Dell Studio Xps 16 CPU Upgrade problem. Need help!

What you purchased is an engineering sample CPU - which, beyond what follows, is illegal for sale.  Intel requires non-disclosure agreements when it sends engineering samples to manufacturers, testers, etc. which preclude selling the samples when they're done with them.  Such CPUs are routinely used in durability testing - overclocked, over-voltaged, throttled beyond redline, etc. -- in other words, they're designed to be abused, and many have been.  So, even if you obtain one, they're not reliable.

Beyond that, they're not multiplier locked - so even if they're in working order, they won't work on a system that doesn't have a provision for manually setting the multiplier.  Your Studio is such a system.

Translation:  this CPU is not going to work on your system.  Send it back for a refund and buy a warranted, for-sale authentic Intel production CPU.

Thank you for your reply. How did you know that this is a enginering sample? Are you %100 positive about this? Thanks for your help...

The ES in the CPU code you listed means Engineering  Sample.  These WILL NOT work in your system (and are VERY, VERY risky buys).

Engineering samples are the beta software of the software industry or the prototype cars of the automotive world - they are NOT intended for sale.

EJN63,

I really appreciate your help. I contacted the seller and he will refund me once he gets the CPU back. I checked every single 820Q CPUS on Ebay and every single seller is selling ES models! I don't know why it is illegal since they already have these CPUS out; I mean is somebody sells these ES models before the CPU is out on the market, I would think that is illegal but once they are out, the engineering samples are already useless. Anyways, this is not the issue anymore. I already bought a 720qm from a different seller and he verified that this CPU is OEM not ES. I really really appreciate your help as without your post I would not know about this. Thank you soooo much. Have a nice day...

Sarp

About the only way EBay sellers can make money on CPUs is to sell either high-demand discontinued models, or engineering samples.  There is no way they could make much money on selling legitimate production CPUs when large companies buy them by the thousands, with discounts accordingly.

The biggest issues with engineering samples are that they've been used in ways that can cause damage - you have no way to know whether the CPU is in fact in working order -- and the damages can be insidious (resulting in calculation errors, etc.).  You also have no way to know whether their lifespan will be a normal one, and without the clock multiplier lock they simply won't work in most production notebooks.

It is indeed a violation of Intel's NDA to sell an engineering sample - presumably if Intel wanted to it could trace the CPU serial number to the original owner and perhaps bar them from receiving future ES chips.

Once again Thank you so much for the help. Think about not having an internet back in the days. It would take days months to figure out what is wrong with my computer. God it is so easy nowadays... Last question: I have the core i5 in the computer right now until the new 720QM (Not ES) arrives on Monday and I got into Bios and it shows my Rams as 1066MHZ! I have 1333MHZ Samsungs 8GB and why is the system showing them as 1066? As far as I know core i5 support max 1066 and would that be the problem? The CPU is limiting the memory speed? So once i install the core i7, would it work as 1333MHZ? Thanks...

With the quad core 720QM it should, yes.  All the dual cores are limited to 1066 MHz.

This system does support the CPU in question, so that would mean one of two things:

Either the CPU isn't what it appears to be, or it is faulty.

Did you purchase it at retail from a valid reseller, or on the wilds of EBay?

What is the S-spec (Code beginning with S) on the CPU?

The ES unit would not have worked.  Do you have the latest BIOS for your system (I'm assuming the system works properly with the original CPU installed)?

Yes I have the latest Bios which is A07 and yes the second I install the core i5 back, it runs immediately. How about reversing the Bios back to prior and install the latest A09 bios for 1645? Would that work? I actually tried it before and it said, you have the same BIOS or newer! Weird...