Overclocking a Dell or build a new system

[chauhanneel]

I want to overclock a Dell Inspiron 537 my parents gave me to 3.2~3.6GHz or higher to get better performance in applications. Am i better of overclocking this (with a new CPU fan):
Dell Inspiron 537
Pentium E5200 at 2.5GHz and 800MHz FSB
3GB (2GB+1GB) DDR2
320GB hard drive
Intergrated video
Windows 7 Home Premium (from free upgrade)

Or waiting 2-10 months and building a new power system for $600-800 from my own money (don't give me part suggestions now, it's too early).

I still wished they gave the $400 to me so i can build a $1000 ($600 of my $$$) rig instead of to evil dell, and they want me to be satisfied with this piece of underpreforming garbage.

Putting down an undead thread
-ViRGE

 

[dawp]

you may not be able to OC much if any, and with software only. there are 2 versions of the 537, a 537mt and 537st.

 

[RyanGreener]

You should appreciate the fact that your parents bought you a computer...but anyways, what does it underperform in? Unless you do high-end gaming that should be totally fine. I type this from a single core AMD laptop and while it's not the fastest, I find that hardware these days is way more powerful than it needs to be for general consumers.

A new CPU heatsink/fan would cost you anywhere from 20-40 bucks, and I'm assuming you will use OCing software like SetFSB to overclock your computer (cause I doubt you can use the BIOS for it), and you can get a decent overclock. I don't really know if you need a full blown upgrade depending on what you do.

 

[alyarb]

There's nothing wrong with your computer. Wolfdales still offer more than sufficient power despite their antiquated external interfaces. The cheapest thing for you to do would be to attempt a BSEL and VID mod on your CPU. You will have much better luck with this method than a buggy software overclock, even though you should experiment with SetFSB to determine what the highest FSB your motherboard and RAM are willing to do. If things with SetFSB go well, and you feel like your system is stable with FSBs higher than 266, you can lock it in with a BSEL mod.

http://www.overclock.net/intel-cpus/341123-intel-bsel-vid-mod-guide.html

with a 266 (800->1066 in the diagram) FSB and 1.4 volts, you will be at 3.3 GHz, somewhere between a dual core Phenom II and a dual core i3. If the system is stable, get yourself a heatsink. If it doesn't work or you screw up the BSEL, you can just buy a faster CPU. 3 GHz wolfdales are only $70. Not all Dell desktops will let you upgrade the CPU, so be thankful you have an Inspiron 537.

Regardless, if you are trying to run games on your machine, they will all run slow no matter how fast your CPU is because you're using the integrated video. So exactly how is the computer underperforming?

 

[{uZa}DOA]

looks like all you need is an aftermarket GPU and you should be golden! Make sure what you choose will fit your case and your PSU can handle the upgrade..

 

[aaksheytalwar]

Most motherboards in brands like dell don't allow overclocking or are too crappy to be overclocked. Voltage increase is out of question either case and there is a 80% chance that you can't even overclock by a MHz. Sorry mate, but you need to go for a new setup. Even if you buy a gpu you won't be able to play games newer than 2007-2008 maxed out because of the CPU

Chances are that the dell doesn't even have a gpu slot and even if it has, you are better off going for a complete overhaul. Even the slowest Deleon available today is like nearly twice as fast as that. I am sorry to break all this but you should know the truth

 

[aaksheytalwar]

It would be best to sell this stuff for like $100, adding your $800 and building a new $900 rig

 

[blckgrffn]

It would be best to sell this stuff for like $100, adding your $800 and building a new $900 rig

lol, wtf? Are you serious?

@ OP - you just got handed a reasonably good PC. Maybe just enjoy that for a bit? What doesn't it do? Maybe we can help?

@ everyone else - what are the odds he can put a quad in there? I've only ever updated these with dual cores...

http://www.dell.com/us/dfh/p/inspiron-537/pd

Looks like there is a PCIe slot and support for Core 2 Quads.

I'd say get a video card in there and then decide what POS it is. Something like a 6750/7750 would be a good bet if you don't want to also drop coin on a PSU.

 

[Matt1970]

I want to overclock a Dell Inspiron 537 my parents gave me to 3.2~3.6GHz or higher to get better performance in applications. Am i better of overclocking this (with a new CPU fan):
Dell Inspiron 537
Pentium E5200 at 2.5GHz and 800MHz FSB
3GB (2GB+1GB) DDR2
320GB hard drive
Intergrated video
Windows 7 Home Premium (from free upgrade)

Or waiting 2-10 months and building a new power system for $600-800 from my own money (don't give me part suggestions now, it's too early).

I still wished they gave the $400 to me so i can build a $1000 ($600 of my $$$) rig instead of to evil dell, and they want me to be satisfied with this piece of underpreforming garbage.

That might be your problem. Even if you didn't run an upgrade, I would scrap that Dell install and do a fresh generic Windows 7 install. That should breath new life into that system.

 

[Arzachel]

lol, wtf? Are you serious?

@ OP - you just got handed a reasonably good PC. Maybe just enjoy that for a bit? What doesn't it do? Maybe we can help?

@ everyone else - what are the odds he can put a quad in there? I've only ever updated these with dual cores...

http://www.dell.com/us/dfh/p/inspiron-537/pd

Looks like there is a PCIe slot and support for Core 2 Quads.

I'd say get a video card in there and then decide what POS it is. Something like a 6750/7750 would be a good bet if you don't want to also drop coin on a PSU.

Core 2 Quads still go for exorbitant sums, that's definitely not worth it.

@OP: What PSU does the PC have and what kind of connectors? The CPU shouldn't be too big of a bottleneck, sticking a midrange GPU is the best bet to get more performance, if you want to game. If you only have the PCI-E slot to feed the GPU, then a HD7750 is your best bet. If it has a 6pin or a 8pin connector, then the HD6850/6870 would be great for you.

 

[Arachnotronic]

Core 2 Quads still go for exorbitant sums, that's definitely not worth it.

@OP: What PSU does the PC have and what kind of connectors? The CPU shouldn't be too big of a bottleneck, sticking a midrange GPU is the best bet to get more performance, if you want to game. If you only have the PCI-E slot to feed the GPU, then a HD7750 is your best bet. If it has a 6pin or a 8pin connector, then the HD6850/6870 would be great for you.

Hehe, in another thread I was just telling the guy to sell his Q9450 and then get a used 2500K for break-even!

@ OP: Build a new system.

 

[NTMBK]

Put in a graphics card and that should be a perfectly fine system to game on. You could get a fairly low end one like an HD7700 series, shouldn't tax your PSU too much.

 

[Arachnotronic]

I mean, get a nice GPU now so that you can game, but you're gonna want a nice CPU/mobo/etc. with it ASAP.

 

[Arzachel]

Hehe, in another thread I was just telling the guy to sell his Q9450 and then get a used 2500K for break-even!

@ OP: Build a new system.

Yeah, I have no idea why they hold their value so well.

Also, depending on his monitor and expected settings, the OP could just get a 6870 if the PSU had the required connectors. A whole new rig might be overkill for 1680x1050 or w/e.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

Dell=cant oc

 

[Kenmitch]

Dell=cant oc

1st look at the date of the original post

Second you can overclock any computer with a little bit of knowledge and work.

Third the e5200's were good overclockers if you got a decent one. Mine would only do 4.2ghz tho

Here's how to overclock with the Dell system. Of course it would be a YMMV depending on the chip and the skill of the person trying to do it.

http://www.overclock.net/t/341123/intel-bsel-vid-mod-guide

I never tried it this way as I never had to. But to be fair it doesn't look like it would be all that hard to do if a person wanted to try it.

 

[soccerballtux]

There's nothing wrong with your computer. Wolfdales still offer more than sufficient power despite their antiquated external interfaces. The cheapest thing for you to do would be to attempt a BSEL and VID mod on your CPU. You will have much better luck with this method than a buggy software overclock, even though you should experiment with SetFSB to determine what the highest FSB your motherboard and RAM are willing to do. If things with SetFSB go well, and you feel like your system is stable with FSBs higher than 266, you can lock it in with a BSEL mod.

http://www.overclock.net/intel-cpus/341123-intel-bsel-vid-mod-guide.html

with a 266 (800->1066 in the diagram) FSB and 1.4 volts, you will be at 3.3 GHz, somewhere between a dual core Phenom II and a dual core i3. If the system is stable, get yourself a heatsink. If it doesn't work or you screw up the BSEL, you can just buy a faster CPU. 3 GHz wolfdales are only $70. Not all Dell desktops will let you upgrade the CPU, so be thankful you have an Inspiron 537.

Regardless, if you are trying to run games on your machine, they will all run slow no matter how fast your CPU is because you're using the integrated video. So exactly how is the computer underperforming?

they're fast in Windows XP, but the limited cache carries a huge* performance penalty moving to Windows Vista/7. Those OSes have a lot more going on in the kernel and need the cache. In my experience.
Definitely want to overclock to 4Ghz+ if at all possible.

*subjective. Things ran a lot slower until I cranked up the OC on my old dual core with 1MB cache e2180 at 2ghz->3.4ghz (much better)

 

[aaksheytalwar]

You can run windows 7 or vista just fine, have been doing vista since a64. It is gaming which is a problem, more so on vista or 7. But regular usage will be nearly perfect. Do go for a 32bit install though