Upgrading to a Quad CPU

1. Not all 530's support Quads.

2. Not all 530's power supply supports Quads Aka if its not a Tower with 350W PSU you may have issues.

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

Hopefully you Got a 530 Tower not a 530S which is the Slim Desktop that has 180W power supply.

The Quad Core Machines use 350W power supply.

Part #     Functional Desc                                                         Master Desc
FU909     Power Supply, 350 Watt, PFC,  Delta                       PWR SPLY,350,PFC,DELTA

FU913     Power Supply, 350 Watt, PFC,  LiteOn                     PWR SPLY,350,PFC,LTON

The 305 watt PS does not provide enough power for the Q6600.

Somewhere on the motherboard it says in large white letters G33M02  or G33M03

the Dell Part number is more like a CN -0FM586 or similar.

The 530s Motherboard RY007 G33M02 does not work with Quads.

Belarc Advisor a free software utility will also tell you what motherboard you have.

 Belarc Advisor - Free Personal PC Audit

The following processors are supported by the Inspiron 530s:

Intel Celeron processor 430                                       
Intel Celeron Processor 420 (1.6 GHz, 800 FSB)
Intel Pentium Dual-Core 2140 (1.6 GHz, 800 MHz FSB)
Intel Pentium Dual-Core 2160 (1.8 GHz, 800 MHz FSB)
Intel Pentium Dual-Core E5200(2.5 GHz, 800 MHz FSB)
Intel Pentium Dual-Core E6500 (2.93 GHz, 1066 MHz FSB)
Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 (1.8 GHz, 800 MHz FSB)
Intel Core 2 Duo E4400 (2.0 GHz, 800 MHz FSB)
Intel Core 2 Duo E6320 (1.86 GHz, 1066 MHz FSB)
Intel Core 2 Duo E6420 (2.13 GHz, 1066 MHz FSB)
Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 (2.33 GHz, 1333 MHz FSB)
Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 (2.66 GHz, 1333 MHz FSB)
Intel Core 2 Duo E7300 (2.66 GHz, 1066 MHz FSB)
Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 (2.80 GHz, 1066 MHz FSB)
Wolfdale Core 2 Duo, E8400, 3.0GHz, 6MB, 1333FSB, 65W, E0
Wolfdale Core 2 Duo, E8500, 3.16GHz, 6MB, 1333FSB, 65W, C0
Wolfdale Core 2 Duo  E8500 (3.16 GHz, 1333 MHz FSB)
Wolfdale Dual Core Kit, E8600, 3.33GHz, 6MB, 1333FSB, 65W, E0

Bev,

It says Foxconn G33M02 on the board and the Dell P/N is 0G679R- Serial #CN7360492S012Y REV A00. Is that Quad capable?

Ok, I forgot to say I also upgraded PSU to a ThermalTake 600W. I ran the Belarc Advisor and got this:

Processor( a)   3.00 gigahertz Intel Core2 Duo

64 kilobyte primary memory cache

6144 kilobyte secondary memory cache

64-bit ready

Multi-core (2 total)

Not hyper-threaded

Main Circuit Board( b)   Board: Dell Inc. 0G679R A00

Serial Number: ..CN7360492S012Y.

Bus Clock: 333 megahertz

BIOS: Dell Inc. 1.0.18 02/24/2009

a. Processor clock speed is measured at computer start-up, and on laptops may be impacted by power option settings.

b. Data may be transferred on the bus at one, two, or four times the Bus Clock rate.

ON motherboard, in large white letters it says G33M02, also imprinted on board too. Tag (with bar code) says CN-0G679R-73604--925-012Y (same as Belarc said), so does this mean I can go no higher CPU than a Dual Core 2?

What a bummer...

Hello everybody, The last time I posted here was way back in May of 2010. I was starting to upgrade my Dell Inspiron 530 I bought at Wallmart. I did'nt know anything about a computer, but JMICHAEL and BEV gave me some suggestions that worked. Ok, here's my question: I upgraded the 530 to 3 HDDs, Intel E8400 core 2 CPU, Evga 550 TI graphics card, PCI audio card, 8gs of ddr2 memory and a Antec 300 hundred mid tower case w/ 4 fans. I also have a 1000g USB HDD for backup. I upgrade from Windows Vista 32 bit to Windows 7 64 bit. The only original Dell item is the motherboard with 1.0.18 bios. Ok, with that out of the way here really is my question: Do you think I can upgrade the CPU to a Quad core (Maybe a Q6600), without any problems. (Do you suggest another Quad CPU?)

 smittytech

If you have a FoxConn G33m02 [Dell P/N 0RY007] motherboard that was factory installed in the Dell Inspiron 530, then Core 2 Quad processors are not compatible.

Bev.

Bev, It says Foxconn G33M02 on the board and the Dell P/N is 0G679R- Serial #CN7360492S012Y REV A00. Is that Quad capable?

 smittytech

Nope, you need a different motherboard :emotion-6:, read my other post.

Bev.

:emotion-9: Ok,

Thanks for your help on that one. So if I find a G33M03 board, will it have a different Bios version and what is a good Quad processor. Not interested in overclocking, like to keep the heat down.

:emotion-9: Ok, Thanks for your help on that one. So if I find a G33M03 board, will it have a different Bios version and what is a good Quad processor. Not interested in overclocking, like to keep the heat down.

 smittytech

Yes, you will need to upgrade to the latest BIOS version, as support for newer processors was added.

A Dell Inspiron 530 OEM G33M03 motherboard, can be purchased from HERE, also try browsing eBay as you may find one there cheaper.

Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 (2.33 GHz, 1333 MHz FSB)
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 (2.4 GHz, 1066 MHz FSB)
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 (2.5 GHz, 1333 MHz FSB)
Intel Core 2 Quad Q9400 (2.66 GHz, 1333 MHz FSB)  

Bev.

Would a DG33MO3 motherboard work?

 smittytech

It should.

Bev.

Thanks Bev and to all. One more question: What about an after market MOB like the dg33m03. Maybe you can not say because you work for Dell. I would understand... Any suggestions?

  smittytech

I don't work for Dell, just a user like yourself, together with the other forum members that volunteer their time, trying to help other users, like youself.

The only members that are employed by Dell, are the Forum Liaisons, whose posts display a Dell Icon.

Personally, I would prefer to use a non-Dell motherboard, like a Gigabyte that supports DDR3 RAM, has integrated USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 ports, but you might need to buy a new copy of windows.

I recently upgraded an older home built AMD Athlon based desktop, that was very dated, with a new Gigabyte GA-880GA-UD3H motherboard, that supported a AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition Thuban 3.2GHz, Socket AM3, 125W Six-Core Processor, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, reused all the exsisting HD's, the two optical drives, PCIe Video Card, for around $350 including the S&H and reused the exsisting copy of Win 7, that was already installed.

Bev.

 smittytech

Happy to have helped and yes, it is addicting.  :emotion-2:

Bev.