Inspiron 546 MT 0F896N motherboard

Could someone maybe offer a little more info on this.

the question is not really if the MB is AM3 compatible. it's an AM2+ motherboard. but if an AM3 cpu will run in it.

AM3 cpus are inherently AM2+ compatible. i've never had a problem before. so i'm surprised to read this answer. there seem to be a few people around that are running AM3 cpus on a 546.

edit:

they actually ppear to sell 546's with a phenom am3

http://outlet.us.dell.com/ARBOnlineSales/Online/InventorySearch.aspx?brandId=2202&c=us&cs=22&fid=1011&l=en&s=dfh

Do the regular Inspirons use the same MOBO as the MT?

 WillKennerley

Please define 'regular Inspirons'?

There are certain Inspiron models that have different motherboards, depending on the system's configuration that was ordered, but the 546 Mini Tower is not one of them.

Bev.

By regular I meant the full size tower. I am aware that there was a MT version (I have) and the ST version. 

So my Dell Inspiron 546 MT can run an AM3 processor, such as one of those on the link with those system configs ^^? (Phenom II, Athlon II)

 WillKennerley

There are no Full Tower, or Mid Tower versions of Dell's Inspiron models, only the Mini Tower and the so-called 'Slimline' versions.

Maybe the discussion HERE can help with the processor upgrade.

Bev.

Do the regular Inspirons use the same MOBO as the MT?

Thanks for that link. It says that an Inspiron is being sold with a 'AMD Phenom II X4 945 Processor'. 

However I can not find this for sale in the UK?

Will a similar processor work you think? For example the 955 or 840?

as far as i know there is only one motherboard with the 546

it is my intention to put a 940 in mine as these are 95W and a fair bit cheaper than the 945 (also 95W.)

I would be interested why the person who responded to the OP felt that this wouldn't work.

anyone have any further thoughts on this before i buy the new cpu?

Well I think I may go for the 940 as well: it's not too expensive. However I would like to see how smoothly your upgrade goes before buying!

My only concern with the 940 is the L2 cache size, only 512kb. I'm not sure what impact this will have but it's certainly not the best around. 

Please can you comment on your upgrade process when you have upgraded just so I can see how the new cpu is working and I can consider buying one.

lol. i will certainly post back if/when i upgrade.

i'm now looking at an AMD Athlon II X4 640 Socket AM3 3GHz 2MB L2 Cache Retail Boxed Processor which has no L3 cache. but 2MB of L2.

I don't mind dishing out a little more for something better such as the Phenom II X4 955, I just want to be sure that works with the mobo and there's no sure fire way to do that. Likewise I don't know if the Athlon II family will work. It most likely will but I'm not sure how easy it is to return a processor if it doesn't work. 

I have installed an AM3 Athlon II X4 640 3GHz quadcore and it works perfectly.

Sounds awesome, I'll probably look towards getting one of those considering I'm now sure it will work!

I thought you might. it's even come down in price since i ordered mine. i paid 76 quid.