[SOLVED] DELL OPTIPLEX GX280 UPGRADE IN 2021

[Diego3213]

Hi guys! I found a Dell Optiplex GX-280 (SMT). I want to upgrade the proccessor please. I want to put an Intel Pentium 4 670 or 672, a friend told me that is the best proccesor for this old machine. Dell Website said the best proccessor is "Intel® Pentium® 4 571", but I compared the two proccesors and they had the same features (PLGA 775/ front side 800mhz compatibility/915G Express Chipset). The only two differences between the 670 and 672 is the 670 have two threads, the other no. But, the 672 have VT-X technology (Can be useful this for GX280??). Could you give some recommendations please?? I hope you are in good health, have a nice day.

Diego

 

[USAFRet]

You 'found' a 15+ year old low end office system.

What do you plan to do with this?

Changing the CPU, if possible, is not going to get you any real performance gains.

 

[Diego3213]

The CPU had a 250 SSD, also 4 gb ram I want to install windows 8 64 bits, to use for virtual classes and work. In addition, I used a webcam and its useful.

 

[Bob.B]

Hi guys! I found a Dell Optiplex GX-280 (SMT). I want to upgrade the proccessor please. I want to put an Intel Pentium 4 670 or 672, a friend told me that is the best proccesor for this old machine. Dell Website said the best proccessor is "Intel® Pentium® 4 571", but I compared the two proccesors and they had the same features (PLGA 775/ front side 800mhz compatibility/915G Express Chipset). The only two differences between the 670 and 672 is the 670 have two threads, the other no. But, the 672 have VT-X technology (Can be useful this for GX280??). Could you give some recommendations please?? I hope you are in good health, have a nice day.

Diego

The mobo may support these new cpu's.
Will the Dell bios support these new cpu's?

If you can get these new cpu's cheap try it see what happens.
You might want to verify this machine functions just the way it is now before making any changes.

 

[Diego3213]

Can we use a Pentium 4 with Windows 10? - YouTube I saw this video and its possible But I prefer to use the W10 Version Lite 64.

 

[USAFRet]

I saw this video and its possible But I prefer to use the W10 Version Lite 64.

There is no valid "Lite" version.

 

[Diego3213]

Thank you, guys.

 

[JuniperSprouts]

Which CPU is in there now?
Look up your processor on the cpu-world list (toward the bottom of the below link). What wattage is it -84W or 115W? Your heatsink might not like a higher wattage CPU. The 630 is reported working, and it is only 84W.

All of those mentioned CPU's are 1 core / 2 thread. Though they are from the same family (Netburst / Prescott-2M), they might not be "enabled"/"allowed" by the system's bios.

Ref:

https://www.cpu-world.com/CPUs/Pent...122MM - HH80547PG1122MM (BX80547PG3800F).html

https://www.dell.com/community/Desk...Optiplex-gx280-processor-upgrade/td-p/3615041

Having said all of that, if your resources allow it, upgrading to a different motherboard is the best option. That generation of motherboard probably has SATA-I (rev. 1) capabilities only -it is limited to 1.5 gigabit per second. SATA-III is 6 Gbps. Modern NVMe drives push 32Gbps. My experience with CPUs from your computer's generation has taught me that they are just not enough for a "smooth" experience. The "next" generation of Intel processors (with Core 2 Duo CPUs) can still be okay. (In this part of the world) You can buy a $7 E8300 & a $15 Nvidia 310 ...for a solid, cheap upgrade on the next generation motherboard.

The Dell Optiplex 790 platform might be a good sweet spot for you if you can sell your GX280... even the Pentium G620 for this platform, which costs $5, will run circles around your best Pentium 4 672 -at 65W power, mind you.

If you are going to stay with your platform, I highly recommend a 32-bit operating system. You will lose some memory access (only have @3.25GB), but you will gain speed elsewhere. Don't forget: unused RAM is wasted RAM. Check out blackviper's guides for "trimming" your system:

Black Viper's Windows 8.1 Service Configurations - Black Viper | BlackViper.Com

www.blackviper.com

 

[USAFRet]

Having said all of that, if your resources allow it, upgrading to a different motherboard is the best option. That generation of motherboard probably has SATA-I (rev. 1) capabilities only -it is limited to 1.5 gigabit per second. SATA-III is 6 Gbps. Modern NVMe drives push 32Gbps.

If one were to go through all that....that is a whole new PC.
New motherboard = CPU/RAM/case/PSU/etc, etc...

 

[JuniperSprouts]

If one were to go through all that....that is a whole new PC.
New motherboard = CPU/RAM/case/PSU/etc, etc...

To be fair, I gave a ton of options and information. That partial quote is a snippet of a page-long reply. I did encourage him to upgrade, but also explained why, as well as give suggestions for his current setup.

Whole new PC? That is a bit of an exaggeration. The kid is trying to spend as little as possible to get satisfaction. He can re-use his SSD, HDD, case, & PSU if need be. SMT form factor:

REFERENCE:
I did similar (in a Dell Dimension case almost identical to the GX280 SMT):
Dell 790 Optiplex mobo ($12), CPU ($5), RAM ($9 -if you don't already have excess DDR3 about), & HSF ($9 -if you do not re-purpose one with modification or get one with the CPU or mobo purchase)
I used an even older PSU that did not have SATA power connections, so I just clipped SATA cables from a damaged PSU & soldered them to the Molex 4-pin power connections: 3.3v, GND, GND, & 12v -simples. You can tape or wire-nut the connections as well. If you are scared to do the wiring, you can just buy 4-pin to SATA cables for $2. It is rock steady after over a year as a daily driver, so...

 

[USAFRet]

To be fair, I gave a ton of options and information. That partial quote is a snippet of a page-long reply. I did encourage him to upgrade, but also explained why, as well as give suggestions for his current setup.

Reuse:
SSD, yes
HDD, yes
PSU, its already 15 years old, even if it is ATX compatible.
Case is likely the most trivial thing. Replace.

So...
New motherboard,a s you suggested...
== CPU, RAM, PSU, Basically, a new system.

Few things can be carried over.

Makes little sense to consider that an "upgrade" to the Dell thing he has.


In any case...putting $$ into that Dell is mostly a waste, no matter how few $$.

 

[JuniperSprouts]

Makes little sense to consider that an "upgrade" to the Dell thing he has.

In any case...putting $$ into that Dell is mostly a waste, no matter how few $$.

I see no evidence that you understand the difference of using those different generations of platforms in modern times (915G vs Sandy Bridge in the year 2021). I think that you have misunderstood the spirit of the OP's inquiry -and his needs & resources.

REFERENCE:

Case is likely the most trivial thing. Replace.

That is pretty privileged/condescending. "Trivial" for whom?

 

[USAFRet]

I see no evidence that you understand the difference of using those different generations of platforms in modern times (915G vs Sandy Bridge in the year 2021). I think that you have misunderstood the spirit of the OP's inquiry -and his needs & resources.

REFERENCE:
That is pretty privileged/condescending. "Trivial" for whom?

I do understand where he's coming from, and what he has obtained. A 15 year old Dell office system.
I would not put any money into that, trying to make it 'better'.
Use it as its, or replace all/most of it.



A new, current PC case, ATX compatible, can be had for ~$20.
If you're replacing most or all of the original Dell stuff anyway, that is a pretty trivial portion.

 

[ex_bubblehead]

The case, motherboard and power supply are proprietary. Unless replacing with like Dell components this is a complete non-starter.

 

[sandrotan]

What a fun thread.

I proudly own a GX 280 SFF (ref pic posted above by JuniperSprout) since end of 2010, when I bought it as an off lease. It originally came with a Celeron and I upgraded the BIOS to version A08, installed a low profile Radeon 6450 and then when all the 32 bit OS's were discontinued, 5 years ago I upgraded to a Pentium 4 524, because it was the best P4 with 533 MHz FSB to match.

I run a ton of things, the old WinXP, Lakka retrogaming, LibreELEC, Ubuntu 20.04 and with this last OS I use it as a streaming machine, Netflix and Amazon Prime work well, while I got some choppy football game streaming... maybe because of the VPN.

Just because I read these machines should theoretically support 800 MHz FSB I bought a P4 651 to try out. Too bad it doesn't work on this one, the power button stays orange and never turns to green. I will go back to the P4 624 for the time being.

Is it still possible some form of BIOS modding can be attempted? I did it recently on a 2009 Fujitsu-Siemens to install a Xeon. Finding proper information is a matter of sheer luck though, if past has to teach a lesson. Good luck then.

 

[sonofjesse]

Remove the HD and take the machine to recycle. Unless you have some specific retro purpose .

You don't need the latest greatest 12th gen, but this thing is really old. I would get something 8th gen or newer.

 

[Karadjgne]

Dell is proprietary. Especially the bios. You can only use the cpus Dell says you can use in that bios, which wasn't many. The reasoning was/is simple. If you want a faster, stronger cpu then you should have spent more money and bought it in the first place.

There's no way around it unless you know how to crack Dell bios codes and restrictions and can write a new cpu into bios. Doesn't matter what chipset, what socket, whether Intel says its compatible or not, Dell decides otherwise. If Dell says a P4 571 is the best that fits, then that's that, done. Any 'better' cpu is a moot point, the cpu won't be recognised, whether Intel says it will work or not.

That applies to Anything Dell. Psu, motherboard, front panel connectors, even the pwm cpu_fan header (common for Dells to use non-standard wiring).

The only things upgradable in a Dell pc are gpu, ram and storage. And that's only because Dell cannot write limitations into bios. But they'll put physical limits, like 180w proprietary psus into the pc to prevent gpu upgrades, they'll use motherboard clamps on registration to prevent Windows upgrades that they haven't sanctioned, they'll use bottom line 915 chipsets to prevent quad core cpu use in low rank models etc.

It's a Dell. It was never intended to allow upgrades, only replacement to get bigger and better.

 

[sandrotan]

Thank you for the advice. I will probe my GX 280 SFF for other possible processor upgrades.

 

[Karadjgne]

Sorry 😔, didn't mean to sound brutal, if the parts were aftermarket then it'd be a different story. But Dell, Lenovo, Compaq, Gateway, HP of that Era were all about profits, and there was zero profit in selling a base model and you upgrading to something worthwhile. They'd rather you buy worthwhile from them to start with.

 

[sandrotan]

Sorry 😔, didn't mean to sound brutal...

Oh, don't worry. As a job I am a service manager for robotics products, so I am sensitive to themes like long term support, since we keep robots running 25 years straight, with all the technology changes that happened in the meantime... I am talking about Motorola 68k and Intel 486 based systems.

I hold a grudge against several PC suppliers, Apple, Acer to name a few because I tinker with upgrades as a (sometimes paid) hobby and I can clearly see when there's purposefully bad engineering with the only goal to accelerate obsolescence.