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July 3rd, 2022 18:00
Inspiron 537 Upgrade
Hello!
I found an old Inspiron 537; the date code has it at 2009. It has a Pentium Processor, and 4GB of RAM (I havent powered it up yet; I just took the back off to see what I had.) I'm not sure if I can do much with it as-is, so I'm trying to see what all I can do with it. I wanted to see what my options are, as I really don't want to throw it away
Is it possible to take a motherboard from a newer Inspiron model and do a swap? I know a lot of companies try to stick to one design of motherboard for a while, unless there is a major design change. The case itself looks in very good shape with hardly any scratches at all on it, and I would like to reuse the components on it.
If it's not possible, then what is the maximum processor and RAM it can take? Since the mfg date code is 2009, I think the RAM is maxed out as is... I don't think it will see 8GB or 16GB, as it wasn't all that common back then. I already know I will have to a fresh install of Windows (it should take 10; however, I don't know if the drivers listed will work.)
Thanks in advance!
redxps630
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14.6K Posts
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July 3rd, 2022 19:00
you can put Inspiron 3847 (intel 4th gen) or XPS 8700 (4th gen) or 8900 (6th gen) motherboards in this case. bear in mind the 537 case has only usb 2.0 ports on front panel while newer motherboard has USB3.0.
537 case looks almost identical to 3847. Dell Inspiron models after that (such as Inspiron 3668) has major design change and motherboards or psu would not fit 537 case.
537
3847
memory for these dell motherboards would be DDR3 for 3847/8700 or DDR4 for 8900.
RoHe
10 Elder
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45.2K Posts
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July 3rd, 2022 20:00
There's a bunch of threads about upgrading the Inspiron 537, so start by reading some of them.
It probably can run Win 10 but Dell doesn't support it on this PC model, and they don't offer any Win 10 drivers. You'll have to hope Windows Update installs all the drivers you need for Win 10, but otherwise, you'll have to dig around on the net for them.
Service Manual
Specs in the Setup Guide say RAM is max at 2x 2 GB, 800-MHz non-ECC DDR2 RAM. Dell specs only list what they actually tested and validated to work. Doesn't mean a different RAM config won't work, but no guarantees that 2x 4GB or 2x 8 GB RAM will work. 4 GB total will be really low for Win 10.
First thing you probably will need to do is replace the CR2032 motherboard battery, just to get PC to boot...
Dell uses customized connectors between their motherboards and front panels so, unless you or somebody else can map those connections, it's going to hard to swap in a new motherboard into this case.
CBIVTI22
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July 4th, 2022 08:00
@redxps630 and @RoHe Thank you both for the info. Will update this thread once I figure everything out.
gongagingaga
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November 21st, 2022 14:00
Hey @CBIVTI22, I was just wondering if you found anything? I noticed you last posted in this thread quite a bit ago. Were you able to get the old pc to work?
CBIVTI22
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November 21st, 2022 21:00
I haven't done anything with it yet; I'm currently in the middle of several projects - The two main ones are getting my main homebuilt PC back into service, and finding an Optiplex 9020 MT to modify/upgrade as a lite gamer.