Looking for some old tech

[john.weland]

I inherited two Dell Inspiron 530 PCs they apparently can take Intel Core 2 Quad up to Q9650, (I was looking for Q9550 but I don't think I need FSB parity, so I'm not stuck on the Q9550). Also with the quad CPU allows for up to 8GB memory via 4x2GB DDR2-800. 

If anyone has some laying around in your old bins I'd be open to pick some up. 

[Florb]

Can it take a Xeon X3370?

[Sir Asvald]

Can it take a Xeon X3370?

I don't think so. I've used them before, Only Qaud cores

[john.weland]

Looking on Ebay I am seeing a lot of Xeons being uses at the Q9550 with this odd little sticker like over a few pins apparently it tricks the board in to thinking its a Q9550 the E5440 with the sticker is apparently seen as a Q9550 http://ebay.to/1IJ5maB here is the X3370 http://ebay.to/1HaJ118

[john.weland]

Can it take a Xeon X3370?

 

 

I don't think so. I've used them before, Only Qaud cores

Looking on Ebay I am seeing a lot of Xeons being uses at the Q9550 with this odd little sticker like over a few pins apparently it tricks the board in to thinking its a Q9550 the E5440 with the sticker is apparently seen as a Q9550 http://ebay.to/1IJ5maB here is the X3370 http://ebay.to/1HaJ118

[Sir Asvald]

Looking on Ebay I am seeing a lot of Xeons being uses at the Q9550 with this odd little sticker like over a few pins apparently it tricks the board in to thinking its a Q9550 the E5440 with the sticker is apparently seen as a Q9550 http://ebay.to/1IJ5maB here is the X3370 http://ebay.to/1HaJ118

Xeons use Socket 771 while the Q9550 uses 775.

 

Here is a tutorial on how to make a 771 Xeon work with a 775 motherboard. 

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/363422-how-to-using-a-lga-771-xeon-in-a-lga-775-motherboard-aka-771-mod/

[john.weland]

Xeons use Socket 771 while the Q9550 uses 775.

 

Here is a tutorial on how to make a 771 Xeon work with a 775 motherboard. 

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/363422-how-to-using-a-lga-771-xeon-in-a-lga-775-motherboard-aka-771-mod/

just seems risky to me given that on ebay at least they are about the same price. I'd try it if I already had one sitting around.

Like I said I have two of these 530 systems, My goal was to make a owncload/freenas setup out of one for my buddy that gave them to me so he can back up his bazillion family photos and videos to an allow his folks and in laws to login over the wee to see it all.   The other I wanted to build a hackintosh out of I've seen a few on Youtube using these models. My Wife's been on me for a year about getting a Mac (its what she learned on) but I can't go breaking the bank for a Mac. 

[Sir Asvald]

just seems risky to me given that on ebay at least they are about the same price. I'd try it if I already had one sitting around.

Like I said I have two of these 530 systems, My goal was to make a owncload/freenas setup out of one for my buddy that gave them to me so he can back up his bazillion family photos and videos to an allow his folks and in laws to login over the wee to see it all.   The other I wanted to build a hackintosh out of I've seen a few on Youtube using these models. My Wife's been on me for a year about getting a Mac (its what she learned on) but I can't go breaking the bank for a Mac. 

How much does the Q9550 cost? $60? 

 

 

The Xeon X3370 is a 775 socket CPU, 

 

http://ark.intel.com/products/35433/Intel-Xeon-Processor-X3370-12M-Cache-3_00-GHz-1333-MHz-FSB

[ApolloX75]

Also with the quad CPU allows for up to 8GB memory via 4x2GB DDR2-800.

Memory control is all chipset based with 775. Your maximum allowed will be completely based upon the boards abilities. Also FSB linking and unlinking is also based on chipset. P45; X38; 780i/790i and other high end chipsets will allow you to link or unlink your FSB settings but simpler ones like the Q and G series usually will not.

Also have to be careful with memory density. Some of the older P35 boards for instance won't like 2GB or 4gb sticks.

790i chipsets tend to work better with newer 1.5v DDR3 than they used to with the old 1.65v junk.

[john.weland]

Memory control is all chipset based with 775. Your maximum allowed will be completely based upon the boards abilities. Also FSB linking and unlinking is also based on chipset. P45; X38; 780i/790i and other high end chipsets will allow you to link or unlink your FSB settings but simpler ones like the Q and G series usually will not.

Also have to be careful with memory density. Some of the older P35 boards for instance won't like 2GB or 4gb sticks.

790i chipsets tend to work better with newer 1.5v DDR3 than they used to with the old 1.65v junk.

according to Dell here http://dell.to/1eGJ3pP

 

"The Inspiron 530 can support memory up to 4GB. However if the Quad-core processor is added it can support up to 8GB. 

The memory speeds supported include 533, 667, and 800 MHz DDR2 memory."

I thought it strange as well but apparently with a quad core CPU it will detect up to 8GB ram. 

 

 

How much does the Q9550 cost? $60? 

 

 

The Xeon X3370 is a 775 socket CPU, 

 

http://ark.intel.com/products/35433/Intel-Xeon-Processor-X3370-12M-Cache-3_00-GHz-1333-MHz-FSB

Yeah both are socket 775, and both are about $50 on ebay. 

[ApolloX75]

according to Dell here http://dell.to/1eGJ3pP

"The Inspiron 530 can support memory up to 4GB. However if the Quad-core processor is added it can support up to 8GB.

The memory speeds supported include 533, 667, and 800 MHz DDR2 memory."

I thought it strange as well but apparently with a quad core CPU it will detect up to 8GB ram

Definitely strange. I've used 8GBs on my E8400 as well as a Q9300 and my QX9650. Maybe its a DDR2 address limitation but I doubt it. Its probably a Dell-imposed limitation.

I mostly avoided DDR2 for my personal systems really, never was a fan of it. Built lots for friends at the time though.

[john.weland]

Definitely strange. I've used 8GBs on my E8400 as well as a Q9300 and my QX9650. Maybe its a DDR2 address limitation but I doubt it. Its probably a Dell-imposed limitation.

I mostly avoided DDR2 for my personal systems really, never was a fan of it. Built lots for friends at the time though.

 

For sure, I'd use DDR3 if I could. But like I said these were gifted to me, so I thought I'd make use if it wasn't going to cost me too much. 

[john.weland]

Memory control is all chipset based with 775. Your maximum allowed will be completely based upon the boards abilities. Also FSB linking and unlinking is also based on chipset. P45; X38; 780i/790i and other high end chipsets will allow you to link or unlink your FSB settings but simpler ones like the Q and G series usually will not.

Also have to be careful with memory density. Some of the older P35 boards for instance won't like 2GB or 4gb sticks.

790i chipsets tend to work better with newer 1.5v DDR3 than they used to with the old 1.65v junk.

Also doing some digging I found that some of the DDR2 that strivved for higher capacities back in the day used some strange chipset hacks and its possible to go out and buy "AMD only" ram. 

[ApolloX75]

Also doing some digging I found that some of the DDR2 that strivved for higher capacities back in the day used some strange chipset hacks and its possible to go out and buy "AMD only" ram.

One of the many reasons I kept away from it. Also didn't like the lack of improvement over DDR.

[john.weland]

Still looking if anyone has it. 


Looks like there are two version of the motherboard in these things. One supports quad-core out of the box and 8 GB ram the other supports a quad-core with a bios update but only 4gb ram

G33M03

DG33M03

[ApolloX75]

Still looking if anyone has it.

Looks like there are two version of the motherboard in these things. One supports quad-core out of the box and 8 GB ram the other supports a quad-core with a bios update but only 4gb ram

G33M03

DG33M03

Seeing lots of Q9550s on eBay, lowest are around $40, sweet spot is about $50. That will probably be your best bet for securing a couple.

The X3370s are trending at almost three times that.

[john.weland]

Seeing lots of Q9550s on eBay, lowest are around $40, sweet spot is about $50. That will probably be your best bet for securing a couple.

The X3370s are trending at almost three times that.

Yeah seeing that I can't get 8GB of ram to work in these (wrong motherboard) I am debating if the quad core CPU is even worth it. 

I'm still going to build that NAS for my buddy but other than that I don't know what to do with these. I'm bored and want to build a system sooooo bad. But I'm also poor so I won't get to build my new post 2010 PC.

[ApolloX75]

Yeah seeing that I can't get 8GB of ram to work in these (wrong motherboard) I am debating if the quad core CPU is even worth it.

I'm still going to build that NAS for my buddy but other than that I don't know what to do with these. I'm bored and want to build a system sooooo bad. But I'm also poor so I won't get to build my new post 2010 PC.

I wouldn't waste the money on them then, build 'em up a little and use them to play around.

Save the money for a real system.

[john.weland]

I wouldn't waste the money on them then, build 'em up a little and use them to play around.

Save the money for a real system.

Yeah I thought if I could get away with putting no more than $60-$70 in it then I would.  

My new system is going to be like $1400