Upgrading Sandy Bridge i3 to Ivy Bridge Xeon?

WeeKiwi7

Honorable
Jun 30, 2013
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10,510
Hello,

I have a Dell T1600 workstation that I am looking to upgrade. It currently has an i3-2100. I would like to upgrade to a Xeon E3-1270 which I am sure would be compatible. However, I can find a Xeon E3-1270 v2 for not much more.

I recall that Ivy Bridge processors are backwards compatible with Sandy Bridge platforms, does anyone know if the Ivy Bridge version would have any issues in this system and are there any problems I would need to be aware of regarding memory?

The chipset in the system is C206.

Also, does anyone know why the intel page for the C206 chipset lists the Sandy Bridge i3 as compatible but not the i5 or i7?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 
Solution
I'm pretty sure the chipset won't recognize the IB processor. If Dell doesn't have the processor listed on its cpu support list, their micro code probably hasn't been updated. I have the same problem with my HP Workstation. It has a Xeon E3-1240 and the latest HP BIOS. But it won't recognize anything IB.

clutchc

Titan
Ambassador
I'm pretty sure the chipset won't recognize the IB processor. If Dell doesn't have the processor listed on its cpu support list, their micro code probably hasn't been updated. I have the same problem with my HP Workstation. It has a Xeon E3-1240 and the latest HP BIOS. But it won't recognize anything IB.
 
Solution

WeeKiwi7

Honorable
Jun 30, 2013
5
0
10,510


Cheers, I've just went ahead and got the Sandy Bridge Xeon.
 

clutchc

Titan
Ambassador


Which one did you get if you don't mind me asking?