Windows 7: Dell Optiplex problem

Hay I know this is for 7 but I cannot get an easy answer for a simple XP query.

Have cleaned up a GX240 and it has 1.7Ghz CPU I want to change it to say a 2.53 or slightly higher speed Pentium 4 but when I tried a couple in the machine it did nothing - just got warm. SIW says the board supports up to 3.0Ghz so am at a loss as to why the other CPU's won't work.

Might be that the original OEM install is locked to the original hardware.

Good ol name brands planned obsolescence is designed right in for your convenience. lol

Dell does that sometimes. They use custom motherboards and can have custom implementation of the chipsets. For example, I have a Dimension E510 which Intel says the chipset can support up to a D960 CPU. However on the Dell forum we have found that the D945 is the maximum that will work on the Dell motherboard. We had users try the D960 and it wouldn't boot. The motherboard in my Dell Dimension E510 is made by Foxconn for Dell but again it's not like Foxconn's "retail" motherboards or boards they make for other vendors (I have an Intel motherboard and it was made by Foxconn for Intel).

Looking at the Dell specs for this old model, the max memory is 64 MB, not really something that would be a good candidate to spend any $$ trying to upgrade. Dell only supports XP, 2000, NT4 and 98 on this model. The last BIOS update was 2002.

Ran into the same with a Gateway desktop and off that experience I started building my own and I'll never go back. To my way of thinking this very architectural issue is why the big names are having sales problems.....well one of them?

Thanks everyone I sort of half guessed that's what has been done although it quite happily takes 1GB RAM.

I am an RN and do jobs for my colleagues for free (except for new bits) so is was a shame really as this friend doesn't earn much money (Assistant in Nursing) and this was a really clean machine (literally) when I got my grubby mits on it, so thought it worth the change from the old Hewlett Packard that was running a 1.1Ghz Celeron and 256MB and boy that was slooooooooow. So just swapped the drives HDD and optical over and had these spare CPU's and being a smarta**e went for my life.

Still it is better than the old one

Oh and sorry for putting it in here just I wasn't getting anywhere Googling and this is such a top forum in my view for having folks who are so understanding - NO BS!!

It could be worth trying this - It worked on an old Emachine I had.

Does the PC have the XP OEM COA, sticker on it?

You can download the OEM version of XP - Put your new CPU in and do clean install of the OEM.

This method worked for an old Emachine but not for a HP machine - So it would be a risk.

Well Sir Nigsy methinks you want me to go forth on my trusty white stallion to the valley where the Intel dragon liveth and there draw my blade and commence battle for the honour of England. My chances are slim for I have fought many battles with such creatures but none so devilishly cunning as this one and should I not return then I hope that all will remember me as a gallant and brave warrior

Seriously Nigsy I don't like my chances there mate I've been interested in electronics in fact besotted with them since I first saw the glow of a vacuum tube (valve in English) in my grandfathers acid battery driven wireless. Have done a fair bit with building stereos and such and after a long break and retirement looming have taken up computing and during the last 18 months have picked up lots of little wrinkles like this but mate it has taken me three solid days to get where I have with this machine and to can it now would be a disaster.

If I had the disk and it was just a machine that I was experimenting with then I would give it a go but as the other have said the chipset is the problem being limited to a 1.6 CPU and 1GB RAM and if it all went pear shaped then I would lose nothing but this one belongs to a friend who like I said earns much less than me and couldn't afford to get another one. Perhaps down the track I could slip in a different motherboard to solve the problem - we'll see.

John

PS Don't you have a message board??