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Upon upgrading my Intel E2160 cpu with a Xeon X3220, the desktop's heatsink fan would turn on momentarily but turn off without going into POST. I was wondering how I might be able to fix this. I had tried removing RAM and hard drive as well to see if I can access the BIOS to no avail. Cheers.
Quilty
Posted 2016-12-12T06:10:47.033
Reputation: 3
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Sorry, but your motherboard's chipset (945GZ) doesn't support Xeons. Not only does the mobo's CPU compatibility list not include the Xeon X3220, it doesn't include any Xeons at all.
For confirmation, see the chipset family's Intel data sheet, page 15, which lists:
No mention of Xeons.
See also List of Intel chipsets at Wikipedia. For the 945G (the GZ is a variant) it shows: Pentium 4, Pentium D, Celeron D, Core 2 Extreme, Core 2 Duo.
Xeons have their own chipsets.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news - I hope you didn't pay very much for it.
Jamie Hanrahan
Posted 2016-12-12T06:10:47.033
Reputation: 19 777
Even though both those processors support socket LGA775, the old processor has a TDP rating of 65W and the new processor is 105W. That's probably why it's not posting. Unless my assumption that you kept the same motherboard through this upgrade is not accurate(?). – n8te – 2016-12-12T06:26:24.053
Wouldn't you also need support in the motherboard firmware for the processor? – Journeyman Geek – 2016-12-12T06:29:35.807
Thank you so much for bringing up the two possible issues I thought about. The support page for my motherboard, asrock 775i65g, does not list the Xeon X3220 CPU here http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/775i945GZ/?cat=CPU , but these lists are usually not comprehensive. And would the TDP discrepancy be resolved by a different PSU or will I need a new mobo for that as well? I apologize for erring on the side of too little information, like not mentioning that all other components were kept as is, but I figured that would be more helpful than writing a book, which I'm wont to do. Thank you!
– Quilty – 2016-12-12T06:47:39.967