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4 Posts
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46252
March 12th, 2014 08:00
Can XPS 710 run this CPU? QX6800
Hello all,
Longtime reader of the forums but first time posting on them.
I want to upgrade the capabilities of my old XPS 710 system which I purchased back in 2006-2007 or so. I have another much better/newer machine as well, so this is just a matter of upgrading the XPS 710 machine. I don't want the topic to turn into "Why don't you build a new machine instead, etc." I already have a very new machine, this is just a topic for upgrading the XPS 710.
Basically, I want to use the best processor that my XPS 710 motherboard is capable of.
The motherboard I have is the standard XPS 710 motherboard which I believe is an NForce 590 SLI. It was shipped with the E6700 processor (Dual Core 2.66 GHz) and that is what I am still using.
According to Dell Chris M's post in 2011, the following Quad Core processors were tested and validated with this motherboard.
HU585 Kentsfield Quad Core Q6600, 2.4 GHz, 8 MB, 1066FSB, B3
UP673 Kentsfield Quad Core QX6700, 2.66 GHz, 8 MB, 1066FSB, B3
On that advice I went ahead and purchased a QX6700, thinking that was the best processor the XPS 710 motherboard could run. However, I recently have become aware of a different processor, the QX6800, and I am wondering if that processor is also compatible.
However, I am seeing a lot of information, some of which is conflicting, confusing to me, or over my head, and I'd like to get clarification on which variant of the QX6800 will run fine on this motherboard. According to the two links I'll post below, there is a "SL9UK" variant and a "SLACP" variant.
http://www.cpu-world.com/sspec/SL/SL9UK.html
http://www.cpu-world.com/sspec/SL/SLACP.html
What is the functional difference between these two CPUs? The QX6700 I bought (said by Chris M to be compatible) only has "SL9UL" but not anything which starts with "SLA" or looks similar to "SLACP." The only difference I can see on the links above is the "core stepping" field which shows the SL9UK as B3 and the SLACP as G0. On all of the motherboards Chris M said were compatible, all of them were either L2, B2, or B3, but none of them were G0. So if the SLACP is G0, is that the portion which would make it incompatible, whereas the B3 designation on the SL9UK is B3, making that one compatible? I am sorry if I am confusing anyone (really I am the one who is confused), so I am just looking for any guidance on this issue.
TL;DR version: Is the QX6800 CPU compatible with the XPS 710 motherboard? If so, does the SL9UK vs. SLACP designation make a difference?
Thanks everyone in advance for any insights!
legatojoe
4 Posts
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March 17th, 2014 15:00
Update for anyone who was tracking this or anyone who may search for this at a later time:
I would like to specify that both the QX6700 (quad 2.66 GHz) and the QX6800 (quad 2.93 GHz) were fully compatible with my XPS 710 motherboard. I installed the QX6700 a few days ago and ran the computer successfully for several days with no issues, even doing several CPU stress tests in between. Then, I installed the QX6800 today with the same successful results. Note however that I did not attempt to overclock either one.
My QX6800 was the G0 core stepping model (SLACP), not the B3 core stepping model (SL9UK), so don't let that difference sway you - the G0 works great. In fact, the G0 probably allows the CPU to run more efficiently/cooler than the B3, because the QX6800 I used actually ran cooler on average than the QX6700 did (the QX6700 uses B3 only).
Idle CPU temperature average on QX6700 (B3): 37-40 degrees Celsius (never got hotter than 70 degrees Celsius during stress tests).
Idle CPU temperature average on QX6800 (G0): 28-30 degrees Celsius (never got hotter than 67 degrees Celsius during stress tests).
All of this was done via the included stock XPS 710 fan and heatsink. I did not use the H2C cooler nor did I use any aftermarket cooling solution.
speedstep
11 Legend
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47K Posts
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March 12th, 2014 10:00
The answer is NO it wont work.
Core 2 Extreme Processors are 130W processors.
If it posts at all it will state UNSUPPORTED PROCESSOR and HALT.
http://ark.intel.com/products/30720/Intel-Core2-Extreme-Processor-QX6800-8M-Cache-2_93-GHz-1066-MHz-FSB
Intel® Core™2 Extreme Processor QX6800
(8M Cache, 2.93 GHz, 1066 MHz FSB) is a no go.
Request Denied Access Denied System Halted.
legatojoe
4 Posts
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March 12th, 2014 10:00
Thanks for the reply. As far as you saying that an issue with the QX6800 is that it's 130W, I am not sure if that is a true issue or not based on an excerpt from Chris M in 2011 when he said the following processors were tested successfully as compatible, among a few other weaker ones that I won't include: E6600, E6700, Q6600, QX6700, and X6800 (not to be confused with QX6800).
The QX6700 for example is also 130W according to this datasheet, and the QX6700 was specified by Chris M in the 2011 forum post to have been tested as compatible by Dell.
http://ark.intel.com/products/28028/Intel-Core2-Extreme-Processor-QX6700-8M-Cache-2_66-GHz-1066-MHz-FSB?q=qx6700
Being that both the QX6700 (tested by Dell to be compatible according to Chris M) and the QX6800 (not specified one way or another by Dell or Chris M) are 130W, I am not sure if that is a relevant factor in deciding whether or not it will work. In fact, in a few days I will be able to test whether the QX6700 works, and if it does work (which I assume it will), then the 130W aspect will definitely not be a factor.
And finally, your portion of your reply which says "Request Denied Access Denied System Halted," where are you pulling that phrase from? I didn't see it anywhere on the link you provided so I am just wondering where that sentence is being pulled from.
Thanks for any clarifications.
Davet50
6 Operator
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14.4K Posts
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March 12th, 2014 18:00
One is a locked version(meaning it cannot be overclocked) and the other is not.
You are correct in the research that the QX6800 is hit or miss on your mother board. The 590 chipset that is on the board is an extremely finicky chipset.
Honestly on a old system such as yours if your running a QX6700 your doing good, and it would really be a waste of money for very little gain.
Also the QX6800 runs a bit on the high side so unless you have the H2C cooling system you could run into over heating issues on the standard air cooler.
legatojoe
4 Posts
0
March 12th, 2014 18:00
Thanks for the insights. I am currently using a Dual Core E6700, not the QX6700. So the upgrade will actually make a difference. However I just recently bought a QX6700 which is being mailed to me and hasn't arrived yet, but in the meantime I did more research and learned of the existence of the QX6800 and started to wonder whether it will work or not. I think what I will do based on what you said is buy a QX6800 as well, and then use the QX6800 if it works, but if it doesn't, resell that and use the QX6700 instead, which you seem to believe would work fine. Thanks again!