How to tell if my Mobo can support the CPU/GPU I want to upgrade to...?

[newcomer82]

Hi all,

This is a tough one, as I'm no hardware expert, else I wouldn't be on this forum.

Through a chat with Dell, even they didn't seem to have an answer to my question. I would like to upgrade my CPU to either an Intel i5-**** or i7-**** and my GPU to an NVidia GeForce GTX *** ... the asterisks represent the fact that I'm not yet certain of those specifics as I'm not sure if this is even feasible yet.

The representative said I'd need a PCI Express 2.0 for the GPU and I don't know what for the CPU. The kicker is that I want BOTH to be compatible, not just one or the other. If this can't be, I'd rather just get a new motherboard.

I suppose my question is, how do I determine if my motherboard can support both the CPU/GPU I want and if both can't be supported, how do I figure out what motherboard will suit the components I already have...?

I don't want to purchase a whole new computer when quite a bit of what I already own is just fine. The CPU and GPU (and motherboard if necessary) are all I'm looking to upgrade.

If it helps, here's some info I gathered on my current configuration:

Computer Model
Inspiron 560

BIOS Vendor
Dell Inc.

BIOS Version
A06

BIOS Date
12/1/2010

OS Version
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 

Manufacturer
Pentium(R) Dual-Core CPU E6700 @ 3.20GHz

Clock Speed
3.2Ghz

L2 Cache Size
2048 

Available Memory
73.31 %

Page File Size
16,312.2MB

Available Page File
99.71 %

Virtual Memory
16,312.2MB

Available Virtual Memory
86.16 %

DIMM0
2,048.0MB

DIMM1
2,048.0MB

DIMM2
2,048.0MB

DIMM3
2,048.0MB 

DVD/CD-ROM Drives

HL-DT-ST DVD+-RW GH70N ATA Device

Disk Drives
ST31000524AS ATA Device

Generic- Compact Flash USB Device
Generic- MS/MS-Pro USB Device
Generic- SD/MMC USB Device
Generic- SM/xD Picture USB Device

Display Adapters
Intel(R) G45/G43 Express Chipset


IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers
ATA Channel 0
ATA Channel 1

Intel(R) ICH10 Family 6 Port SATA AHCI Controller - 3A22

High Definition Audio Device
Intel(R) High Definition Audio HDMI
USB Controllers
Intel(R) ICH10 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 3A34
Intel(R) ICH10 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 3A35
Intel(R) ICH10 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 3A36
Intel(R) ICH10 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 3A37
Intel(R) ICH10 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 3A38
Intel(R) ICH10 Family USB Enhanced Host Controller - 3A3A
Intel(R) ICH10 Family USB Enhanced Host Controller - 3A3C

Thanks so much for your time and patience

 

[Someone Somewhere]

Pentium(R) Dual-Core CPU E6700 @ 3.20GHz

This is a LGA775 socket CPU; no Core iX chips are socket 775. As such, the best you'll be able to get is a Core 2 Quad, and it's not certain that the motherboard can supply enough power for one of those - we'd need to know the motherboard model, which is probably printed on it.

With regard to GPUs, pretty much anything with any version of PCIe will be compatible, if your power supply is enough.

 

[RLBalane]

Hi there!

Your processor is Pentium(R) Dual-Core CPU E6700 in which I found out that has a socket of LGA 775 (according to ark.intel.com) That means your motherboard supports intel processors with socket LGA 775. Here are the processors that is compatible with your motherboard (LGA 775)

http://www.cpu-world.com/Sockets/Socket%20775%20%28LGA775%29.html

I'm sorry but your motherboard do not support i5 and i7 processors.

 

[newcomer82]

Shoot. See, I was looking for both, not one or the other. Hence, it looks like I'll need a new motherboard.

Pentium(R) Dual-Core CPU E6700 @ 3.20GHz

This is a LGA775 socket CPU; no Core iX chips are socket 775. As such, the best you'll be able to get is a Core 2 Quad, and it's not certain that the motherboard can supply enough power for one of those - we'd need to know the motherboard model, which is probably printed on it.

With regard to GPUs, pretty much anything with any version of PCIe will be compatible, if your power supply is enough.

 

[newcomer82]

Okay. So, I see the "i5-4xxx / i5-5675C Processors use an LGA1150 socket". I guess I need to find out where to get a board that supports whatever LGA1150 is? And PCIe 2.0 for the GPU. Arg. Yeah, this is why such forums exist
Where do I find a compatibility solution? (I'm quite the beginner here, sorry)

Hi there!

Your processor is Pentium(R) Dual-Core CPU E6700 in which I found out that has a socket of LGA 775 (according to ark.intel.com) That means your motherboard supports intel processors with socket LGA 775. Here are the processors that is compatible with your motherboard (LGA 775)

http://www.cpu-world.com/Sockets/Socket%20775%20%28LGA775%29.html

I'm sorry but your motherboard do not support i5 and i7 processors.

 

[Someone Somewhere]

And PCIe 2.0 for the GPU.

PCIe is backwards compatible. Any GPU from about the last decade will work on any board from about the last decade.

Getting hold of a LGA1150 board is easy... they're the majority of all boards on the market today.

www.pcpartpicker.com is useful for checking compatibility and finding where to buy it.

 

[RLBalane]

Okay. So, I see the "i5-4xxx / i5-5675C Processors use an LGA1150 socket". I guess I need to find out where to get a board that supports whatever LGA1150 is? And PCIe 2.0 for the GPU. Arg. Yeah, this is why such forums exist
Where do I find a compatibility solution? (I'm quite the beginner here, sorry)

Here are the links of some popular motherboard brands:
http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/ for Asus motherboards (just click the Socket 1150 to filter the motherboards with Socket 1150)
http://http://www.gigabyte.com/products/list.aspx?s=42&jid=0&p=2&v=31 for Gigabyte Motherboards (Already filtered for socket 1150)
http://www.msi.com/product/motherboard/ for MSI motherboards (Click the socket 1150 and choose the chipset that you want)
also
http://www.pcpartpicker.com

And also about the GTX Series Graphics Cards that you wanted, those are compatible with these motherboards with socket LGA 1150
Hope it helps

 

[newcomer82]

I did stumble onto that site briefly but didn't check it out as thoroughly as I suppose I needed to, lol

And PCIe 2.0 for the GPU.

PCIe is backwards compatible. Any GPU from about the last decade will work on any board from about the last decade.

Getting hold of a LGA1150 board is easy... they're the majority of all boards on the market today.

www.pcpartpicker.com is useful for checking compatibility and finding where to buy it.

 

[newcomer82]

Thanks for this too
I appreciate you two helping out such a painfully dense newbie, lol

Okay. So, I see the "i5-4xxx / i5-5675C Processors use an LGA1150 socket". I guess I need to find out where to get a board that supports whatever LGA1150 is? And PCIe 2.0 for the GPU. Arg. Yeah, this is why such forums exist
Where do I find a compatibility solution? (I'm quite the beginner here, sorry)

Here are the links of some popular motherboard brands:
http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/ for Asus motherboards (just click the Socket 1150 to filter the motherboards with Socket 1150)
http://http://www.gigabyte.com/products/list.aspx?s=42&jid=0&p=2&v=31 for Gigabyte Motherboards (Already filtered for socket 1150)
http://www.msi.com/product/motherboard/ for MSI motherboards (Click the socket 1150 and choose the chipset that you want)
also
http://www.pcpartpicker.com

And also about the GTX Series Graphics Cards that you wanted, those are compatible with these motherboards with socket LGA 1150
Hope it helps

 

[RLBalane]

Thanks for this too
I appreciate you two helping out such a painfully dense newbie, lol

I'm really happy to help!

 

[newcomer82]

Follow up:
Does this one seem right? I did the research to find my board is Micro-ATX. The board supports the CPU I want and PCIe 2.0, for the GPU. If that is right so far (correct me if wrong) I suppose my final question (for now) is, how can I ensure that the components I currently have are compatible with such a Mobo upgrade? *sigh*
http://

Thanks for this too
I appreciate you two helping out such a painfully dense newbie, lol

I'm really happy to help!

 

[Someone Somewhere]

That'll work with any GPU and any LGA1150 CPU, so you're good there.

You're probably going to need new RAM though, modern systems use DDR3 instead of DDR2.

Storage and optical drive should work fine if they're SATA.

You may need to check that your case supports microATX boards; some manufacturers use proprietary motherboard sizes. Looks like it should, though.

PS: I suggest you get a more modern GPU; PCIe2.0 is old.

 

[RLBalane]

Follow up:
Does this one seem right? I did the research to find my board is Micro-ATX. The board supports the CPU I want and PCIe 2.0, for the GPU. If that is right so far (correct me if wrong) I suppose my final question (for now) is, how can I ensure that the components I currently have are compatible with such a Mobo upgrade? *sigh*
http://

Like Someone Somewhere said,
All LGA 1150 CPU is compatible with your Motherboard.
About your GPU, that's will also work but today most motherboards have PCIe 3.0 which is much newer than the PCIe 2.0
About your memory (RAM), make sure that your RAM is DDR3, if not, of course you have to buy a DDR3 :lol:
HDD and your Optical Drive (ODD) will work if it uses SATA

One more thing, about your case, make sure your motherboard will fit into it. You have to depend on your case on which size of motherboard is compatible since you already have the case.

 

[newcomer82]

Okay. I'm hoping that, not to be one of those irritants, this does get bumped, as I don't want to start a new thread and be even more of a pain.

I looked at my motherboard it's Mini-ATX; the RAM *is* DDR3, four slots (DIMMs?).

I have 4 SATA 2 ports.

Sadly, yes, the PCIe slot is only 2.0, which is the minimum (yet acceptable) for my new card:

The Zotac GeForce GTX 560 arrived today and to my surprise, it fits. However, my current PSU is 300 Watts and the recommended minimum is 450.

My new PSU should be here by the end of the week. The new GTX card requires 2 of those 6-pin Molex (?) connectors. Now, again, I'm a newbie, please tell me that's something the new PSU will provide, as I see nothing on my motherboard that reveals otherwise.

I'm also a bit afraid that with a new powerful GPU and a new PSU, I'll fry my board and or CPU...?

It scared me that after installation, the computer went into a few "perpetual restart" attempts before I thought "Yeah, no. I'll ask here first!". Removed the card and all is well again, hence being able to post here

Clearly I don't know how all these components work together but that's why I'm here

Thanks so much for your help/patience.

 

[Someone Somewhere]

Yup, your PSU will have 6-pin PCIe connectors.

GPU won't fry anything in the rest of your build.

Also, there's no such thing as mini-ATX; I'm guessing you mean Micro-ATX?

 

[newcomer82]

Whoops. Yeah, even I knew that; wasn't careful when writing

Yup, your PSU will have 6-pin PCIe connectors.

GPU won't fry anything in the rest of your build.

Also, there's no such thing as mini-ATX; I'm guessing you mean Micro-ATX?

 

[newcomer82]

Hmmm... okay, this is where I get a bit peeved...

My PSU arrived today. Now, remember that my GeForce GTX 560 seems to require (I'm assuming both) 6-pin connectors.
My PSU doesn't even have one 6-pin connector.
Both the PSU and GPU hook up/fit fine. The only (I hope) remaining issue is that the GPU needs those two 6-pin connections from the PSU!
The PSU has everything else I needed but the two 6-pin connectors. Instead, it has two 4-pin Molex.
What to do? Is there an adapter for such an instance?
I pray I worded my pain in the arse dilemma well enough to follow, somewhat (blush)
Thanks again

Yup, your PSU will have 6-pin PCIe connectors.

GPU won't fry anything in the rest of your build.

Also, there's no such thing as mini-ATX; I'm guessing you mean Micro-ATX?

 

[newcomer82]

Uh oh...

I forgot to mention that the two 4-pins from the PSU are FEMALE. The two 6-pin on the GPU being female as well.
So I'm looking for two 4-pin female (from the PSU) to two 6-pin females for the GPU.

Research looks like I'm out of luck, unless (quite possibly) my inexperience is the issue, hopefully.

 

[Someone Somewhere]

What model PSU is it?

Note that often the PCIe power connectors are in the form of 6+2 pin connectors; there's a six-pin with an extra two pins that can be attached to it.

 

[newcomer82]

It's an RX-450K.

What model PSU is it?

Note that often the PCIe power connectors are in the form of 6+2 pin connectors; there's a six-pin with an extra two pins that can be attached to it.

 

[Someone Somewhere]

Perhaps I should ask what brand... I don't know of any reputable brand with a 'RX' series.

 

[newcomer82]

RaidMax, which from what I'm learning is a terrible name.

Perhaps I should ask what brand... I don't know of any reputable brand with a 'RX' series.

 

[Someone Somewhere]

Yup, they're generally not worth owning.

See if you can take it back on the grounds that it's not compatible, and get something from Tier 1 or 2 here: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html

450W or larger should be OK.

 

[newcomer82]

Thanks. I think I will.

Yup, they're generally not worth owning.

See if you can take it back on the grounds that it's not compatible, and get something from Tier 1 or 2 here: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html

450W or larger should be OK.