Need Help With Upgrade Decisions

[orihS ‪‪‪Shiro]

I just did a little research of my own.
It looks like your motherboard could actually support a Phenom II X4 940, though you may have to flash your BIOS.

I come to this conclusion because your motherboard is AM2.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...3772&cm_re=athlon_6000-_-19-103-772-_-Product
It can use that processor.
That's a 125w CPU, and it's AM2.
Well...
AM2+ Processors are backwards compatible and can run in AM2 sockets.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103644

The Phenom II X4 940 is AM2+ and is also 125w

I don't see any reason why it shouldn't work.
You may want to check around looking if anyone else has done this upgrade though, as your AM2 motherboard might require a BIOS flash to handle an AM2+ CPU.

 

[patonb]

Won't support quads
Documentation

 

[NIGHTDAWG7]

I just did a little research of my own.
It looks like your motherboard could actually support a Phenom II X4 940, though you may have to flash your BIOS.

I come to this conclusion because your motherboard is AM2.

Newegg.com - AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Windsor 3.0GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM2 125W Dual-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops
It can use that processor.
That's a 125w CPU, and it's AM2.
Well...
AM2+ Processors are backwards compatible and can run in AM2 sockets.

Newegg.com - AMD Phenom II X4 940 Black Edition Deneb 3.0GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM2+ 125W Quad-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops

The Phenom II X4 940 is AM2+ and is also 125w

I don't see any reason why it shouldn't work.
You may want to check around looking if anyone else has done this upgrade though, as your AM2 motherboard might require a BIOS flash to handle an AM2+ CPU.

Yeah I read about that as well but I have not run into anyone who has spoken about doing it DELL has said that my current processor is the highest they have tested with the mobo so I'm stuck not having anyone who can swear to the experiment being okay.

I just want to play Battlefield BC2 smoothly when it releases (I'm not looking to be on the best system out there unless I win the lottery). So far it plays decent on the beta (up to 24 players on the server) and that's with the current non-optimized situation.

I haven't been able to test the game with my new gpu coming in yet (HD 4850 as suggested earlier by another person on this thread...thanks for the suggestion) so right now it plays pretty good with my GEForce 9500GT...I can't imagine the improvement when the new one comes in!

 

[orihS ‪‪‪Shiro]

Won't support quads
Documentation

That's not the CPU support list dude.
That's the list of CPU's that Dell sold the Inspiron 531s with.

Just because they didn't sell it with any quads, doesn't mean the motherboard can't take them.

 

[NIGHTDAWG7]

That's not the CPU support list dude.
That's the list of CPU's that Dell sold the Inspiron 531s with.

Just because they didn't sell it with any quads, doesn't mean the motherboard can't take them.

Yeah that post didn't help me at all so I've been waiting for someone else to reply. It seems like the mobo itself could support the processor BUT I've heard something about BIOS limitations but I have not been able to find more information yet.

 

[orihS ‪‪‪Shiro]

Well, after thoroughly reading through several forums I have come to the conclusion that the Inspiron 531s simply CAN NOT run Phenom's or any sort of quad core or ANY AM2+ CPU as Dell never made a BIOS update for it. (Dell wouldn't want to miss those sales you know, of their new AM2+ Inspirons, by letting old customers upgrade their old machines. >:| Capitalism at it's finest)
Seriously a BIOS update from Dell is all it would take...
Oh well...
The highest CPU you can get in that would be an Athlon X2 6400+ which is quite expensive, look into a 6000+ or something cheaper.
It's a shame you couldn't use a Kuma in there...

 

[NIGHTDAWG7]

Anyone know if I can OC my AMD 6000 3.0 Ghz to 3.2 with the stock heatsink and if so will I notice any FPS increase with that small of a leap?

 

[Muffin Man]

Dell has probably locked your mobo's bios anyway, so its unlikely that youll be able to OC at all.

 

[NIGHTDAWG7]

Dell has probably locked your mobo's bios anyway, so its unlikely that youll be able to OC at all.

LOL, yeah...as soon as I come upon more money to play with I'll be upgrading to a new mobo to get from underneath "DELL" for my gaming rig (their laptops are fine with me). Now IF I'm able to mess around though could I get away with the .2 OC without need to purchase a new heatsink?

 

[Muffin Man]

yea that small of an OC shouldnt make a difference.