Dell Optiplex 745 USFF cpu upgrade recommendations

I'm curently running a Pentium D 925. Anyone know what the fastest cpu is I can replace it with?

Reply to silchesterblade

you can get this one if u want:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115059

or this one but it might overwhelm the dell heatsink...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115057

heres the specs for more info:
http://support.dell.com/support/ed [...] #wp1133451

Reply to shovenose

never mind about the heatsink problem. your current cpu has the same TDP as the c2guad but if u get the core2duo it only has a smaller tdp so it will run cool in that computer

Reply to shovenose

and i think the copmletely fastest cpu that would fit ur computer is http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819115130
yes its only 3ghz like the one you have now, but it has double the cores (4 vs 2) and the core series is more powerful per clock cycle than the pentium d series, so a 3ghz Core2Duo is faster than a 3ghz Pentium D

otherwise, your motherboard can support any lga775 cpu

Reply to shovenose

^ No Wolfdale's or Yorkfield's.
Conroe/Allendale C2D or Kentsfield Quads only.

Still haven't learned about the Edit button ?

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Reply to delluser1

Thanks for the advice guys - I'd only been looking at C2Ds with FSB of 1066. I was concerned about the Dell firmware recognising newer cpus, but you think that'll be OK? The Q9650 would give my system a 5x cpu boost which should make my media work run a bit faster....

Reply to silchesterblade

delluser1 wrote :

^ No Wolfdale's or Yorkfield's.
Conroe/Allendale C2D or Kentsfield Quads only.

Still haven't learned about the Edit button ?

1)why no wolfs or yorks?
2)what edit button?

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Reply to shovenose

shovenose wrote :

1)why no wolfs or yorks?
2)what edit button?

1) The 965 chipset doesn't support them
2) Lower right corner of your post's

Reply to delluser1

...the Optiplex 745 users intel's Q965 chipset which says it supports C2D - but no mention of Quads:

http://www.intel.com/Products/Desk [...] erview.htm

Does anyone have any links showing successful installation of a Quad in a 745 USFF?

Reply to silchesterblade

Sorry, should have been paying more attention, no Quads in the USFF.

Reply to delluser1

Darn would a core 2 duo make a huge difference from a pentium d

Reply to shovenose

http://www.dell.com/downloads/glob [...] hspecs.pdf

a e6300, e6400, e6320,e6500,e6600,e6700,e6800

now the 7000 series work on a 45nm and that might not work with a q965 board but the above should and it would be a vast improvement over the pentium D series.

------------------------------ Do not buy Acer laptops period.

They are cheaply made products with cheap call centres with cheap service..

Reply to Hellboy

..this suggests that a quad works fine in a 745:

http://browse.geekbench.ca/geekbench2/view/121536

Before I buy one I'd appreciate any comments.....

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Reply to silchesterblade

silchesterblade wrote :

..this suggests that a quad works fine in a 745:

http://browse.geekbench.ca/geekbench2/view/121536

Before I buy one I'd appreciate any comments.....

Yes, it does, but it doesn't say anything about a USFF 745.
The low wattage power supply and confined amount of space ( means smaller cpu heatsink ) are probably the reason that system doesn't come equipped with a Quad.

Reply to delluser1

..there's a number of 745s with Quads (all Kentsfield Q6600s) in those benchmarks. The cpu heat output is only 10% more, and the 745s all use the same bios, so this may work. Interestingly, the quads are the only cpus (in those 745 benchmarks) that seem to offer significantly more processing power than the D 925, so it's probably not worth trying anything else.

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Message edited by silchesterblade on 01-17-2010 at 04:52:46 PM

Reply to silchesterblade

silchesterblade wrote :

..there's a number of 745s with Quads (all Kentsfield Q6600s) in those benchmarks. The cpu heat output is only 10% more, and the 745s all use the same bios, so this may work. Interestingly, the quads are the only cpus (in those 745 benchmarks) that seem to offer significantly more processing power than the D 925, so it's probably not worth trying anything else.

you could try a q6600 but it will be on a suck it and see basis. Dells are really not forgiving in any upgrades appart from ram and hard disks.

It should work but should is not would and as i have never tried it its a case of hope....

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/foru [...] l-optiplex

heres one from a previous post.

youll need to add another powersupply to make the quad work but check with Dell..

Dells are really not for upgrading.

------------------------------ Do not buy Acer laptops period.

They are cheaply made products with cheap call centres with cheap service..

Reply to Hellboy

even if you cant go quad a good e7000 or e8000 series will be a vast improvement in performance i just recently went from a D940 to a E8400 and its like night and day

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Reply to SAAIELLO

SAAIELLO wrote :

even if you cant go quad a good e7000 or e8000 series will be a vast improvement in performance i just recently went from a D940 to a E8400 and its like night and day

The 965 doesnt support 1333 fsb chips if im not mistaken.. Only Asus high end board does this with a bit of tweaking

------------------------------ Do not buy Acer laptops period.

They are cheaply made products with cheap call centres with cheap service..

Reply to Hellboy

LOL...

Reply to shovenose

..the the end I went for a Q6600 (SLACR which has the same TDP as the D925 it replaced). I guess the key here was the Optilpex 745 2.3.1 bios update which " Added support for Extended Model and Extended Family Intel CPU's".

Anyway, installation took about 10 minutes (most of which was cleaning the old thermal paste off the heat sink before I re-applied it. Windows 7 booted fine, and then asked to be rebooted. I then ran a couple of benchmarks. Geekbench came in at about 4200 (from memory twice the D925) whilst PerformanceTest Passmark went from 456 to 723 (CPUMark doubled to 1468).

More importantly my media work seems to run 2-3 time faster.

So thanks to people who took the time to comment about this. I guess what I learned was to be careful of comments on here since opinion is often presented as though it were fact.

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Message edited by silchesterblade on 01-28-2010 at 01:02:03 PM

Reply to silchesterblade

silchesterblade wrote :

..the the end I went for a Q6600 (SLACR which has the same TDP as the D925 it replaced). I guess the key here was the Optilpex 745 2.3.1 bios update which " Added support for Extended Model and Extended Family Intel CPU's".

Anyway, installation took about 10 minutes (most of which was cleaning the old thermal paste off the heat sink before I re-applied it. Windows 7 booted fine, and then asked to be rebooted. I then ran a couple of benchmarks. Geekbench came in at about 4200 (from memory twice the D925) whilst PerformanceTest Passmark went from 456 to 723 (CPUMark doubled to 1468).

More importantly my media work seems to run 2-3 time faster.

So thanks to people who took the time to comment about this. I guess what I learned was to be careful of comments on here since opinion is often presented as though it were fact.

Unfortunately not all Dells are easy to upgrade...

Dells are usually left as is as this is as Dell are tempermental to do anything with.

Anyway glad I could be of help..

------------------------------ Do not buy Acer laptops period.

They are cheaply made products with cheap call centres with cheap service..

Reply to Hellboy

no me gusto dell. and no i dont speak spanish.

Reply to shovenose

silchesterblade wrote :

..the the end I went for a Q6600 (SLACR which has the same TDP as the D925 it replaced). I guess the key here was the Optilpex 745 2.3.1 bios update which " Added support for Extended Model and Extended Family Intel CPU's".

Anyway, installation took about 10 minutes (most of which was cleaning the old thermal paste off the heat sink before I re-applied it. Windows 7 booted fine, and then asked to be rebooted. I then ran a couple of benchmarks. Geekbench came in at about 4200 (from memory twice the D925) whilst PerformanceTest Passmark went from 456 to 723 (CPUMark doubled to 1468).

More importantly my media work seems to run 2-3 time faster.

So thanks to people who took the time to comment about this. I guess what I learned was to be careful of comments on here since opinion is often presented as though it were fact.

I am attempting to upgrade my Dell GX620 on the cheap. It currently has the Intel Dual Core 2.8Ghz and is only upgradeable to Pentium D 3.2Ghz as far as I know, which is a minimal upgrade. After some research it appears that it is possible to swap motherboards and put a GX745 motherboard into it, thereby opening the doors to the Core Duo processor class. By all appearances it looks to be the same Dell form factor, and the 745 motherboard was only $25 on ebay. I am curious how problem free your Q6600 is running, and whether I should be looking for a Core 2 Duo or Core 2 Quad. It appears that the Q6600 are selling for less on ebay than say the E8600 Duo, but I want to make certain that there are no low voltage or heating problems with the Quad given that the Optiplex Dells have small power supplies. Any advice or recommendations would be much appreciated.

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Reply to stratokazter

stratokazter wrote :

I am attempting to upgrade my Dell GX620 on the cheap. It currently has the Intel Dual Core 2.8Ghz and is only upgradeable to Pentium D 3.2Ghz as far as I know, which is a minimal upgrade. After some research it appears that it is possible to swap motherboards and put a GX745 motherboard into it, thereby opening the doors to the Core Duo processor class. By all appearances it looks to be the same Dell form factor, and the 745 motherboard was only $25 on ebay. I am curious how problem free your Q6600 is running, and whether I should be looking for a Core 2 Duo or Core 2 Quad. It appears that the Q6600 are selling for less on ebay than say the E8600 Duo, but I want to make certain that there are no low voltage or heating problems with the Quad given that the Optiplex Dells have small power supplies. Any advice or recommendations would be much appreciated.

The Q6600 in my Optiplex 745 USFF has run problem free since installation (today's date is Sept 16th 2010). My only concern was the temperature of the cores (Speedfan reports them at about 40C), but as I say, no problems at all.

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Reply to silchesterblade

silchesterblade wrote :

The Q6600 in my Optiplex 745 USFF has run problem free since installation (today's date is Sept 16th 2010). My only concern was the temperature of the cores (Speedfan reports them at about 40C), but as I say, no problems at all.

I am looking to do the same in my 745 USFF. Have you had any problems with this setup since it has been over 2 years since the install?

Reply to jeff0181