Upgrade possibilities for Optiplex Gn+

[Diane]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Configuring a Win98 system for my dad. Currently has P166 MMX with 64MB.
Basic spec lists max of P233/66 & 256MB for this box. Thought I saw a ref
on the net that this could support a 400 or more cpu, but couldn't find
details. Just checking to see how far I can go with this box and what's
involved with cpu upgrade. I've dealt pretty much with Asus mbs & know that
sometimes you can exceed the specs, but Dell's new territory for me <g>.
Don't mind flashing and/or jumpers if necessary, but mb's too old to bother
with much more than that.

I set up a box for him back in the Win95 days, but I'm not sure he turned it
on a dozen times. Now he's says he *may* be interested, so I'm taking it
slow & cheap for now with a hand-me-down box.<g>

TIA

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

The 233MHz Pentium MMX seems right, but if the motherboard chipset is an Intel
one, the memory limit may well be 128MB. Check the Dell web site in the support
section. The easiest way to do this is to use the service tag number taken from
the sticker on the back. Or look up the specs for the Optiplex Gn+. The Dell
web site is among the best in terms of useful technical information about its
computers, even going back to the original now-ancient ones.

Upgrading the CPU is fairly easy. Remove the clip which holds the heat sink
onto the processor socket. Remove CPU, lifting lever on ZIF socket. Insert
replacement CPU, closing ZIF socket. Re-attach heat sink. Set jumpers for
either 3.5x or 1.5x clock multiplier, per info on Dell web site... Ben Myers

On Thu, 13 Jan 2005 22:08:15 GMT, "diane" <diane.acap@atmindspring.com> wrote:

>Configuring a Win98 system for my dad. Currently has P166 MMX with 64MB.
>Basic spec lists max of P233/66 & 256MB for this box. Thought I saw a ref
>on the net that this could support a 400 or more cpu, but couldn't find
>details. Just checking to see how far I can go with this box and what's
>involved with cpu upgrade. I've dealt pretty much with Asus mbs & know that
>sometimes you can exceed the specs, but Dell's new territory for me <g>.
>Don't mind flashing and/or jumpers if necessary, but mb's too old to bother
>with much more than that.
>
>I set up a box for him back in the Win95 days, but I'm not sure he turned it
>on a dozen times. Now he's says he *may* be interested, so I'm taking it
>slow & cheap for now with a hand-me-down box.<g>
>
>TIA
>
>

 

[Diane]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

<ben_myers_spam_me_not @ charter.net (Ben Myers)> wrote
> The 233MHz Pentium MMX seems right, but if the motherboard chipset is an
Intel
> one, the memory limit may well be 128MB. Check the Dell web site in the
support
> section. The easiest way to do this is to use the service tag number
taken from
> the sticker on the back. Or look up the specs for the Optiplex Gn+. The
Dell
> web site is among the best in terms of useful technical information about
its
> computers, even going back to the original now-ancient ones.

Yes, it is an Intel chipset. The Dell docs say max ram is 256 MB; that'd be
plenty for his purposes with Win98, so I'm not bugged by that at all. The
documented max cpu is 233 and I did find the jumper setting in the Ref &
Install Guide that I'd downloaded - missed the jumpering during the first
glance. What I was really wondering was if there was a "hack" for a higher
processor. Example: on my old Asus P55T2P4 boards, the max is supposed to
be a K5-2 200, but in reality, a 400 can be used successfully with just a
jumper setting. Since I ran across a blurb suggesting (but not detailing)
something like this for the Optiplex...

My dad is going to be a total newbie, so the current setup should be fine
for awhile. Only thing I'm concerned about is that there's a CD writer in
this box. I'm afraid that the 166 cpu may be too slow to avoid regular
coasters even if I pump up the memory. If I replace the cpu, I'd want to
get the max speed.

Thanks for the reply.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Two reasons to doubt that a faster AMD processor will work:

1. Lack of electronic circuitry to support the lower voltage required by an AMD
K6-2 processor, which runs at 2.2v. Dell would not spend the extra money to add
components to the motherboard to support lower voltage non-Intel processors.
2. Very unlikely support by the BIOS for an AMD processor, which identifies
itself differently than an Intel processor. Dell has used only Intel CPUs for a
long time.

.... Ben Myers

On Fri, 14 Jan 2005 00:40:34 GMT, "diane" <diane.acap@atmindspring.com> wrote:

><ben_myers_spam_me_not @ charter.net (Ben Myers)> wrote
> > The 233MHz Pentium MMX seems right, but if the motherboard chipset is an
>Intel
>> one, the memory limit may well be 128MB. Check the Dell web site in the
>support
>> section. The easiest way to do this is to use the service tag number
>taken from
>> the sticker on the back. Or look up the specs for the Optiplex Gn+. The
>Dell
>> web site is among the best in terms of useful technical information about
>its
>> computers, even going back to the original now-ancient ones.
>
>Yes, it is an Intel chipset. The Dell docs say max ram is 256 MB; that'd be
>plenty for his purposes with Win98, so I'm not bugged by that at all. The
>documented max cpu is 233 and I did find the jumper setting in the Ref &
>Install Guide that I'd downloaded - missed the jumpering during the first
>glance. What I was really wondering was if there was a "hack" for a higher
>processor. Example: on my old Asus P55T2P4 boards, the max is supposed to
>be a K5-2 200, but in reality, a 400 can be used successfully with just a
>jumper setting. Since I ran across a blurb suggesting (but not detailing)
>something like this for the Optiplex...
>
>My dad is going to be a total newbie, so the current setup should be fine
>for awhile. Only thing I'm concerned about is that there's a CD writer in
>this box. I'm afraid that the 166 cpu may be too slow to avoid regular
>coasters even if I pump up the memory. If I replace the cpu, I'd want to
>get the max speed.
>
>Thanks for the reply.
>
>

 

[Diane]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

<(Ben Myers)>
> Two reasons to doubt that a faster AMD processor will work:

Wasn't thinking about AMD here - just used that as an example of a
faster-than-orig-spec cpu. (Actually, I'd forgotten that the T2P4 even
supported Pentium 'cause I'd always used AMD in 'em <g>) And I knew that
Dell just uses Pentiums - I live just outside Austin and there was/is a lot
of wishes that AMD (which is also in Austin) was supported too.<g>. Anyhow,
the Dell upgrade page for the Optiplex Gn is gone. The ref that I saw was
for some flavor of Pentium, but, as I said, details were lacking.

OK, tracked down the ref again and it looks like it probably was really an
Optiplex G1 stuck in a Optiplex Gn box. Oh, well, didn't hurt to ask.
During the orig Pentium era, I lived mostly in the AMD world, so I didn't
keep up with the Intel flavor of the week then. <g>

Thanks anyhow.