Dell XPS 720 CPU Upgrade #2

[Grimmy]

Thanks a million for all your advice and support, I will have to think long and hard about this.
These forums are invaluable!
Why does Dell make this computer so unfriendly?

Dell's are meant for people who just want a PC without having to put it together and configure. So it's meant to be user friendly, or over friendly with all the annoying crap ware they put on it.

Also if you think about it, how would Dell be able to sell their products, when they are determined by its speed, if your able to take a low end and make it as fast as the high end?

That is why people here mainly build their machines... To get the best bang for their buck. 😀

 

[darkstar782]

Ok, just had mine apart for you 😛

Yes, the card reader/bluetooth module just connects via a USB header and would work with any motherboard.

The BTX cooler retention is completely different from the ATX one and you cannot replace the cooler. The mounting holes are in completely different positions (they are not even laid out in a square, but a rectangle, and there is a mounting plate for the cooler to screw into).

PSU is power supply. GPU is graphics processing unit, I was using it to mean your graphics card 😉

With a single 8800GTX you can use any intel motherboard.

 

[jedynygucio]

So for £200 or so I could rebuild the machine from scratch with a better motherboard and cooling system and overclock it to 3GHz or so. It is certainly worth me looking into this.
I understand everyone here recommends an ATX motherboard. Who would be the best producer of these that would go with the processor I have already? ASUS?
Does a new fan/cooling system require its own custom power supply or does it just plug into a slot in the motherboard?
Thank you all so very much for your help!

 

[jedynygucio]

Dell's are meant for people who just want a PC without having to put it together and configure. So it's meant to be user friendly, or over friendly with all the annoying crap ware they put on it.

Also if you think about it, how would Dell be able to sell their products, when they are determined by its speed, if your able to take a low end and make it as fast as the high end?

That is why people here mainly build their machines... To get the best bang for their buck. 😀

But your average user would not go to the trouble of paying for the 'high-end' PC that is the XPS 720 which they are advertising, so they should be more inclined to make machines like this customizable.

 

[jimmysmitty]

But your average user would not go to the trouble of paying for the 'high-end' PC that is the XPS 720 which they are advertising, so they should be more inclined to make machines like this customizable.

If they did that then people would buy the cheaper parts and then put the other parts in later therfroe not having to pay Dell an arm and a leg (literally) for a $2000 dollar PC priced at roughly $5K+.

That is also probably why Dell wen with a BTX style mobo/case as that makes it harder for someone to buy the cheap one and upgrade it to a better mobo/CPU.

 

[darkstar782]

Ok you are in the UK so....

Motherboard:
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L £65.79

Case:
Matter of opinion on looks really. I was going to suggest an Antec P180/P190 or similar but the PSU bay at the bottom may make it hard to fit your long PSU... these cases also sometimes have issues with ATX power connector length, and you want your first self build to be painless.... maybe a Thermaltake Kandalf?

Cooler:
Thermalright Ultra-120 extreme is cheap and highly regarded

Those are all suggestions, feel free to change them

No you would not need a new PSU, yours will be fine

 

[Grimmy]

But your average user would not go to the trouble of paying for the 'high-end' PC that is the XPS 720 which they are advertising, so they should be more inclined to make machines like this customizable.

Basically Dell wouldn't be able to make money, is the main point of my post. Its the marketing like Intel or AMD does. The chip runs faster, then it cost more for you to buy. If your able to take a Dell system that has a CPU of 1.8ghz, and were able to OC to 3ghz, then they wouldn't be able to sell their 3ghz system at the price they want.

Control over the product is key for them to make money. One reason why you don't find any OC feature in their Friendly PC.

If you were to buy their alienware, then you'd be able to do more, but it cost allot more.

 

[jimmysmitty]

Basically Dell wouldn't be able to make money, is the main point of my post. Its the marketing like Intel or AMD does. The chip runs faster, then it cost more for you to buy. If your able to take a Dell system that has a CPU of 1.8ghz, and were able to OC to 3ghz, then they wouldn't be able to sell their 3ghz system at the price they want.

Control over the product is key for them to make money. One reason why you don't find any OC feature in their Friendly PC.

If you were to buy their alienware, then you'd be able to do more, but it cost allot more.

$8K+ is not worht being able to OC a system I can build for $3K(a better one at that) and OC myself.

 

[Grimmy]

:lol:

Did I sound too encouraging for people to buy alienware?

Of course I know that you know that we know... that's why we know.. you know??

 

[jedynygucio]

May I ask one more thing?
The Q6600 2.4 GHz chip I have already, whose multiplier is locked in the BIOS and I can't edit it, is this a Dell BIOS limitation, or an Intel built-in CPU limitation? Will a new motherboard and different BIOS allow the multiplier to be changed?

 

[jedynygucio]

Thank you Darkstar for the hardware suggestions, they are very affordable and have great reviews! Thanks a million!

 

[jimmysmitty]

The Q6600 is locked from 6-9x multi. So its not locked but limited. It is locked by the Dell BIOS so you cannot change it but Intel sets the max multi to 9x for the Q6600.

 

[jedynygucio]

The Q6600 is locked from 6-9x multi. So its not locked but limited. It is locked by the Dell BIOS so you cannot change it but Intel sets the max multi to 9x for the Q6600.

So I wouldn't be able to OC this one anyway?

 

[Grimmy]

Well.. the multiplier is locked going up. So the Q6600 has a x9 multi. Since it uses SpeedStep, you can go down as low as x6.

That can play a vital part in OC'ing as well. In OC features on MB, you will need to adjust FSB speed, and voltages for the CPU and Memory.

The only CPU's by Intel with an unlocked multi, is their extreme line, like the $1000 you were looking at.

But still with a lock multi that a Q6600, you can achieve 3.6ghz, which I really haven't done, or need to. Water cooling would be more recommended if you wanted to get 4ghz out of it.

 

[Grimmy]

So I wouldn't be able to OC this one anyway?

If your referring to the Q6600 you have now, you can put it in another MB to OC it. Your MB bios from dell just doesn't have the features for the bios to do that.

 

[jedynygucio]

Thank you, all of you

 

[delluser1]

The PSU is a 750W model unless you have an SLi system or a H2C system, which has a 1000W PSU. Both PSUs will fit a standard case .

They will fit, but the 20 pin cpu connector on the Dell psu would make it difficult to use with a standard ATX board.

 

[darkstar782]

You'll be able to over clock the Q6600 fine on a normal motherboard...

CPU speed is a multiplier of FSB speed.

The stock speed for a Q6600 is 266*9, or 2400MHz.

The Dell Bios does not allow you to change the FSB speed (the 266 bit). It does allow you to change the multiplier (the 9 bit) if your CPU supports it.

The only CPUs that allow you to increase the multiplier are the Extreme edition ones.

A normal motherboard would just let you increase the FSB and overclock that way. That P35 board I linked would easily go as high as 400MHz FSB, for 400*9= 3600MHz, or 3.6GHz, assuming the CPU could cope with that speed.

For a simple and easy overclock, 333*9 would get you to 3GHz, probably without you even needing to change voltages.

 

[darkstar782]

They will fit, but the 20 pin cpu connector on the Dell psu would make it difficult to use with a standard ATX board.

The XPS 720 seems to have a standard 24 pin motherboard and 4 pin +12v connector, not one of the older non-standard dell connectors.

 

[Hellboy]

Hello again,

You may remeber yesterday I posted a thread on upgrading the CPU on a Dell XPS 720 machine from an Intel Quad Core Q6600 2.4 GHz 65nm 1066 FSB chip to an Intel Core Extreme QX9650 3 GHz 45nm 1333 FSB (or alternatively a QX6850 3 GHz 65 nm 1333 FSB). All of these use an LGA775 socket.
My motherboard is one made by Dell which came with the machine, an XPS 720 for those of you familiar with it, and is described by CPU-Z as:
Manufacturer Dell Inc., Model 0P611C, NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI SPP Chipset, NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI MCP Southbridge, SMSC for LPCIA. The BIOS is also by Dell, version A05 dated 01/03/2008, so the most recent, I guess. Graphic interfact is PCI-Express, with link width x16, also max supported.

You guys are a goldmine of excellent advice and information, and I don't want to get this CPU change wrong, so if you could advise whether this motherboard will take the QX9650 or QX6850 I would be extremely grateful! Thank you for your advice so far on the previous thread!
Best regards,
AJS

Why dont you just pay the extra dollar and get the machine fitted completley with the processor you want... and a 28 inch monitor...

Dell - Ruining the industry for everyone.....

 

[jedynygucio]

You'll be able to over clock the Q6600 fine on a normal motherboard...

CPU speed is a multiplier of FSB speed.

The stock speed for a Q6600 is 266*9, or 2400MHz.

The Dell Bios does not allow you to change the FSB speed (the 266 bit). It does allow you to change the multiplier (the 9 bit) if your CPU supports it.

The only CPUs that allow you to increase the multiplier are the Extreme edition ones.

A normal motherboard would just let you increase the FSB and overclock that way. That P35 board I linked would easily go as high as 400MHz FSB, for 400*9= 3600MHz, or 3.6GHz, assuming the CPU could cope with that speed.

For a simple and easy overclock, 333*9 would get you to 3GHz, probably without you even needing to change voltages.

The Dell BIOS does not allow me to change either, but the nvidia ntune application does allow me to change the fsb speed through windows dynamically. Is it wise or advisable to use a 3rd party application like this to overclock, given as it's my only option at this moment? Is the Q6600 a naturally cool chip, perhaps?

 

[delluser1]

The XPS 720 seems to have a standard 24 pin motherboard and 4 pin +12v connector, not one of the older non-standard dell connectors.

The 720 does have a standard 24 pin motherboard connector, but does not have a 4 or 8 pin cpu connector, they use a 20 pin.
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/xps720/en/OM_EN/parts.htm#wp1221949
Click on "power supply" after opening link, to see the connector diagram.

 

[Kaldor]

I was just going to say, "what about the power supply?" Dell in all their wisdom with their powersupplys...

Get a decent powersupply as well. Dont know whats available where you are at. But Id look at a 600 watt minimum.

 

[jedynygucio]

Ladies and Gentlemen, may I bring the following page to your attention?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-210-IN&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=1093

This is a factory OC'd Q6600 from 2.4 to 3 GHz, guaranteed, for only £155 ($310). Would this be an easier, and cheaper choice, than rebuilding the computer?

 

[delluser1]

Ladies and Gentlemen, may I bring the following page to your attention?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-210-IN&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=1093

This is a factory OC'd Q6600 from 2.4 to 3 GHz, guaranteed, for only £155 ($310). Would this be an easier, and cheaper choice, than rebuilding the computer?

It's not overclocked, they are guaranteeing that it will overclock.