Dell GX520 CPU Upgrading

Question

Hi,

I'd like to upgrade my computer's cpu, to increase speed of machine and better handle the more cpu demanding applications.

I know only minimal amount about the whole process.

So I think, I have to start being pointed to neccessary direction at where I should start.

Thank you

barsim

speedstep · Accepted Answer

'As I know it the Core 2 Duo or Core 2 Quad CPU is in the same class as my Pentium D' Actually that's wrong.  Pentium D is based on the old Netburst model and is A LOT SLOWER than Core2 Duo or Core 2 Quad Neither of which is EVER compatible with a 520. Max on the 520 is 2.8Ghz Pentium D with Bios A11.  Nobody is going to have Price on cpu's that are long gone and not manufactured for Years.  2.8Ghz Pentium D requires a Copper heat sink Not the Default Aluminum. 520's don't have a PCI-E x16 video slot and 2 of the Ram slots are Removed.

DELL-Rajath N · Answer

Hi barsim,

OptiPlex GX520 supports Intel® Pentium® 4 (Prescott) 5xx series, Pentium 4 Celeron® 3xx series processors and Intel Pentium D (Smithfield) 8xx series processors, if the system is purchased after March 17, 2006. You can purchase a Intel Pentium D 8xx series processor.

I suggest you to refer the User's Guide on how to replace the processor. You can download the guide from the following link:
http://dell.to/15NxmYy

Please let me know if you need further information.

shesagordie · Answer

barsim  Prior to installing the processor, check that you have BIOS version A11 installed, when support for newer processors was added. Bev.

barsim · Answer

Hi Rajath,

Thank you for getting back to me. My present CPU is: (SmithField) Intel Pentium D CPU 2.80GHz.

My goal is to replace it with higher perfoming one. BIOS version A11, I don't know if it's relevant.

Mobo type: 0RJ290,. Does the mobo need to be replaced.

Awaiting suggestions.

Thank you

barsim

eternalozzie · Answer

That old of a Pentium 4 wont gain much performance with a CPU upgrade to a faster P4 CPU.

DELL-Rajath N · Answer

Hi barsim,

Thank you for your reply and for providing the additional information. The system has the latest processor that the motherboard can support and an upgrade would not be possible without replacing the motherboard.

You may consider purchasing a new tower(with the latest hardware configuration) as an upgrade with the same case would not provide the performance boost, due to the changes in the hardware technology.

barsim · Answer

Hi Rajath,

As I know it the Core 2 Duo or Core 2 Quad CPU is in the same class as my Pentium D.

If I could get hold of one, which one is the better performing one and the compatible MoBo it would need.

Price condiderations are benefical also.

Thank you

barsim

chrishorry · Answer

I upgraded my 520 to a Pentium D 820 per SpeedStep's recommendation that a Pentium D 2.8 8xx is the max supported. It works just fine, but I do still get a "CPU not supported" message at boot up even using BIOS A11. Pressing F1 allows the boot to continue and the system has been stable.

The OS correctly reports the CPU as a Pentium D 2.8:

$ lscpu

Architecture: x86_64

CPU op-mode(s): 32-bit, 64-bit

Byte Order: Little Endian

CPU(s): 2

On-line CPU(s) list: 0,1

Thread(s) per core: 1

Core(s) per socket: 2

Socket(s): 1

NUMA node(s): 1

Vendor ID: GenuineIntel

CPU family: 15

Model: 4

Model name: Intel(R) Pentium(R) D CPU 2.80GHz

Stepping: 7

CPU MHz: 2793.103

BogoMIPS: 5586.20

L1d cache: 16K

L2 cache: 1024K

NUMA node0 CPU(s): 0,1

Flags: fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe syscall nx lm constant_tsc pebs bts nopl pni dtes64 monitor ds_cpl cid cx16 xtpr lahf_lm

Leaving the post here in case anyone else has a GX520 and wants to upgrade it :)

Locked Topics – Desktops General

Dell GX520 CPU Upgrading

Was this post helpful?