Sunday 21 June 2009

Compatible CPUs

All Athlon64 Single core and Athlon64 x2 Dual core for AM2 Socket fits in.

Socket 939, AM2+, AM3 Cpus are not compatible due to the following reasons:

a) Socket 939, AM2+ and AM3 has different amount of pins. The allocation of pins are different from AM2 CPUs. You can not physically fit them into AM2 motherboard.

b) Dell E521 Motherboard doesn't have enough amount NVRAM to support the latest CPUs.

c) Dell do not provide BIOS update due to the above reason.

d) The memory controller of E521 motherboard is not designed for modern AM2+ and AM3 CPUs.

These are the general straight forward reasons at glance. The other reason includes the BIOS that can not control the Voltage.



So, You CAN NOT install ANY AMD Phenoms, Opterons etc except for AMD Athlon64 Single and all Dual cores. All Windsor family of Athlon Dual core can be installed. Kuma family Dual core is not compatible. Phenom Dual core is not compatible as well.

ALL Athlon and Athlon Dual core AM2 socket including:


AMD Ahtlon X2 6000+ Windsor Edition (125Watt, 3.0 Ghz)
AMD Athlon X2 6400+ Windsor Edition (125Watt, 3.2 Ghz)
AMD Athlon X2 6400+ Black Edition Windsor Edition(125Watt, 3.2Ghz)




There are little notes about installing the following CPUs. These CPUs doesn't work if you do not configure the system correctly as they came out AFTER the last BIOS released from Dell. Please go back to the content for the instructions.


AMD Athlon X2 5000+ Black Edition Brisbane Edition (65Watt, 2.6Ghz)
AMD Athlon X2 6000+ Brisbane Edition (89Watt, 3.1Ghz)




ALL OF THE COMPONENTS IN THIS WEBPAGE IS TESTED WITH AMD 6400+ INSTALLED.

9 comments:

Cam said...

Hello.. I have the e521 with a 3400+ or something like that (single core processor). I have avaiable to me a AMD Athlon 5400B. Would I need to install a different heatsink/fan in this upgrade process?

How do you know if the processor will get too hot for the current heatsink?

Thanks,
Cam

T.OINARI said...

Dear Cam


Hi, is that 5400B , the Brisbane version or the Windsor Version?? if the processor is equal or below 65nm processing unit, then your current heatsink can handle the new CPU. That CPU is totally fine. You can check the temp later by CPUtemp.

Cam said...

I'm not sure what version it is (Brisbane or Windsor). This would be a noticeable upgrade though correct?

Here is a link to the processor..

http://products.amd.com/en-us/DesktopCPUDetail.aspx?id=410&f1=&f2=&f3=&f4=512&f5=AM2&f6=G2&f7=65nm+SOI&f8=&f9=&f10=&f11=&f12=

T.OINARI said...

Dear Cam,



Ok, I have looked at the site and noticed it is the ''Brisbane Version'' Brisbane version use less power. The CPU wattage is 65Watt. You need to get the Windsor version which will be around 89Watt. I am not 100% sure that brisbane CPUs are really compatible with E521 but I am 100% sure about the Windsor Version. The B right next to 5400 indicates it is the Brisbane version. I think you need to look around for Windsor one which doesn't have ''B'' right next to the model number.

Cam said...

Thanks for the quick replies..

I thought that the B stands for Business?

Cam said...

Hello T.Oinari!

I just got in a Brisbane 5600. I installed it in my E521 with the newest bios -> .11

Apparently this processor is newer than the newest Bios, so there some weird issues like the computer says unknown processor. However, it seems to function just as it should! My Win7 rating went up by almost double with the new processor.

The best thing is that no new Heatsink or ventilation is needed. My temperature when idle ranges from 15 - 25. When gaming it usually ranges from 50 - 60 (62 was the max that it hit).

I've noticed a huge difference now when gaming as well. I play a lot of League of Legends and while it used to be very choppy, now runs smooth as can be!

Thanks so much for your blog as it gave me lots of ideas when updating my E521!

Cam

Cam said...

Just an update... my computer is still running fast and cool. I have had no updates since my processor upgrade!

Cam

Chris said...

can i put a intel core i5-3330 cpu @ 3.00ghz in my e521?

T.OINARI said...

Dear Chris,



No you can't. E521 is a pc with AMD based motherboard. So, the intel cpus won't fit. Plus, the maximum cpu you can put in E521 is AMD Dual core 6400+ Black edition.

Warmest Regards

Tomo