Dell Inspiron 531 Upgrading
Heya,
I unwhititngly bought a Dell Inspiron 531 for £450 last october not realising that it would be hard to upgrade and i would have no information to work with on the motherboard.
I am not a computer expert (yet) but id like to think im getting good . Basically my quick specs are:
AMD Athalon 4400+ (2.3ghz dual core) (AM2 Socket)
2 GB ram @ 667mhz (DDR2)
Nvidia geforce 8600gt 256mb
22" and 19" on dualview
Windows Vista Home Premium
I play alot of intensive games (Cod4, crysis and WoW atm) and my computer is not coping with this as well as i would like. I need to be able to play games and listen to music or watch TV/films while keeping a good FPS so an upgrade is in order i think.
However the problems i have encounterd relate to the motherboard in the computer. it is an ASUS M2N61-AX. I cant find any specs anywhere on this blasted dell custom made motherboard. I want to put in the best processor it will fit so i looked at some of this AMD phenom things but i am not sure whether they will fit. I also wanted to put in some ram (4gb DDR2 @ 1066mhz) but again i am unsure whether it will fit. And i will be putting in a nvidia geforce 8800gt 512.
Also i want to upgrade the case but i dont know whether this is an ATX motherboard so compatability may be an issue along with it only haveing a 350W power supply (is this too low?)
I would appreciate any help you could offer or suggestions.
Thanks
Darak
I unwhititngly bought a Dell Inspiron 531 for £450 last october not realising that it would be hard to upgrade and i would have no information to work with on the motherboard.
I am not a computer expert (yet) but id like to think im getting good . Basically my quick specs are:
AMD Athalon 4400+ (2.3ghz dual core) (AM2 Socket)
2 GB ram @ 667mhz (DDR2)
Nvidia geforce 8600gt 256mb
22" and 19" on dualview
Windows Vista Home Premium
I play alot of intensive games (Cod4, crysis and WoW atm) and my computer is not coping with this as well as i would like. I need to be able to play games and listen to music or watch TV/films while keeping a good FPS so an upgrade is in order i think.
However the problems i have encounterd relate to the motherboard in the computer. it is an ASUS M2N61-AX. I cant find any specs anywhere on this blasted dell custom made motherboard. I want to put in the best processor it will fit so i looked at some of this AMD phenom things but i am not sure whether they will fit. I also wanted to put in some ram (4gb DDR2 @ 1066mhz) but again i am unsure whether it will fit. And i will be putting in a nvidia geforce 8800gt 512.
Also i want to upgrade the case but i dont know whether this is an ATX motherboard so compatability may be an issue along with it only haveing a 350W power supply (is this too low?)
I would appreciate any help you could offer or suggestions.
Thanks
Darak
0
Comments
Good Luck.
Would be nice to know if it was an ATX motherboard. (If i have an ATX power supply as suggested in that wiki is it an ATX motherboard?) MEH!
Thanks
DaRaK
Upgrading the video card should also be straight forward, but this might send you looking for a bigger power supply.
Maybe on the Dell site you can find the BIOS update, sometimes the comments will include which CPUs it covers.
Im thinking it may be something to do with me having a x64 OS and dell only suppoting a x32. However i just installed the driver for the chipset without any problems.
Grr.
You're not alone my friend ;-) I've also got an inspirion 531.
Will tell you where im at as it's quite similar to you!!
last week i bought i installed a new graphics card and psu, this is indeed also on the asus m2n61 ax mother board and everything is running sweetly, i bought a standard atx psu which dell actually (although warranty expired) have said is okay and then installed a new ati 4850, which is running sweetly.
Now i've come to the part where i want to update the bios, my warranty is scewed anyways (bothered)?? ;-)
Been looking around for a bios update for the past day and not got very far, anyone who can recommend a good site will be a star!! :smiles:
Si
The new graphics card and processor went in without a hitch, however i have just been on http://www.crucial.com/uk/store/listparts.aspx?model=Inspiron%20531 and its now telling me that each of my slots cannot support more than a 1GB stick.
As i have bought 2*2gb it is not compatable
So. Will be looking for prices on 4*1gb DDR2 800mhz sticks
That being said, however, the last two memory slots get awfully close to the optical drive bays, so depending on what you have in there it might be tight.
Darak, that comments wasn't necessarily directed at you.
My Dilemma is I want to upgrade to PC2-6400 DDR2 RAM, and I know that everything on the Dell desktop (in terms of physical slots) is standardized. However alot of the RAM I want to use runs at 1.9v, 2.0v, and some even at 2.2v. So, I dont want to go out and buy RAM that wont run in my system. I wanted the OCZ XLC series memory but it's 2v (see below as to why). I'm trying to alleviate the bottleneck on my PC because I feel my 8800 isnt getting the info fast enough to run at full capability. If the RAM doesnt help any, I plan on upgrading (again) to a 6000+.
Here's basically what I plan on doing to my 531.
EOTY planned upgrades:
4GB PC2-6400 DDR2 RAM
1TB 7200RPM Harddrive (second drive)
By March, 2009 i plan on the following (thank you tax return!):
Processor: AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400+ (or 6000+ if the 6400 wont work)
HDD: 300GB WD Velociraptor 10,000 RPM (replacing my factory 160GB)
Video: GeForce GTX 280 (I use CUDA apps alot)
ODD: Blu-Ray/HD DVD reader (no burning capability, BD-R @ $1/GB can eat me)
Cooling is going to be another big one for me. Dell doesnt use the stock CPU cooler, theirs is bigger with a bigger fan, so I was going to go to water cooling (always wanted to try it). I was thinking about the Thermaltake Bigwater 830i (or whatever, it's not the drive bay unit, it's a separate 120mm rad, reservoir, CPU block and pump kit)
I will also be buying a GTX 280 waterblock but I'm afraid as to whether the RAM temps will get out of control (AFAIK the GTX water block doesn't cover them)
Also, anybody figure out a way to overclock the 531? Even a modded BIOS would be nice. Free performance always helps.
The Dell 531 motherboard only supports the 1.8V DDR2, but OCZ does make some PC2-6400 parts in 1.8V. That's what I'm running in my machine, but I can't currently find the item listed on the OCZ website any longer.
Well in response to this, i did try this ram and my computer did not boot. Thats how i initially found out that it wasnt working.
The new ram arrived and fitted in perfectly. (PC2-6400 DDR2 RAM)
My framerate has been allmost doubled in games such as CoD4/5 and WoW so im very happy. My next step is a 1tb HDD and another 22" screen. I wish the motherboard was better e.g. overdclockable and newer etc however if i change it now i forsee having to change the upgrades i have allready done so im fine for anther year or 2 i think..
Thanks to everyone who helped me :P
Do me a favor (if you're gonna try and put a new motherboard in) and let me know if the mobo upgrade can be done. AFAIK as long as the VGA port is in the same location as the original motherboard, it may be possible to upgrade it. all the other ports (unless you're getting a mobo with Serial and Parallel ports) should sit *just* behind the IO shield, rendering them unusable, but at least you can swap the mobo. Also thanks for lettin us know if the 2GB sticks dont work, was considering them, but I think I'll stick with 3-4GB PC2-6400. I am constantly searching for a way to overclock the 531 though, so maybe I'll find it one day. After all, I figured out how to stop the Inspiron 5150 from overheating so much (at least with a 2.8GHz HTT P4).
I cant remember, I'm about 45% sure Phenoms work in the older AM2 sockets (just throttled down alot), am I correct? or is it only the socket (AM2+) thats backward capable?
Reason I brought up the I/O shield is because the 531 doesnt have a removable one, and lacks everything except the VGA, 4 USB, 6 audio and 1 LAN connection openings. Still, would be cool to know if the mobo could be swapped.
The only wiring constraints that might come into play are lengths of the cables from your PSU (power supply unit). If you are running the original PSU from your brand computer, it might be the cables are in lengths only long enough your current case's dimensions.
You need to find whatever you can about your current mother and determine its form factor - it's design type, such as "Micro ATX." Almost all new motherboards will have pre-drilled holes to match Micro-ATX, ATX, and a couple other form factors.
There is no manual for the Inspiron mobo, its a custom built GeForce 6150/430i board, but you may be able to find a schematic of the original, unmodified board. Also I wouldnt personally move it into another case, as the I/O shield (where all the USB, onboard video, PS/2 ports, ethernet, sound, etc. come out) isnt removable and is custom to their board. Moving it to a new case means you're out an IO shield as well as a huge gaping hole in the back of the case (and if the provided one fits, then you still have like 8 or 9 other holes that will allow dust in freely).
As for the front parts of the case, usually there's a diagram somewhere on the motherboard near the connector that will tell you what goes where. Dell uses a 1-piece part for ease, another reason I wouldnt switch the case. Plus, why have dell innards in a non-dell case?
As for the PSU and video card upgrade, the dell has *just* under 9 inches of space between the harddrive rack and the rear of the case (meaning to insert an 8800GT you need to remove the second harddrive if any, until the video card is in, then you can re-install the second HDD) and it'll take some maneuvering to get it in, not much though. However if you're looking at say a GTX 280 (10.5 inches long AND dual slot) you're gonna have to maneuver pretty creatively I would think. I'll be embarking on that adventure probably as soon as late january. The PSU is just a standard ATX power supply, so that'll be a snap to find one. however you will have to bend some metal to get it in there (the top rail, the rear brace for the PSU, and depending on the depth, move the DVD drive) all the plugs will fit like any normal motherboard. The provided power supply is only a 300 watt with 4 SATA plugs, a 24-pin ATX plug, and a 4-pin mobo plug (P4?)
It does use the normal screw points of a micro ATX board (thats what size it is BTW), it does NOT have ANY PATA sockets, but does have one floppy. It also has 3 front USB plugs as well as a front audio plug (all of which are one solid piece connector, again for ease).
Just a hint: There is JUST enough room at the front to screw on an 80mm fan using only 1 screw through the metal, I have it blowing at my video card.