hp d530 sff ram upgrades?

[McMillian]

I am in the process of upgrading an older H.P. Desktop which was given to me a few months ago.

This desktop is a model hp D530 sff.

It's current configuration has a Pentium 4 processor(non hyper threading) with 4 sticks of pc2700 ram, for a total of 1024 Mb's of ram.

I looked around for some of the technical data regarding the ram and cpu upgrades and discovered this system can accommodate a Pentium 4 3.06Ghz hyper threading cpu.

I have since ordered the cpu, but finding the correct ram to use with the processor is proving to be a bit more difficult.

Can anyone please point me in the right direction on the correct type of ram I should be using for the system after the upgrade?

My goal is to max out the cpu and processor, using all 4 of the dimm slots.

And I need to know exactly what type of ram, as well as the supported increments for each slot that would be required to achieve this.

Thank you

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

Actually, you could have upgraded to the better 3.2GHz/800/512kb processor.   This one...

https://ark.intel.com/products/27501/Intel-Pentium-4-Processor-supporting-HT-Technology-3_20-GHz-512...

With that processor, if you get 4 x 1 GB of PC-3200 memory, the memory will run at 400 MHz instead of 333 MHz.

You may want to purchase the above processor anyway since they are dirt cheap.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&_nkw=sl6wg&_sop=15

Memory...PC3200 non-ECC unbuffered.

http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/evo-d530-series-all-form-factors/CT320980

Another upgrade you can do would be to get rid of the IDE drive and install a SATA drive.  There are two black sata connectors on the motherboard.

[McMillian]

Hi Paul,

Thank you so much for your help.

Wow! I wish I would have purchased the 3.2 processor you mentioned.

I guess I can always pick one up later on since they are so cheap.

I'll have to double check the cpu compatibility as I thought the 3.06 was the maximum

Just to recap, you mentioned th ram as being PC3200 non-ECC unbuffered for this system?

And the motherboard will support up to 4 Gb's?

I'll keep this in mind and try to get 4 sticks ordered after the new year.

Thanks again for you help

Happy New Year

Sincerely

McMillian

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

I personally upgraded 4 of those models with 4 GB of memory and the 3.2 GHz processor I referenced.

I put sata drives in all of them (back when there were sata II drives available).

You have to make sure you get the exact processor I posted because there is a similar one that has a 1MB L2 cache, which is not supported.  You need the one with the 512 KB L2 cache.

With the 3.06 Ghz processor you purchased, the PC3200 memory will only run at 333 MHz, not 400 MHz, because the 3.06 GHz processor has a FSB of 533 MHz.

But you may as well get the faster memory so that if you decide to get the 3.2 GHz Northwood processor the memory will already be maxed out to the fastest speed it can be.

Happy New Year to you too!

[McMillian]

Hello again Paul,

Sorry to trouble you once more but I did have one final question regarding the upgrades.

The ram is on it's and should arrive withing the week.

I know you mentioned the specific processor, which I will be buying soon.

This was the 3.3 Ghz Pentium 4 with hyper threading.

I will check the exact Url's you mentioned in the previous post.

I did have another cpu from ages ago, and it was a Pentium 4 at 3.0 Ghz(with Hyper threading)

The odd thing was the hyper threading option is disabled by default.

And of course I had no option to alter this within the system's bios.

This was after I had obtained all of the system updates and bios updates from Hp's website.

Alos, the 3.06 Ghz processor did not have the Ht option enabled either.

I am guessing the Prescott cores did not work very well with the specific chip set.

Are you absolutely positive the 3.2 cpu will unlock the hyper threading ability?

Thank you again for everything.

Sincerely

McMillian

[Paul_Tikkanen · Accepted solution]

Hi:

With the latest BIOS update, Hyperthreading should have been supported with the 3.06/512/533 processor.

Yes, it is disabled, and you have to manually enable it after you install the processor.

HT worked in all of my d530's with the 3.2 GHz/512/800 processor.

It even showed up on the HP welcome screen showing the P4 graphic with the little HT symbol on it.

[McMillian]

Hello Paul,

Thank you again for your assistance.

You are absolutely correct.

As it turns out, I didn't think there was any way to adjust the values.

I think there were only two options, one to accept and one to cancel.

After going through nearly every key on the keyboard,I found the space bar enabled the necessary change.

Sorry I didn't notice this earlier.

Hyper threading is now fully enabled.

I did notice the Ht emblem as well, which initially confused me since I could not get it working last night Lol.

I love this older system and it will be even better once the extra ram arrives.

Thanks a million Paul.

Have a great day

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Anytime.

Glad to have been of assistance.

I really enjoyed my d530 CMT's.  I did every upgrade I could...Max processor, max ram, SATA HDD, video card, SATA DVD, got rid of all those flat IDE cables with the nice thin sata cables...Ran them with W7.

Then I gave them all away to friends and relatives that had lesser machines than those.

You have a great day too!

[McMillian]

Thanks Paul,

That is really cool that you gave all of those machines away after upgrading them.

I may end up getting a sata drive for this system eventually as I think it would be a much more reliable interface compared to Ide.

Those cables do get in the way after a while Lol.

I will check out the d530 CMT model you mentioned as well.

Have a great day sir.

And thanks again for everything.

You are a life saver.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

Yes, and the sata drive will run a little faster.

The IDE interface maxes out at 1 GB/S transfer rate, and the SATA port is 1.5 GB/S transfer rate.

I was able to acquire 4 of the d530 CMT's for free over a couple of years, so I upgraded them as I could, and then gave them away, when we upgraded to newer model HP business desktops.