PC tech questions/opinions

[dj_hallucn8]

thinking outloud... would the bios read the new ram as 533mhz because the old pentium 533mhz processor is still installed? thus limiting the system to 533...?

No, the board has the limit of 533mhz it can handle, RAM that is higher gets capped & does not get used to it's full potential but will still work.

 

[Billy.]

according to intel the board supports 1066fsb and ram up to 800

 

[Old Man]

im now looking at the core 2 extreme x6800. factory unlocked, 2.93ghz. 1066fsb, 4mb L2, which will work with p965. any other recommendations?

Correct me if im wrong those that are smarter than i...

But the chip you're looking at.... costs more than building a faster quad core...
would it not be more cost effective to build a new system?

 

[Old Man]

thinking outloud... would the bios read the new ram as 533mhz because the old pentium 533mhz processor is still installed? thus limiting the system to 533...?

PC is only as fast as it's slowest part...
Your current setup, the FSB is the determining factor...
Your chip is running 533mhz..
If you install the 1066mhz FSB chip, then the memory would be the bottleneck running at 800mhz

My general rule of thumb is to have memory run at a 1:1 ratio when possible. you can change the ratios but i've had limited success in that dept

 

[Mr. Jollypants]

oh yeah. and so unfortunately my latest research shows that the CPU that i bought will NOT work with my chipset (p965). that really sucks, now i have to get rid of this one and find one that will work

How will it not work? The P965 and G965 are both LGA775 sockets, your CPU is a LGA775 socket. Unless that motherboard is one the first versions of the P965 socket, it will work.

im now looking at the core 2 extreme x6800. factory unlocked, 2.93ghz. 1066fsb, 4mb L2, which will work with p965. any other recommendations?

The extreme series is the best processor for that line you can get. If you can afford it, get it.

I'm almost afraid to say anything because jollypants will whip out his Internet d**k again, bios update can be downloaded from the Dell website in the same place you get drivers for your model, it should be a file you can run while in your OS, make sure to not run any other software while performing the update, it will reboot when it's done, & I was right about the processor not being compatible, after looking up your model the chip you are looking at would work great, sorry that your thread got jacked for some bulls***.

No, you weren't right. The CPU works with that socket.

yep found the bios update, as well as several others i didnt know about, including some urgent ones like for the chipset. after i installed the new ram sticks, the old bios and cpu-z are reading it as 533mhz ram, which is concerning because its 800mhz. im hoping when the computer boots back up from this update it will register correctly. next is the graphics card...

As long as the computer doesn't reboot during a BIOS reflash, AND it's the right BIOS, it will go smoothly.

thinking outloud... would the bios read the new ram as 533mhz because the old pentium 533mhz processor is still installed? thus limiting the system to 533...?

Check your BIOS settings, sometimes when a BIOS is reflashed settings get reverted to factory defaults, and do "Load Optimized Defaults".

 

[Old Man]

How will it not work? The P965 and G965 are both LGA775 sockets, your CPU is a LGA775 socket. Unless that motherboard is one the first versions of the P965 socket, it will work.

No, you weren't right. The CPU works with that socket.

The chip will not work.
The latest BIOS does not support 45nm dies.
http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/desktop/f/3514/p/19287896/19530266.aspx

OP, you have to stay with the conroe or kensington chipsets.

Like I stated earlier. as these chips are extremely dated, finding one will not come at a reasonable price...
Why not buy a new DIY PC?

a 5 minute search, you can get a PC that outbenchmarks your current setup for ~$35 more than changing to the Core 2 processor your board CAN support.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.719521

 

[Billy.]

okay, so i've got updates!


The core 2 quad is definitely not supported by my oem dell chipset for whatever reason, despite having the lga775 socket. And i believe it is because of the 45nm technology. On that same note, the x6800 is also NOT compatible with my board, per intel's list of supported chipsets. Which brings me to the correction that my chipset is G965, not P965 (which IS supported by x6800). Why? I dunno... I'd have to ask intel.

I researched the G965 chipset, and found compatible intel chips using lga775 socket. My results showed that the best processor it could handle was the core 2 E6700, which is 2.66ghz, 1066fsb, 4mb L2. Very similar to the x6800, but has a factory locked clock set slightly lower from 2.93ghz. The e6700 is a ton cheaper than the x6800, so I started looking around to see if i could find one, and sure enough I found one on craiglist locally from a software engineer for $50 . he had it overclocked and watercooled to 3.6ghz , and was ready to move on to i7 series. his trash = my treasure. I slapped it in the socket, threw on some fresh thermal paste and reused the Pentium D heat sink (its a monster sized heatsink)

How my dell upgrade sits now:
core 2 duo e6700 2.66 @ 1.325v (limited to 800mhz fsb because of mobo)
4gb ddr2 800mhz memory with heat sinks, 5-5-5-15
1gb ddr2 550mhz pcie geforce graphics (software overclocked 730mhz)
1 push fan controlled by mobo temp sensor for cpu
2 exhaust pull fans manually controlled, 3 settings


the memory and chipset are my weakest links for sure, but it's the best i can do while using the dell btx case at the moment. when i decide to take my build to the next level (which probably isnt far off) i will find a nice atx case and start from scratch with all the components. for now, i'm having fun playing all my last purchased games at topped out settings. maybe i could have just bought a diy setup thats already to be put together, but that's like buying an ebay turbo kit. where's the fun? i gained invaluable experience learning the in's and out's, and have a lot more to learn, but this is definitely the way i want to do it

 

[Billy.]

cpuz results

 

[Billy.]

soooo... finally came to the realization that upgrading my dell was going to hit a brick wall and be a waste of money.


Here's the current project:

• Core i5 2500k 3.3ghz - 3.7ghz turbo - purchased $215
• DDR3 1333 g.skill ripjaw memory, undecided 8 or 16gb - purchased 8gb so far $50
• Asrock Z68 Extreme 3 mobo - purchased $130
• undecided graphics, 2x pci-16 geforce sli - $???
• 500gb HDD + 32gb SSD for caching games and windows - $???
• windows 7 64bit - $140 (possibly can purchase for cheap through my work)
• cooler master storm scout mid-tower - purchased $80
• NZXT Sentry touch screen fan controller - purchased $25
• cooler master v8 cpu cooler with arctic 5 compound - purchased $50
• dvdrw + bluray optical drive - $60
• cooler master gx series 750w psu - $90

the vendors i've purchased from are SuperBiiz.com and Newegg.com thus far. SuperBiiz had better prices than newegg on the processor, and cpu cooler. Newegg also doesnt carry fan controller systems (that i could find anyway). The case and ram came from newegg. The graphics cards will probably also come from newegg. I haven't found a better source for the power supply yet.

Question:
Since i've already spent money on the 9500GT for the dell upgrade, should I just purchase another one and run them SLI? Or scrap it and start with the new geforce 500 series... I was looking at the 550Ti or the 560. I'm only running 1 screen, 1080p (1980x1080 native)