Dell OptiPlex 745 Extreme Hardware Upgrades

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Abielg98

Commendable
Jan 15, 2017
3
0
1,510
This may seem as a useless idea to do but, What would be the best/all the possible upgrades to do on a Dell OptiPlex 745 Mini Tower? Any Cost.

Upgrades including:
CPU
Graphics Card
RAM
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Service Tag: 7K0DGC1
Current Specs:
Motherboard: 0RF703
CPU: Intel(R) Pentium(R) D CPU 3.40GHz
RAM: 5GB DDR2
Graphics Card: Radeon X1300/X1550 Series 128MB
HDD: 2x Samsung 150GB


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I was thinking:
CPU- Intel Core 2 Duo SLA9U E6850 3.0GHz Socket LGA 775 1333MHz 4MB CPU Processor
http://ebay.to/2isM0AT

Graphics Card- GIGABYTE GeForce GT 730 2GB 80mm FAN
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125675&ignorebbr=1

RAM-Samsung 8GB 4X2GB DDR2 800MHz PC2-6400U 240PIN DIMM RAM intel Desktop memory
http://ebay.to/2jAhUrZ
 
Solution
W
I've run one of these with a QX6800 SLACP at 3.45 Ghz. I just did it for fun since it was slower than the Dimension E520 I've had up to 4GHz.
1- The 65nm 1066fsb Core2Extremes will run, but the O/c must be done in windows. Throttlestop 6.00 works
2- There are only 6 MOSFETs in the VRM so heatsink them.
3- Cooler D9729 bolts in, but T9303 cools better if you mod the heatpipe holes to fit.
4- At higher O/C when the fan speeds up it can crash due to Vdrop at the CPU. You might be OK at 3.45 maybe not. If you power the fan off of a Molex and leave the PWM and tach wire on the MB you will get a fan fail message. No known cure, but it runs OK.
5- DG168, or NC466 are monster fans that connect to the MB header. They replace the fan and...
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The Paladin

The Paladin

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Oct 5, 2016
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1. would be easier to asses your current version of the 745 from dell if you could provide the ASSET TAG number on it.
2. though pointless, I can see the exercise in .. how can I make this the best of it "kind" not " the world best pc" exercise. I am in.

because of the limitation of the 745 cpu power I would find a used Optiplex 755 Mini Tower Motherboard GM819 and swap it out with my 745 board, permitting me to upgrade the limited Pentium D board to pop a nice juicy Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700 Processor (2.66GHz, 8MB L2 cache, 1066MHz FSB, VT) CPU on it, tag 4x2GB DDR2 Non-ECC SDRAM, 800MHz Ram on it, Overcharge the Graphical power to a lightning of now have PCIE x16 Slot. to a massive GTX 660 3GB GDDR5 video card, driven finally by an SSD and 1TB Data drive.....

My breakdown
PCPartPicker part list /
CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($24.99) EBAY
Storage: Sandisk SSD PLUS 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($75.76 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.66 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 660 Ti 3GB SuperClocked+ Video Card ($61.00) EBAY
Power Supply: Raidmax Cobra 600W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($56.88 @ OutletPC)
Sound Card: Asus Xonar DSX 24-bit 192 KHz Sound Card ($58.44 @ Newegg)
Other: Optiplex 755 Mini Tower Motherboard GM819 ($12.99) EBAY
Other: Enermax Liqmax 120S Universal Liquid Cooler ($39.99) EBAY
Other: Kingston KHX6400D2LLK4/8G HyperX 4x2GB 8GB PC2-6400 800MHz DDR2 Kit ($38.00) EBAY
Total: $417.71

 
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Abielg98

Commendable
Jan 15, 2017
3
0
1,510


I checked the BIOS for the Asset Tag but there is none unfortunately

if i were to keep the current Motherboard would i be able to use this CPU? (i may be doing this to more than 1 computer)

http://ebay.to/2isM0AT
 
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The Paladin

The Paladin

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Oct 5, 2016
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I am not sure I understand what you want to do with those two E6850 CPU from EBay, they are the same CPU's the Motherboard currently has on the computer we were discussing, unless I am mistaken, and we could check what your system truly has if you run an application like HWinfo: it will tell us right away what your CPU is, since you mentioning multiple computers get the portable installer, and use it on a usb stick https://www.hwinfo.com/download.php
 
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william p

Splendid
Sep 22, 2010
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I've run one of these with a QX6800 SLACP at 3.45 Ghz. I just did it for fun since it was slower than the Dimension E520 I've had up to 4GHz.
1- The 65nm 1066fsb Core2Extremes will run, but the O/c must be done in windows. Throttlestop 6.00 works
2- There are only 6 MOSFETs in the VRM so heatsink them.
3- Cooler D9729 bolts in, but T9303 cools better if you mod the heatpipe holes to fit.
4- At higher O/C when the fan speeds up it can crash due to Vdrop at the CPU. You might be OK at 3.45 maybe not. If you power the fan off of a Molex and leave the PWM and tach wire on the MB you will get a fan fail message. No known cure, but it runs OK.
5- DG168, or NC466 are monster fans that connect to the MB header. They replace the fan and housing. A lttle velcro and duct tape will get them in there. They migh move enough air at lower power to work OK. They're quieter too..
6- ITX video cards can be bodged in there. Sapphire R9-285 has known issue and won't display BIOS screen. R9-380 is same card. Video card must support Legacy BIOS no EUFI allowed.
7- After market PSUs fit. 750-850 require a newer short DVD drive.
8- An expansion slot blower is required to clear hot air out from behind the video card.
9- Memory limit is 8GB DDR2-800 low density (same speed as DDR3-1066) latest Dell BIOS gets CPU, Memory and PCIe updates.
10- if you remove the HDD cage and run an SSD in the floppy bay there's room for water cooling and bigger video cards but you'ill have to fab your own mounting for the water block. Don't lose track of the VRM cooling air flow. It's one of the best features fo these things.
The board won't support 1333fsb, but it will support >95W CPUs. The later Optiplex 1333fsb boards and DDR3 boards have a 95W limit and wont run Core2 Extremes.
You could swap in a WG864 MB from the E520. Trimming the rear I/O area will be required, and heatsinking the vertically mounted MOSFETs in the 4 phase VRM will keep you busy for a while but the results can be seen in the link in my sig. Everything above will still apply.
 
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Solution
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tim2dope

Honorable
May 12, 2012
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10,510
not much of a solution on my part but what william says is true i have a qx6700 in mine and used throttlestop to oc it at 3.2 ish Ghz

EVGA GeForce GT 1030 SC 2GB Single Slot Graphics Card also should fit easy but is not likely all that much better than the r7250 i have in mine and its a huge bottleneck for mine
 
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