Dimension 5150/E510 Windows 7 Drivers

Everyone's configuration can be different even on the same model. To determine if your computer can run Win 7, download and run the windows upgrade advisor from Here. If you are now running Vista, you can run Win 7 but might have to make a few upgrades. If you are running Windows XP, you might consider staying with that until you can get a new computer. See what the advisor suggests. Remember that MS wants you to buy Win 7, but if too many changes are required, skip it.

I am running Window 7 Ultimate 32-bit on the Dimension e510.  I absolutely love the OS!  I was running XP Media Center and 7 works better for me than XP did on this PC.  However, I did upgrade the Proc to Pentium D 945 and replace the power supply with Ultra LS400.  The only issue that I had is that my add-in sound card did not have a windows 7 driver.  I use the Turtle Beach Montego and I was able to get Dolby Digital with XP MCE.  Currenlty, I can only get analog with a driver that is not the exact right one.  Turtle Beach is supposed to release a Win 7 driver soon.

I do not know if the on-board sound card works with windows 7 or not, because I never tried it, and I have it disabled.  I also do not use the on-board NIC so I don't know about that either.  I think that everything but the sound card just automatically found drivers.  It has been a little while since I installed, so I am not positive on that.

I also have 3 GB of RAM, which probalby helps.  I love the fact that I can get clear QAM now through my TV tuner with Win 7.

I used to have Media Center close all the time with XP MCE and now I only very rarely have a problem.   I did do a test drive with Vista on my PC once, but hated it.  I am glad i waited for Win 7 to come out.

I have an E510.  I have Vista 32 bit installed on it.  Dell does support Vista 32 bit, but not 64 bit however the Vista 32 bit drivers, including the SigmaTel Integrated Audio, should work OK with Windows 7.  You should upgrade to the A07 BIOS (if you don't have it) as it fixed a compatibility problem with Vista.

You should have a minimum of 2GB for Win 7 (and 3 is better).

HERE is the Dell Vista 32 bit drivers for the E510/5150. 

As you will be upgrading from XP that means you will have to do a complete new install, keep in mind the required install steps are (1) Install Windows (2) Instal Intel Chipset Drivers (3) Install Device Drivers including sound, video, ethernet, etc.  DO NOT skip the chipset drivers, which define the hardware devices, as some will not install without them. 

I have an E510 and installed Windows7 64bit and it works great. The Pentium D 630 in my system is 64bit enable but only a single core processor. I had upgraded the video card, memory and TV Tuner card. I got the onboard sound card to work but it crashes every once in a while. I probably should upgrade that too.

I installed Windows 7 Home Premium 32 bit on my E510. Prior to doing so, however, I did perform a number of upgrades. The upgrade adviser was very helpful at identifying potential incompatibilities.

• BIOS upgrade to A07.
• Memory upgrade to 4 GB (3.5 GB usable)
• New sound card, Sound Blaster Audigy SE.
• New video card, ATI Radeon HD 2400 Pro.
• New network adapter, Intel Gigabit CT Desktop Adapter (disabled integrated NIC.)

I made all of these upgrades while still running Windows XP SP3. So when I installed Windows 7 there were no issues. I wasn't required to do any post install steps, such as installing drivers manually, etc.

Since upgrading to Windows 7 I've made a few other changes as well.

• Upgraded from the Pentium D 940 to the D 945 CPU.
• New video card, nVidia GeForce GT 730.
• New PSU, Corsair CX430M "modular" PSU.
• Replaced the 250 GB HDD with a 960 GB PNY SSD.

It's like I have an entirely new machine. And my E510 runs Windows 7 just great. The Windows Experience Index subscores for the various components are pretty impressive too.

• CPU 5.1
• Memory 5.2
• Graphics, both Aero and Business / Gaming, 7.0
• SSD 7.2

The CPU upgrade did very little, if anything. But the TDP of the D 945 is lower, at 95 W compared to that of the D 940, which is 130 W. Also, my E510 has the better copper performance heatsink.