Sunday, January 22, 2012

Dell Optiplex 760 Upgrade Project!

I have a Dell Optiplex 760 SFF (small form factor) on my hands, so I'm going to try to attempt to make this thing as fast as possible.  I always liked this model/form factor from Dell.  I needed a project to work on, so here we go...






Here's what's planned:
  • CPU: upgrade from Intel Core 2 Duo 7300 2.66 GHz to Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3GHz.  Processor salvaged from a dead machine, not sure if it's even working.  Fingers crossed.
  • RAM: upgrade from 4GB DDR2 800MHz to 8GB DDR2 800MHz (max for this system).
  • OS: upgrade from no OS to Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
  • HDD: upgrade from 160GB 7200RPM WD HDD to 1x64GB Crucial m4 SSD + 1x500GB Western Digital 2.5" HDD (will try to dual mount both in the standard Dell 3.5" HDD caddy using a Scythe Twin Mounter or a SILVERSTONE SDP08 3.5 to 2 X 2.5-Inch Bay Converter.  The goal is to have 2 hard drives as well as the optical drive all functioning.  Should be a pretty cool trick since this machine only has 1 SATA connector and 1 slimline SATA connector for the optical drive. =)
  • GRAPHICS: upgrade from Integrated Intel to AMD/Sapphire Radeon HD6670
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10 comments:

  1. UnknownOctober 29, 2012 at 3:38 PM

    How did you get on with all of this? I have the same PC and want to upgrade too.......David

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  2. AdamOctober 29, 2012 at 6:23 PM

    Worked well, system is still up and running. I just put Windows 8 on it and it is running like a champ!

    ReplyDelete
  3. AdamOctober 29, 2012 at 6:24 PM

    There is a better low profile gpu available these days, I think it's the Radeon 7750.

    ReplyDelete
  4. UnknownOctober 31, 2012 at 12:49 PM

    Thanks for coming back to me - was there much of a performance increase?

    I only have 2Gb RAM and the 2.6Ghz CPU with W7 and it's really creaking.....I also have a 1.5TB hdd @ 5400RPM (one of the quiet models which are meant to be almost equivalent to 7200RPM. This also probably doesn't help.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AdamNovember 1, 2012 at 6:16 PM

      My Windows score is the same, so on that end there is no increase. Actually, my graphics performance went down by 0.1, but that is totally negligible and probably due to the drivers in Windows 8.

      But, overall the system is super snappy, the SSD helps a LOT, it is a night/day difference with a standard HDD. I feel that Windows 8 is more responsive for some reason.

      I think your CPU is ok, the one I've got isn't much better.

      Delete
    2. Zajc3wApril 2, 2013 at 6:27 AM

      ram upgrade itself will hep you alot(win7 is ram-eating monster)
      4GB for Win7 x64 is minimum(who uses 32bit nowadays)

      With graphisc... be carefull with power consumption 7750 can be too much for optiplexs litl PSU as it draws 20W more than 6670. There is a workaround this issue, involving use of external 12V PSU and some soldering - not recommended for unexperienced "tweakers".

      Delete
    3. ewdawgJune 29, 2013 at 10:23 AM

      I have my Optiplex 760 running just fine with an AMD HD 7750. To increase available power to it, I turn off any ports I'm not using, have only one hard drive connected, and disconnected the DVD drive. I'm happy to confirm that it's a very viable gaming rig, run most games at 1920x1080 between high and max settings at very playable framerates.

      Delete
    4. AdamJune 29, 2013 at 10:25 AM

      Nice! I'd considered upgrading to a 7750 but I haven't had much time for gaming these days ;)

      Delete
  5. UnknownNovember 1, 2012 at 12:26 PM

    Hi Adam

    Could you possibly clarify what bits I need to route power to the SSD.

    I've worked out that I need one of these

    http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/StarTech-6-inch-USB-2-0-Cable-USB-A-Female-to-USB-Motherboard-4-Pin-Header-F-F-/121001247283?pt=UK_Computing_Other_Computing_Networking&hash=item1c2c3c8233

    Something like this

    http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/USB-2-0-to-SATA-Serial-ATA-15-7-22P-Adapter-Cable-For-2-5-HDD-Laptop-Hard-Drive-/270869825710?pt=UK_Computing_Drive_Cables_Adapters&hash=item3f111988ae

    The bit I don't quite get is the connector to make the newly freed-up optical drive cables to make them work with an SSD.

    Any help you could give me would be warmly appreciated.

    Best

    David

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  6. AdamNovember 1, 2012 at 6:10 PM

    You're on the right track, those parts look correct. However, the "USB 2.0 to SATA Serial ATA 15+7 22P Adapter Cable For 2.5" HDD Laptop Hard Drive" that you've got there has 2 USB plugs, so it might get a bit cramped in there. Try to find one with just 1 plug, since that's all you need and you want as much breathing room in this thing as possible.

    As for the SSD, check out my post here:
    http://dell760wtf.blogspot.com/2012/01/forgot-to-mention.html

    This adapter plugs straight into the SSD, and from there you can just plug in everything that was plugged into the slimline optical drive into the other end of the adapter.

    ReplyDelete

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