Finally received my Dell Inspiron 530 (thanks Slickdealers!) today - bought it with the EPP 15% and $350 off $999 coupons. Mine was built with the following specs:


Intel Core 2 Duo Processor E6550 (4MB L2 Cache,2.33GHz,1333 FSB)
1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz- 2DIMMs
Dell USB Keyboard and Dell Optical USB Mouse
20 inch SP2008WFP Widescreen Digital Flat Panel w/ Webcam
Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3100
250GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™
Dell Media Card Reader included in Dell Bluetooth Package
Genuine Windows Vista& Home Premium - English
56K PCI Data Fax Modem
16X DVD+/-RW Drive
Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio
1Yr In-Home Service, Parts + Labor, 24x7 Phone Support
Dell Bluetooth Wireless Media Hub (13-1 Media Reader w/Bluetooth 2.0 EDR)


I kept the extras to a minimal as I was planning to add in a few upgrades. The total came to $565.61 before taxes, it would cost me just as much to build a PC (minus monitor) with similar specs.

Here's the upgrades I got:


BFG - NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT OC Graphics Card - $251.99 before tax (Best Buy sale)
Antec Earthwatts 380W power supply - $29.99 BT (Newegg promotion code)
G.SKILL 2GB (2x1MB) PC400 DDR2 CAS5 - $46.99 (Newegg)

I have one SB Audigy 2 from my old PC that got transplanted too - it has the added advantage of having a Firewire 400 port, not that I really need one right now.

Did some performance numbers out of the box, Vista was giving 4.5 for memory and PCMark05 memory benched at 5022. The onboard graphics yielded a 3DMark05 score of 258. Upgrading this to 2GB and removing the slower Dell memory got me to 5.9 memory in Vista, PCMark05 memory 5196 and 3DMark06 322. A definite improvement going from DDR2-5300 to DDR2-6400 memory. I did not test what disabling dual channel memory would do (should definitely cause a drop in performance and the integrated graphics that is dependent on system RAM).

The stock PSU is a 300W AcBel that provides +12V of 18A. It has only 4 SATA power connectors, the 2 motherboard power connectors and one connector for a floppy drive. If anyone is planning on getting a graphics card that requires Molex connectors or PCIE, you're most likely better off buying a whole new PSU. There isn't a lot of room between the PSU and the DVD drive, so keep that in mind when selecting a replacement. Stock power draw was around 48W idle, 88W peak at the wall outlet (checked with a Kill-A-Watt meter).

My replacement is the Antec Earthwatts 380W - it is about exactly the size of the AcBel PSU, but has dual +12V rails and 17A per rail (total of something like 27A on both rails). Thoughts differ amongst people if its good enough for an 8800GT but in this application I believe its a perfect replacement and my numbers after upgrading show something like 178W peak at the wall outlet with the 8800GT. It takes some cable ties to manage all the extra long cables it comes with though. The Antec is about as silent as it gets.

To get an 8800GT into the case, I had to move the drive to a different bay. I could have left it there if I had a replacement SATA cable, but I don't. Because the drive is hung upside down, it uses a weird right angle SATA cable... the best is to just get straight SATA cables without any right angle connectors as replacements. I plan to add a 2nd HDD. The fit of the 8800GT wasn't as bad as I thought - it does get a bit tight in there but given my last PC was a Shuttle HTPC, the Dell seems to have tons of room. Given the cooling problems with 8800GTs, I upped the fan speed with RivaTuner, but I might add a single slot cooler to draw more hot air out of the case too and improve airflow further.

The HDD that came is a 250GB Seagate 7200.10 - its pretty slim, and that helped with a bit more spacing. I have about maybe 1/2 inch between the drive and the 8800GT... definitely something to think about if you plan to add a long PCIE graphics car into the case.

Attaching some before/after photos and a few benchmark numbers of the post upgrade. I plan on installing XP as a dual-boot since most games are faster with XP still, and adding a 750GB drive later on, plus maybe a TV tuner card to play with the Media Center features in Vista.

The monitor - I opted for the 20-inch Dell SP2008WFP - don't have enough desktop real estate for the 22-inch, and I prefer a smaller screen of same resolution (too used to seeing small text on small high-res laptop screens). A nice replacement for my old 17" LCD. Happy to report that in analog mode, I could get 1680x1050 to work fine on my old Belkin KVM (was a little afraid it wouldn't display right and I have some old systems to hook up).

Hope this helps those who might be looking to upgrade their Inspiron 530s or get it and do some upgrades.

thanks for the review. do you think all the following will fit and not be cramped?

corsair 450vx
500gb hd
hd cooler
2600xt
zalman 9500
another dvd burner

The Corsair PSU casing should fit fine - I was looking at one too, but the wire management will be another story, its all nicely insulated which makes the bundle thicker than the Antec... my excess wires went into where the 2nd DVD drive would go to. You might be able to route them to the front of the case where there is dead space, below the hard drives.

2600XT + Zalman should easily fit too but you will lose the use of the PCIx1 slot.

DVD burner and 2nd HDD should fit fine too. Just make sure you get straight SATA cables instead of right angle ones for the HDD.

HD cooler - where would you mount it? :confused: I'd say there's nowhere in the case for one of these, but if you want to pull more air out of the case a PCI slot cooler will work.

The biggest mess is definitely wire management. The Dell PSU has really short wires that were made just to length for everything they intended to put into the case.

Hello,

Do you know if there will be any issues downgrading the quad 530 to XP? I've tried a few times with no luck, it keeps freezing during the install

Honestly, with manufactured computers, your upgrading is very finite. You can upgrade the Video Card, Processor, Memory, and that's about it. Their motherboard is going to be limited in features that it can offer you in terms of tweaking. Also, your cooling is going to be finite because you can only do what their case will let you. You might be able to fit some of that stuff inside the case. The HDD, DVD Drive, and the 2600XT+Zalman. Now the HDD Cooler is an issue. Do you have a HDD cooler that is actually mounted on the HDD itself or a fan that just needs to be attached somewhere in the same area as the HDD. That it about the only big issue I can see.

How did you get that power supply in there? Does the back of the Dell have a removable panel or did you sawzall the back of the case? I haven't looked, but I had to grind out that back panel on my 8400 to put a new PSU in.. If it's removable, KUDOS to Dell. If not, a big FU to Dell...

What you see in the photo is the stock Dell case opening - the 530s are pretty close to a stock micro ATX case now... the board is likely swappable too.

So you took out the 1GB that came with the computer instead of choosing to have 3GB at 667MHz you chose 2GB at 800MHz....is this the ideal setup?

I'll probably run some more tests and experiment with 2GB at 800 vs. 3GB at 667 in Vista running Crysis... 2GB should be plenty though for most applications. It may not work though at 667 - I only saw SPD settings for 266 and 400 from the G.SKILL sticks and the Dell ones had 266 and 333, so I might end up with 3GB at running at 2x266 = 532.

I'll probably run some more tests and experiment with 2GB at 800 vs. 3GB at 667 in Vista running Crysis... 2GB should be plenty though for most applications. It may not work though at 667 - I only saw SPD settings for 266 and 400 from the G.SKILL sticks and the Dell ones had 266 and 333, so I might end up with 3GB at running at 2x266 = 532.

Ahhh. Thank you for explaining that.....Sounds like I'm probably better off sticking with 2GB at higher speed.

Ahhh. Thank you for explaining that.....Sounds like I'm probably better off sticking with 2GB at higher speed.

Looks to be negligible - I tried out 3GB, the system showed 667 instead of 800. I got a marginally better benchmark in Crysis with the added memory - 40.38 fps (3GB 667) vs. 40.17 fps (2GB 800) though some people were saying having the extra helps with Crysis smoothness and it did seem different even though the FPS is hardly any different.

So go ahead and reuse the 1GB and don't worry that its running at 667. PCMark05 does show a bit of a drop though, 4792 with 3GB 667 vs. 5341 I got with 2GB 800. I might go to 4GB though and get another pair of 800s.

Note - Crysis GPU benchmark was @ 1680x1050, Vista DX10, high settings. 40 fps at native resolution is about all I can ask for given how it eats up hardware like crazy!

Another note - the Dell DVD/RW (I think its a Philips) seems to have issues reading my Crysis DVD, but my Sony DVD/RW in my old PC has no issues with it.

Hello,

Do you know if there will be any issues downgrading the quad 530 to XP? I've tried a few times with no luck, it keeps freezing during the install
Hmm, that's interesting..I'm also contemplating downgrading to XP from Vista Premium..though will swap out hdd as well and use drivers from Dell http://support.dell.com/support/downloads/driverslist.aspx?os=WW1&osl=EN&catid=-1&impid=-1&SystemID=INSP_DSKTP_D530&hidos=WLH&hidlang=en

I haven't done the XP dual boot yet and don't have a quad, so I'm not too familiar with that, but there was something else I got to try out today.

Bios 1.0.10 + SpeedFan 4.34 beta 36 finally allowed me to control the system fans, mine came with 1.0.5 where the fans run really slow... 1.0.7 seems to have that 100% fan speed bug. The case fan is less loud at 100% than the CPU fan... and with the right speed setting, the case fan does draw a good amount of air out without too much noise.

Hello,

Do you know if there will be any issues downgrading the quad 530 to XP? I've tried a few times with no luck, it keeps freezing during the install

Do you have one of the newer XP CDs with SP2 integrated? You'll probably need that.

Do you have one of the newer XP CDs with SP2 integrated? You'll probably need that.

Definitely use one of those - I should have used the newer CD but ended up using the old CD, and upon installing SP2, once again I had to recover the Vista bootloader. Another pain with installing XP - the onboard network adapter doesn't have an XP bundled driver, so I had to copy it over via a thumbdrive. Bluetooth if you got that - you have to use the Vista driver and manually do an Update Driver to get it working in XP, the installer doesn't work in XP. Did not install the Dell audio or graphics drivers since I already have the Audigy 2 and 8800GT in.

I've been digging around on the XP "Downgrade", here is what I have found:

Others trying to downgrade a Insp. 530:
http://forums.cnet.com/5208-12546_102-0.html?forumID=133&threadID=222695&start=0

Window's Hotfix
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/931760

You cannot run dual boot (Microsoft website):
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/919529

Hope that saves you some time & headache =)


BTW- I have a Dell XP Pro SP2 recovery disk & a Full Copy of XP Home SP2, neither works for the reason stated on the microsoft website....

quick question, I don't mean to hijack this thread or anything, but its related to this same exact computer. Would it be simple to purchase another motherboard and swap out the one which came with it, to unlock potential OC features on the processor/RAM, or would it be a huge hassle. I did an very similar upgrade to the system as you, new video card/power supply, 2X1 corsair xms2 memory (which seems to be running slower than it can because of the lock on ram voltage).

Any micro ATX board should fit in the case, a nice replacement board would be...

http://www.gigabyte.us/Products/Motherboard/Products_Overview.aspx?ProductID=2561

Has GigE, audio, onboard IEEE1394/firewire, eSATA, HDMI, etc.

Not sure if the stock CPU fan/heatsink can be reused with a different board though but I'm thinking it might be possible.

Good review here...

http://www.bjorn3d.com/read.php?cID=1148&pageID=3810

The cost of upgrades are going to start adding up though... but that should unleash your CPU's true potential. It wouldn't be worthwhile unless you plan on overclocking the CPU.

my main concern right now is the corsair xms2 memory, 800mhz, 4 latency, I don't want any stability problems because the dell board isn't giving it enough power.

What's your memory running at now? You can use CPU-Z to get the active memory speeds...

http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php

2MB might be ok, but another 2 sticks could push you over. I doubt if you need to upgrade the board if everything runs stable. You can download and burn to a CD and run MemTest86+ to stress the memory out. Leave it overnight for multiple passes and if its all good, I wouldn't worry...

http://www.memtest.org/

Note - use Memtest86+ from the link about, not Memtest86 where you might find elsewhere... the latter is a bit behind time and seems to have issues dealing with the latest chipsets/CPUs.

this is screwed up.... i had dimension 9100 with D960 (3.6Ghz) and decided to upgrade to inspiron 530 e6550 (2.33Ghz)...pulled my GeForce 7900 GTX OC 512 MB GDDR3 Video card from 9100 and.... opssss. it doesnt freaking fit in 530.... wtf dell?

any suggestions what to do? after reading the reviews i got the part that i need to change PSU if i want to use anything decent.... are there any over decent gamers cards that i could use without PSU upgrade?


is the upgrade even worth it (going from 9100 to 530?)

This is an awesome post, thanks neteng101 :) I'm thinking of doing exactly what you're doing, glad to know it's possible and someone's posted to show how it's done.

Is this the power supply you got? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371005

I'm a power supply noob - does ATX indicate the physical size of the power supply?

Some other questions: I haven't been able to figure out what PCI Express bus version (1.x or 2.0) the Inspiron 530 has. Am I correct in assuming 1.x?

It's my understanding that PCIe 1.x and 2.0 are *not* compatible. The bestbuy website seems to indicate that your BFG 8800 GT card is PCIe 1.x, but BFG's website indicates that they only make PCIe 2.0 8800 GT cards. What's going on?

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8594381&productCategoryId=abcat0507002&type=product&tab=2&id=1190678470708#productdetail
http://www.bfgtech.com/bfgr88512gtoce.aspx

Lastly - how did you get 15% EPP and the $350 off? As far as I can tell, that's not possible.

Thanks for your help :)

This was the deal that had the $350 coupon and the 15% EPP coupon, there was even an extra 4% for DPA but I didn't sign up for the Dell account...

http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?sduid=319382&t=679467

That's the power supply I got, but I doubt if all ATX power supplies are equal sized... the ATX part will ensure the back part of the power supply will fit and the screw holes will align up. The original PSU that came with the unit is... 5.9 x 5.5 x 3.4. There are also different ATX standards, the latest I believe is v2.2. It specifies the power outputs and connectors for the motherboard. A 1.x ATX power supply won't work with the 530.

PCIe 2.0 cards will run on PCIe 1.1 and PCIe 2.0, but not 1.0/1.0a is what I've read. The 530 is 1.1.

As far as non PSU upgrade gamers cards - you're stuck looking at stuff that has less power requirements... you end up with 8600GT / 2600XT type cards which is ok for gaming at lower resolutions and will likely struggle with Crysis/COD4/etc cutting edge games that are out now and in the future. A PSU upgrade and moving the 7900 GTX is probably the best thing to do... and wait for the GF9 cards to come out before getting a new card. I still have my concerns with the 8800GT in the longer term... DX10 gaming is at its infancy and the requirements are likely going to grow as time goes by.

it looks like my 7900 card doesnt fit there... it sticks out a little... it fits inside but it looks like its a little higher then the case :(

man i should of stick with my old 9100 pc

my hd cooler is mounted on the drive. i guess i'll go for modular then. thanks.

I brought this post over from the Hot Deals Forum (link (http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?sduid=197446&t=693744) ) since no one was answering there, I thought I might ask it here...


If you are running XP, you will not see all the memory and your performance might suffer.
(Referring to using 4 GB of memory while running XP)

Would performance "suffer" because the OS is having problems interfacing with the 4 GB of memory or would the OS just not be able to "address" the last (roughly) 1 GB of data ?

What about a system where you could dual-boot (say XP and LINUX).. would you be able to use some of your 4GB of mem for XP and the rest on LINUX ??

I just bought 4 GB of OCZ (2x2GB) PC2-6400 from FRY's for my new Dell 530 Inspiron (running XP now, but with the "plan" of upgrading to a 64bit OS sometime Q3 or Q4 next year)

whats the best video card out there i should get without upgrading the psu.. thanks guys i was looking at the 512 8600gt or the or the 256 8600 gt card? AHHH im so confused.. im such a noob.. and wats the best ram.. im hearing it doesnt support 1.9v and all that? im just looking to upgrade it to 3gb....so confused please help guys thanks

I may be wrong, but from what I heard our motherboard only supports 1gb ram sticks, not 2gb. so 2 * 2gb might/will not work? I'm not certain on this. Running 4 * 1gb = 4gb will not slow down performance when compared to running 3gb, windows just isn't able to address the latter 1 gb.

As for video card without swapping out the PSU. ATI HD 2600, or Geforce 8600GT.

I may be wrong, but from what I heard our motherboard only supports 1gb ram sticks, not 2gb. so 2 * 2gb might/will not work? I'm not certain on this. Running 4 * 1gb = 4gb will not slow down performance when compared to running 3gb, windows just isn't able to address the latter 1 gb.

As for video card without swapping out the PSU. ATI HD 2600, or Geforce 8600GT.

motherboard supports 2gb sticks, but only 4gb total...per the manual.

I picked up a GeForce 8600gt XXX 256mb...maybe not as good of a deal as some of the ATIs, but I like that fact that it doesn't need a power source also has dx10.

whats the best video card out there i should get without upgrading the psu.. thanks guys i was looking at the 512 8600gt or the or the 256 8600 gt card? AHHH im so confused.. im such a noob.. and wats the best ram.. im hearing it doesnt support 1.9v and all that? im just looking to upgrade it to 3gb....so confused please help guys thanks

To be safe go with 1.8v ram. I went with these. Seems like a good deal right now too. I've heard mixed things with higher voltages.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211066

So is it better to run 3GB @ 667MHz (stock RAM modules w/ 2GB PC6400 @ 800MHz) or just the faster 2GB @ 800MHz ? This is using XP Pro.

I have 2x1Gb sticks (installed on Bank 1 and 3) of Kingston HyperX PC6400 800 Mhz in my Dell Inspiron (Vista Business, Quad Core). When I check the computer in Vista, it reports running @ 677 MHz. How can I get my memory to run 800 MHz? Are there specific memory modules that would run @ 800MHz on the 530? Bought the sticks from Fry's on New Years.

sorry for another dumb noob question : /

can i stick an ATI Radeon HD 3850 in this with stock cpu?

So is it better to run 3GB @ 667MHz (stock RAM modules w/ 2GB PC6400 @ 800MHz) or just the faster 2GB @ 800MHz ? This is using XP Pro.

its true about higher voltage my OCZ (OCZ2P800R22GK) sticks crash my pc.... so now i need to buy different ram :(

btw i upgraded PSU and my NVIDIA 7900 GTX OC did fit perfectly....

here is VISTA system performance report:

Processor: 5.2
Memory: 4.5
Graphics: 5.9
Gaming Graphics: 5.9
Primary Hard Drive: 5.9

so I need to upgrade ram :)

So I stuck a xfx 8600 video card in the Inspiron 530 Quad with stock PSU. The video card works perfectly but causes the audio to totally not work. If anyone else was wondering why their sound wasn't working theres a tip. So I'll be upgrading the PSU soon.

its true about higher voltage my OCZ (OCZ2P800R22GK) sticks crash my pc.... so now i need to buy different ram :(

btw i upgraded PSU and my NVIDIA 7900 GTX OC did fit perfectly....

here is VISTA system performance report:

Processor: 5.2
Memory: 4.5
Graphics: 5.9
Gaming Graphics: 5.9
Primary Hard Drive: 5.9

so I need to upgrade ram :)

Same here need to return the Frys OCZ memory as it crashes my system. ne ideas for a cheap 2GB upgrade option with 1.8V?

Same here need to return the Frys OCZ memory as it crashes my system. ne ideas for a cheap 2GB upgrade option with 1.8V?

A-Data RAM plays well with the Inspiron.

There was a deal for 2x2GB of A-Data PC2-6400 800MHz RAM a few weeks ago, for $50 after $20 MIR, but the rebate's expired.

You could always get 2x1GB here (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211066). It's been seen with a $10 MIR occasionally, but unfortunately not now. Still a decent price though, with free shipping.

A-Data RAM plays well with the Inspiron.

There was a deal for 2x2GB of A-Data PC2-6400 800MHz RAM a few weeks ago, for $50 after $20 MIR, but the rebate's expired.

You could always get 2x1GB here (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211066). It's been seen with a $10 MIR occasionally, but unfortunately not now. Still a decent price though, with free shipping.

Thanks. I guess I cud just wait for a good deal to come along as I am not really hard pressed for adding memory right now..

I know this post is quite old and I hope somebody could a answer my concern. I'm actually looking forward to replacing my dell inspiron's processor due to the one it currently has inside (E2180 @ 2.0) with a core 2 duo (E7200 @ 2.53) I have an ocz stealthxstream 500w psu and the mobo is a foxcon g33m02. Would there be some sort of problem I might run into with swapping out processors for example the need to update the bios to accomidate the new 45nm processor?

BFG - NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT OC Graphics Card - $251.99 before tax (Best Buy sale).

Now have Geforce 9600 GT. I think it the best grphic card I can buy

For those who are experiencing hang issues. I noticed that if you have a USB drive plugged during bootup that the BIOS inevitably hangs.

Make sure after you load drivers for the install that you remove USB drives prior to a boot.

Did you use a 530 or 530s to install your Antec Power Supply? I'm thinking of getting your power supply along with a 9500gt video card, but am worried that the Antec Power Supply that you have won't be able to fit inside my 530s.

Would this type of power supply RAIDMAX HYBRID 2 RX-730SS 730W ATX12V V2.2 fit into the Dell Inspiron 530?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817152036

My goal is to get this beast in the case too:
SAPPHIRE 100270SR Radeon HD 4850 X2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102809

cool nice to know

It's a great deal.

A-Data RAM plays well with the Inspiron.

You could always get 2x1GB here (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211066). It's been seen with a $10 MIR occasionally, but unfortunately not now. Still a decent price though, with free shipping. This is what I did..reason being the ram runs at 1.8v...:D

i have the lesser know dell 531. difference between the 530 and 531 was the fact the 530's came with intel and 531 came with amd x2 cpus.

mine looks identical inside wise. i got mine 2 years ago and spent $600 overall for the computer.
specs are different by.
1.amd x2 4400+ cpu
2. Geoforce 8600 gt xxx edition(basically overclocked by factory)
3. 2 gigs of ram

i didnt change the power because i didnt need to because the 8600 gt doesnt need the extra power. im not that tech savey to bother screwing around with that anywayz even though its probably very easy.

$600 two years ago i would say was a pretty decent deal. i also have a msi wind netbook for when im not in my room