Dell 9020 MT Q87 Motherboard support for i7-4790k

[Rgon_Amps]

I purchased a Dell Optiplex 9020 MT i5-4570. It has the Q87 chipset - overclocking disabled. It seems that a Q87 mobo supports an i7-4790k with turbo boost allowing the cpu to run up to 4.4 GHz from a base clk of 4 GHz... quite an improvement over the 3.2 GHz i5, even without OC.

Has anyone successfully upgraded a Dell Q87 board to run an i7-4790k? I suspect a BIOS update would be required. Does Dell supply that update?

 

[Kisianik]

I purchased a Dell Optiplex 9020 MT i5-4570. It has the Q87 chipset - overclocking disabled. It seems that a Q87 mobo supports an i7-4790k with turbo boost allowing the cpu to run up to 4.4 GHz from a base clk of 4 GHz... quite an improvement over the 3.2 GHz i5, even without OC.

Has anyone successfully upgraded a Dell Q87 board to run an i7-4790k? I suspect a BIOS update would be required. Does Dell supply that update?

Don't forget that you are dealing with Dell PC - since Dell crated BIOS, it will support what ever Dell permits, so general rules do not apply here.
Strongest 9020 comes with I7 4790 http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/optiplex-9020-desktop/pd?oc=cao9020mtw7pf03&model_id=optiplex-9020-desktop

Installing 4790K may work or may not. It is fairly new PC, and 4790K is still pricy, so I don't see users experimenting with it yet.

I doubt you can have straight correct answer here, I checked Dell Community Forum, no one ask the same questions there as well.

So, it is basically up to you - if you are ready to experiment and waste your $$$, then go for it.

 

[Rgon_Amps]

I purchased a Dell Optiplex 9020 MT i5-4570. It has the Q87 chipset - overclocking disabled. It seems that a Q87 mobo supports an i7-4790k with turbo boost allowing the cpu to run up to 4.4 GHz from a base clk of 4 GHz... quite an improvement over the 3.2 GHz i5, even without OC.

Has anyone successfully upgraded a Dell Q87 board to run an i7-4790k? I suspect a BIOS update would be required. Does Dell supply that update?

Don't forget that you are dealing with Dell PC - since Dell crated BIOS, it will support what ever Dell permits, so general rules do not apply here.
Strongest 9020 comes with I7 4790 http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/optiplex-9020-desktop/pd?oc=cao9020mtw7pf03&model_id=optiplex-9020-desktop

Installing 4790K may work or may not. It is fairly new PC, and 4790K is still pricy, so I don't see users experimenting with it yet.

I doubt you can have straight correct answer here, I checked Dell Community Forum, no one ask the same questions there as well.

So, it is basically up to you - if you are ready to experiment and waste your $$$, then go for it.

Thanks, Kisianik, for your prompt and informative reply. My research has confirmed everything you mentioned including Dell's technical support posture

What prompted this thread was the Q87 chipset compatibility list at CPU-UPGRADE showing support for both the 4790 and 4790k. I thought maybe someone has successfully put a "K version" on a Q87 board.

My Dell 9020 MT is an eBay purchase still in transit. I don't have "R&D funding", but I do have cash for solid upgrades, like a Samsung 850 Pro SSD, and 16 GB ram. I'll stick with the i5-4570 for now. I know an i7-4790 works and will probably replace the i5 fairly soon. I'm on a Dell Optiplex 990 MT i7-2600 3.4GHz 16 GB DDR3 with a Samsung 850 Pro. It's a fast machine -- I don't play games 😀 ... and I'm hooked on hyper-threading.

 

[Kisianik]

No Games?! You got to do some graphic design or some heavy engineering stuff, otherwise, 4790K is just overkill for anything else, you are not going to notice any difference compare to non K part in general use, SSD will make a huge difference for sure.

 

[Rgon_Amps]

Update:
I replaced the i5-4570 3.2GHz with a Devil's Canyon i7-4790k 4.0GHz. No trouble with this upgrade. Used Dell fan/heatsink (twice as large as Intel's) with Arctic Silver 5 TIM.

You can view details on my Dell forum post: Optiplex 9020 MT i7-4790k Upgrade !!

Thanks to all of you who encouraged this effort. I'm enjoying this high-end business machine.