Quads, so if there is 305 or 300 watt power supply, motherboard supports only Duo and the fastest one is E8600.

What is the purpose of this upgrade?

Alright i'll open them up and take a look see what the wattage it then.

As stated earlier these are for my friend's parents, both of them are teachers. They are also heavily involved in our communities local theater groups so theyll compose music for shows or do a great deal of video editing of recorded shows and they've expressed that their computers are a bit sluggish at the moment.

 

[Kisianik]

Did those PCs worked well before and became sluggish now, or those folks installed new programs and those PCs slowed down?

I noticed, that many older people do not pay attention to cleaning junk files and have no clue about defrag, if those PCs were never defraged - this alone will provide at least 10-15% boost in speed.

Considering that CPU most likely can not be upgraded, we need to see what can be done for cheap.

Adding video card will help, but not for everything. I would consider ATI 7750 card for about $100 max. This card doesn't require power supply upgrade and it should be more than enough for their needs. Faster card will definitely bottleneck processor. Upgrading processor to E8600 would not bring dramatic increase in performance, it would feel a little bit faster, not significant.

 

[Daratum]

Did those PCs worked well before and became sluggish now, or those folks installed new programs and those PCs slowed down?

I noticed, that many older people do not pay attention to cleaning junk files and have no clue about defrag, if those PCs were never defraged - this alone will provide at least 10-15% boost in speed.

Considering that CPU most likely can not be upgraded, we need to see what can be done for cheap.

Adding video card will help, but not for everything. I would consider ATI 7750 card for about $100 max. This card doesn't require power supply upgrade and it should be more than enough for their needs. Faster card will definitely bottleneck processor. Upgrading processor to E8600 would not bring dramatic increase in performance, it would feel a little bit faster, not significant.

300w is what the power supply is rated at.

 

[Daratum]

Did those PCs worked well before and became sluggish now, or those folks installed new programs and those PCs slowed down?

I noticed, that many older people do not pay attention to cleaning junk files and have no clue about defrag, if those PCs were never defraged - this alone will provide at least 10-15% boost in speed.

Considering that CPU most likely can not be upgraded, we need to see what can be done for cheap.

Adding video card will help, but not for everything. I would consider ATI 7750 card for about $100 max. This card doesn't require power supply upgrade and it should be more than enough for their needs. Faster card will definitely bottleneck processor. Upgrading processor to E8600 would not bring dramatic increase in performance, it would feel a little bit faster, not significant.

Also I've cleaned out a great deal of kneaded programs here and there.

Dont suppose going from 3GB to 4GB of RAM will make a huge difference?

http://www.amazon.com/XFX-DisplayPort-PCI-Express-FX775AZNP4-FX-775A-ZNP4/dp/B007Z3T5JC/ref=pd_sim_sbs_pc_1
Willa card like this due?

 

[Kisianik]

Video card is good, and it doesn't require power supply upgrade, in this case do not pay attention to manufacturer requirements!
You did not tell us about their Windows completely, is it 32 bit or 64 bit, if 32 bit 3GB RAM is enough, if 64 bit, not enough, so clarify this first.

 

[Daratum]

Video card is good, and it doesn't require power supply upgrade, in this case do not pay attention to manufacturer requirements!
You did not tell us about their Windows completely, is it 32 bit or 64 bit, if 32 bit 3GB RAM is enough, if 64 bit, not enough, so clarify this first.

I said before "I intend to upgrade both OS' to Windows 7 64-bit".

 

[Kisianik]

Overlooked, sry.

Will comeback tomorrow, I hope, because RAM upgrade for this model could be difficult, so I need to find my resources about it - officially supported only 4 GB, but with certain tricks, up to 8 GB can be installed!
So tomorrow, or at worst, Sunday morning, got to go to work.

 

[Daratum]

Overlooked, sry.

Will comeback tomorrow, I hope, because RAM upgrade for this model could be difficult, so I need to find my resources about it - officially supported only 4 GB, but with certain tricks, up to 8 GB can be installed!
So tomorrow, or at worst, Sunday morning, got to go to work.

Thank you sir, you are a gentleman and a scholar.

 

[bambiboom]

Daratum,

Dell Inspiron 530 manual >

ftp://ftp.dell.com/Manuals/all-products/esuprt_desktop/esuprt_inspiron_desktop/inspiron-530_owner%27s%20manual_en-us.pdf

I could find only one Inspiron 530 on Passmark benchmarks with the 0G679R motherboards and that had a core2 Duo, but the manual says that Quad core Socket 775 CPU's may be used. Using the same Socket 775, 1066FSB, and 65nm lithography, the fastest CPU for your Dell Inspiron (see page 179 owner's manual) may be the 4-core, Core 2 Quad QX 6800 @ 2.93GHz / 8MB cache. This would be a dramatic increase in total computing power, but in some single threaded and 2D applications- which many are, the difference in some applications between 2- core 2.8 and quad core 2. 93GHz may not be dramatic enough to warrant the cost. The QX 6800 is also quite expensive >

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_sop=15&_sacat=0&_from=R40&_nkw=Core2+Quad+QX6800&LH_Complete=1&rt=nc

> these are often about $120. Note > E7400= 65W, QX6800=130W

If the motherboard will work with the quad cores in that line, a core2 Quad Q6700 @ 2.66GHz for about $45-50 or the Q6600 @2.4 for $30-35 are good choices. Q6600= 105W , so for any change to quad core, you will want to upgrade the cooling. The 530 uses a fan/heatsink combination and as the system were supplied new with quad core CPUs, there must be a model number for that use.

In Passmark benchmarks, the system ratings for an Inspiron 530 / Q6600 / GTS 450 system is a respectable 1443 with 2D / 3D scores of 371 / 1661 while an Inspiron 530 / Core2 4500 (2.2GHz) / 9500 GT, rated 788 with 2D / 3D of 325 / 296.

Of course, a lot of the difference in these two systems' 3D performance is due to the video card, but to some degree it is also the CPU architecture unlocking the GPU power. So, if you upgrade the CPU, consider also a reasonable video card and the system could perform quite well. Look for deals such as >

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127703

-which is a very competent GTX 650 which after a rebate is $70. If your friend's parents only write letters and browse the Intertubes, you can buy a GeForce 630 for $60, or 610 for $40. There are also good Radeons in those price ranges and Radeons often seem to perform a bit better at the same price as NVIDIA.

You may be able to use 8GB RAM- The manual mentions the "530a / 530c" as using 8GB. You might want to confirm the ability of these particular 530's to do this before buying copies of 64-bit Windows. An updated BIOS may - no guarantees- may allow the use of 8GB RAM. I worked on a Dell Precision 390 (from 2005) recently and the BIOS upgrade made 8GB possible. I would say though that if you can't use 8GB RAM, you may as well stay with the 32-bit Windows and only add to have 4GB. Note> the manual says the 530 uses DDR2 667 / 800 and in your list you call it "253".

It appears these systems have some good potential.

Cheers,

BambiBoom

 

[Kisianik]

To bambiboom:

The Inspiron 530 has two variants of motherboards, both made by Foxconn and based on the G33M series. The G33M02 which supports up to Core 2 Duo processors (the e8600 is the fastest compatible cpu)and the DG33M03, which supports up to Core 2 Quad processors. Inspiron 530 systems sold with Pentium Dual-Core or Core 2 Duo processors can not be upgraded to Core 2 Quad processors without adding at least a 350W power supply and swapping motherboards to the DG33M03 motherboard. The reason the G33M02 doesn't support Core 2 Quad processors is because it only has 6 voltage regulator ICs, the DG33M03 has 11.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dell_Inspiron#Inspiron_530

I already determined that OP has Duo only compatible motherboard, so Quad core information can be disregarded!

I comeback on memory later.

 

[Daratum]

To bambiboom:

The Inspiron 530 has two variants of motherboards, both made by Foxconn and based on the G33M series. The G33M02 which supports up to Core 2 Duo processors (the e8600 is the fastest compatible cpu)and the DG33M03, which supports up to Core 2 Quad processors. Inspiron 530 systems sold with Pentium Dual-Core or Core 2 Duo processors can not be upgraded to Core 2 Quad processors without adding at least a 350W power supply and swapping motherboards to the DG33M03 motherboard. The reason the G33M02 doesn't support Core 2 Quad processors is because it only has 6 voltage regulator ICs, the DG33M03 has 11.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dell_Inspiron#Inspiron_530

I already determined that OP has Duo only compatible motherboard, so Quad core information can be disregarded!

I comeback on memory later.

gotcha!

 

[Kisianik]

Been very busy lately, so finally I am back with 8 GB RAM update, I found it.

fadiaz-pr said:
Update:

Well after reading all the information I could find (in this forum and in other forums) i decided to try the memory upgrade to 8 GB. I bought 4 RAM sticks of 2 GB and changed the RAM. Turned the computer on and started beeping. Turned off and checked all RAM sticks. They all seemed properly connected, but decided to reconnect again. Turned on and still beeping. Took 2 sticks off (leaving only 4 GB) making sure the remaining 2 sticks were connected, turned on and still beeping. Changed the 8 GB RAM back to original 2 GB RAM, turned on and machine worked fine.

Here decided to test the sticks individually. Took out again the original 2 GB RAM sticks and put only one 2 GB RAM stick. Turned on and machine worked and I could get into BIOS (and see there the 2 GB RAM). Took that stick and put another 2 GB RAM stick and again successful. Continued that process with all the 2 GB RAM sticks and all worked fine.

Decided then to try this. Put one 2 GB RAM and turned on PC. Turned it on and it worked (as expected from previous test). Then added a second 2 GB RAM stick and turned on. All worked well, machine turned on, and I could see in the BIOS the full 4 GB RAM installed. Turned off again, added a third 2 GB RAM stick and turned on again. Again successful, I could again see all installed ram (6 GB) in the BIOS. Turned off and added the last 2 GB RAM stick and turned on again. Again, I could see successfully all installed RAM (8 GB RAM) in the machine.

Have tested turning on and off in several occasions, and so far all test the machine keep turning on fine and showing the 8 GB RAM installed on the machine.

So far I can say from my tests that a Dell Inspiron 530 (the plain model, not a 530a/b/c/d model), with a G33M02 motherboard, and the latest BIOS installed (1.0.18) can be upgraded to 8 GB RAM with 4 sticks of 2 GB RAM. Memory I used was Corsair DDR2-667 (VS2GB667D2 G).

Now I will test the installation and running of the 64 bit OS. I will post results after that test, but I do expect that I will run fine if the BIOS is reading correctly the 8 GB RAM installed.

This is the source http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/desktop/f/3514/p/19287044/19527076.aspx#19527076 scroll down for fadiaz-pr post, look on second page as well.

Can I help you with something else?

 

[Daratum]

Been very busy lately, so finally I am back with 8 GB RAM update, I found it.

fadiaz-pr said:
Update:

Well after reading all the information I could find (in this forum and in other forums) i decided to try the memory upgrade to 8 GB. I bought 4 RAM sticks of 2 GB and changed the RAM. Turned the computer on and started beeping. Turned off and checked all RAM sticks. They all seemed properly connected, but decided to reconnect again. Turned on and still beeping. Took 2 sticks off (leaving only 4 GB) making sure the remaining 2 sticks were connected, turned on and still beeping. Changed the 8 GB RAM back to original 2 GB RAM, turned on and machine worked fine.

Here decided to test the sticks individually. Took out again the original 2 GB RAM sticks and put only one 2 GB RAM stick. Turned on and machine worked and I could get into BIOS (and see there the 2 GB RAM). Took that stick and put another 2 GB RAM stick and again successful. Continued that process with all the 2 GB RAM sticks and all worked fine.

Decided then to try this. Put one 2 GB RAM and turned on PC. Turned it on and it worked (as expected from previous test). Then added a second 2 GB RAM stick and turned on. All worked well, machine turned on, and I could see in the BIOS the full 4 GB RAM installed. Turned off again, added a third 2 GB RAM stick and turned on again. Again successful, I could again see all installed ram (6 GB) in the BIOS. Turned off and added the last 2 GB RAM stick and turned on again. Again, I could see successfully all installed RAM (8 GB RAM) in the machine.

Have tested turning on and off in several occasions, and so far all test the machine keep turning on fine and showing the 8 GB RAM installed on the machine.

So far I can say from my tests that a Dell Inspiron 530 (the plain model, not a 530a/b/c/d model), with a G33M02 motherboard, and the latest BIOS installed (1.0.18) can be upgraded to 8 GB RAM with 4 sticks of 2 GB RAM. Memory I used was Corsair DDR2-667 (VS2GB667D2 G).

Now I will test the installation and running of the 64 bit OS. I will post results after that test, but I do expect that I will run fine if the BIOS is reading correctly the 8 GB RAM installed.

This is the source http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/desktop/f/3514/p/19287044/19527076.aspx#19527076 scroll down for fadiaz-pr post, look on second page as well.

Can I help you with something else?

Just wanted to double check one or two more things before I purchase parts.

http://www.crucial.com/systemscanner/viewscanbyid.aspx?id=62E5369931D926C3
This is the scan of their computer and it looks like I'm only given options to use up to 4GB of RAM, is that because I need to install the latest BIOS?

If my computer can support 8GB do I just pick up a couple of these?
http://www.crucial.com/store/mpartspecs.aspx?mtbpoid=6B41C615A5CA7304


Also if I had to chose a single card which would you recommend Kisianik?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16800995150
or
http://www.amazon.com/XFX-DisplayPort-PCI-Express-FX775AZNP4-FX-775A-ZNP4/dp/B007Z3T5JC/ref=pd_sim_sbs_pc_1


Thank again for all the help and sorry for all the questions.

 

[Daratum]

http://www.dell.com/support/drivers/us/en/19/product/inspiron-530

Here is where I update the bios too right?

 

[Kisianik]

Regarding Crucial scan tool - it is designed to report manufacturer supported configuration, which is 4 GB, but users tried and succeed with 8 GB, this is where you go!
Regarding choosing RAM, usually Crucial is recommended as most compatible with Dell, however, in this case I would be very careful and go with Corsair DDR2-667 (VS2GB667D2 G), which was tested at 8 GB, it is still available at amazon for lesser price than Crucial http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-1x2GB-Desktop-Memory-VS2GB667D2/dp/B000R4OUNC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1371594398&sr=8-1&keywords=VS2GB667D2+G

Regarding video card, most 7750 and a few NVIDIA 650 will work on 300 watt power supply, I can not recommend any specific card, but would advise to look into factory overclocked ones to get a bit more performance, in this case Asus comes handy http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121652

If not sure about this card look for any Asus which looks like this

This model has better than average cooler, but XFX is good as well, so no really one outstanding. Just make sure to get some warranty, at least for 1 year, because I see that most people c/o bad cards within first couple months.

Driver page is correct.