Request: Dell XPS One A2420 Xeon Upgrade

[naquaada]

Hello,

this is my first post here and it starts with a small rework - I hope some people don't know it yet and find it useful.

Socket 775 boards are very common, but mainly used for Core 2 Duo or Core 2 Quad, which are rather power-hungry. An alternative are Xeon server CPUs, they are better in every way, even need less power - but use Socket 771. However, it's easy to rework a standard mainboard:

- Mark Pin 1 of the 775 CPU socket
- Cut out the direction notches with a scalpel
- attach one of the Socket 775-771 adapter stickers on the Xeon, they're available on ebay


Now you can use all Socket 775 CPUs and modfied Socket 771 Xeon CPUs, but they can be inserted in any direction. That's why Pin 1 has to be marked very good visible. I made this rework often and it works great. The BIOS has to support the Xeon, but the most mainboards will do it.


Well, now I got the Dell XPS One A2420 for just 120 Euro, in perfect condition. I got the model with the Core 2 Duo E7200 with 2.53 GHz, but I've upgraded it to 4 GB RAM (8 GB soon), and a 1.5 TB harddrive. Today I installed a Xeon L5430. Let's compare the specs of the XPS One versions:

Dual XPS One A2420: Core 2 Duo E7200, 2.53 GHz, 3 MB L2-Cache, FSB 1066 MHz, 65W TDP
Quad XPS One A2420: Core 2 Quad Q8200, 2.33 GHz, 4 MB L2-Cache, FSB 1333 MHz, 95W TDP
Xeon XPS One A2420: Xeon L5430, 2.66 GHz, 12 MB L2-Cache, FSB 1333 MHz, 50W TDP

So, is there really a reason for using a Core 2 Something on socket 775? The best Xeon you can get is the Xeon E5472 with 3.00 GHz, FSB 1600 MHz and 80W TDP. These processors were used in the Mac Pro. The Xeon E5450 also has 3 GHz, but a FSB of 1333 MHz. So this would be an equivalent to the Core 2 Quad Extreme QX9650, but this one has a TDP of 130W. So again a win for the Xeon.


But as you can imagine, the BIOS of the Dell XPS One A2420 doesn't support the Xeon correctly. It is displayed in the BIOS, the internal diagnostics utility detects all four cores. But the heat sensors are measuring around 60°C on each core, so the fan is spinning like crazy since the computer is switched on. The heatsink over the CPU stays cool. The harddisk is also shown up to 59°C, do other XPS One users have similar values? So I presume there is a BIOS modification neccessary. Of course I found this thread and checked out the ACPI information list, but I have no experiences with this. I also have no Windows installed, just OSx86. It works fine on the XPS A2420, WLAN, LAN, I have drivers for everything up to 10.9.5. I don't use never versions because they're too slow. Just the graphics card isn't working correctly, I probably need to get the correct EDID information.


So, my request would be a BIOS for the Dell XPS One A2420 with Xeon support. It should support at least four Xeons. All of them have four cores, 12 MB L2-Cache and a FSB of 1333 MHz, except the E5472. The support for the low-power Xeons is very important.

Xeon L5420, 2.5 GHz, Low-Power 50W, CPUID 10676 (SLARP), 1067A (QFVZ, SLBBR)
Xeon L5430, 2.66 GHz, Low-Power 50W, CPUID 1067A (SLBBQ)
Xeon E5450, 3.00 GHz, Standard 80W, CPUIDs 10676 (SLANQ), 1067A (QFUF, SLBBM)
Xeon E5472, 3.00 GHz, FSB 1600 MHz, Standard 80W, CPUIDs 10676 (SLANR), 1067A (QFTD, SLBBH)

The price is around 20-35 Euro, except the L5420 which is already available for less than 10 Euro! So the Xeon rework is really a good idea - if a compatible BIOS exists.


Thanks in advance,

naquaada.

[naquaada]

So, I added the microcode of my Xeon L5430 and flashed with the AMI tool for Windows. I now have in the BIOS a CPU setting for SpeedStep. After cleaning the fans there's also no CPU/System fan error. I also got a working DSDT for OSx86, but it showed a CPU temperature of up to 86°C ! The fans also don't spin higher if the temperature rises.

Weird, normally the Xeon L5430 should be better than any other CPU which was available in the XPS One. Here's a comparison:

Core 2 Duo E6550 | Core 2 Quad Q8200 | Xeon L5430