Dell Vostro 200 upgrade

Question

Hi all,

I have seen a couple of older topics regarding this PC but starting a new one for the most up to date information. I got a Dell Vostro 200 for free and am looking at upgrading. All I have done with it as yet is upgrade the BIOS to version 1.0.16. It has 2 512MB RAM modules and an intel e2180 @ 2GHz CPU. It is the Mini Tower version, not the slim one, and the motherboard is the Foxconn G33M02.

CPU-Z gives the following info RE the motherboard:

model Dell 0RK936

Chipset P35/G33/G31 rev A2

Southbridge: ICH9R rev 02

I have seen some conflicting information about compatible CPU's and the amount of RAM that it can be upgraded to. The best available CPU that I saw mentioned was the Core 2 Duo e8400 and somebody mentioned having 8GB of RAM, even though the board only officially supports up to 4GB.

What upgrades would you recommend? I want to use it for some gaming, but not too bothered about massively high settings. Skyrim on low-medium settings would be perfect benchmark but if it could run it on high settings then I would be willing to spend the extra cash to a degree. I will be mainly using it for 3D modelling/Game Design and my Samsung RV520 laptop does this well (Core i3 Sandybridge with 4GB RAM) so I want it on par or better than that.

Any additional information required I will be happy to oblige

Thanks for the time guys!

shesagordie · Accepted Answer

Thanks for the responses guys. My biggest concern at the minute is the CPU upgrade. I can get an intel e8400 for very cheap but I don't want to buy it unless I'm sure it fits. That card looks great for the money too might consider that too.

adocholiday

I have an Inspiron 530 MT, that is a exact clone of the Vostro 200 and have upgraded to a Socket LGA 775 Core 2 Duo e8400 without any issues.

Either of the following are compatible.

Wolfdale Dual Core E8400, 3.00G, 6MB, 1333FSB, 65W, C0 45nm
Wolfdale Dual Core E8400, 3.00G, 6MB, 1333FSB, 65W, E0 45nm

Prior to installing the processor, check that you have BIOS Version 1.0.15, or higher installed, when support for new Intel CPU's was added.

Bev.

adocholiday · Answer

Thank you for the reply but I didn't just mean for the computer to have the ability to run Skyrim, that was just a benchmark goal. I want to upgrade the computer to a higher specification in general

DELL-Chinmay S · Answer

Hi adocholiday,

You can upgrade memory of your computer to 4GB. Your computer has four memory connectors and supports maximum 4GB of memory with following specifications: 667 MHz, 800 MHz DDR2 SDRAM.

The following are the official minimum requirements to run Skyrim on the machine:

• Windows 7/Vista/XP PC (32 or 64 bit)

• Processor: Dual Core 2.0GHz or equivalent processor

• 2GB System RAM

• 6GB free HDD Space

• Direct X 9.0c compliant video card with 512 MB of RAM

• DirectX compatible sound card

• Internet access for Steam activation

And the recommended requirements:

• Windows 7/Vista/XP PC (32 or 64 bit)

• Processor: Quad-core Intel or AMD CPU

• 4GB System RAM

• 6GB free HDD space

• DirectX 9.0c compatible NVIDIA or AMD ATI video card with 1GB of RAM (Nvidia GeForce GTX 260 or higher; ATI Radeon 4890 or higher).

• DirectX compatible sound card

• Internet access for Steam activation

As your computer has a Intel E2180 dual core processor, it is compatible to run Skyrim. Please check the video card requirements for your system as well before installing the game.

For more information regarding this game you can check the link: http://bit.ly/PQ5kiR

Please reply in case you have any further questions.

adocholiday · Answer

Hi Robin I have the mini tower

RobinBredin · Answer

Which model do you have, there's the Mini tower, and Slim tower.

danw71 · Answer

My Vostro 200 with the latest BIOS runs a Pentium E5700 3GHz dual core CPU perfectly, although it's a Pentium branded cpu it is essentially the same same specs (except it's faster by 1GHz) than the originally supplied Core2Duo E4400 2GHz cpu.... it was a very cheap CPU upgrade that helped improve performance a reasonable amount.

You might consider fitting an SSD drive for the operating system and use the existing hard drive for storage, installing SSD drives offers one of the best bangs for the buck performance vs cost upgrade.....but it is a 4 year old PC so may not want to bother spending too much.

RobinBredin · Answer

Hi Robin I have the mini tower Your specks HERE say you have a 300w PSU, why don't you put in the 6570 graphics card HERE.

adocholiday · Answer

Thanks for the responses guys. My biggest concern at the minute is the CPU upgrade. I can get an intel e8400 for very cheap but I don't want to buy it unless I'm sure it fits. That card looks great for the money too might consider that too.

danw71 · Answer

Well in other threads it was mentioned that it is a listed compatible CPU but I can't say from my own experiences. It is also said that 8GB ram is recognised on A1 versions of the board but again Ive only fitted 4GB on mine (didn't actually need more than 4GB)

You've probably seen this but here's a previous Vostro200 CPU thread

en.community.dell.com/.../19295125.aspx

and here's someone who says the E8400 works

http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/desktop/f/3514/p/19266732/19499643.aspx

shesagordie · Answer

adocholiday Congratulations on a great upgrade. :emotion-21: Bev.

adocholiday · Answer

Thanks guys. Installed the e8400 today no problems whatsoever. Had the latest bios and it worked straight out of the box. Thanks for the input hopefully get a year or 2 out of this machine before I go for the custom build :)

adocholiday · Answer

Does anyone know what would be the best graphics card to go with my install? Would it be the 6570 as linked to by Robin above or would there be a better option? I'm lost with the graphic card requirements

adocholiday · Answer

Thanks Bev. I would ideally like to play Skyrim and other modern games at reasonable settings (not too bothered about high end settings) and use the machine for 3d modelling/game design in Blender. Would those cards be good for that?

shesagordie · Answer

adocholiday

Unless you are prepare to update the 300w power supply, I would use either the Radeon HD 6570 as already noted, or a Radeon HD 7750.

I installed an EVGA GeForce 9400GT in the 530MT, that has worked well for several years with the default 300w PSU, but the card is a bit dated now.

Bev.

shesagordie · Answer

adocholiday

The Vostro 200, like the Inspiron 530 is an obsolete system.

The Vostro 200 you have, would probably meet the minimum requirements of playing Skyrim, but not the recommended requirements, that need a Core 2 Quad processor, 6gb of RAM and maybe a 64-bit operating system,

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/113823-Skyrim-PC-Requirements-Revealed

It's best to visit the video game's website, to find the games requirements.

Bev.

Locked Topics – Desktops General

Dell Vostro 200 upgrade

Was this post helpful?