Dell Optiplex GX620 + Core 2

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Wow, old Dell's get new LEASE on LIFE, read about it here! I got one with bad caps, among several SX280s, so small there is no room for PCI cards of any type, the SFF GX620 is meant for HT single core Pentium Celeron, also specs list lower then 800 speed DDR2, which is what I just bought. I got a 3.2Gig PentiumD that did not work on the SX280s, or an IBM M51 tower, it worked on a 3rd party MSI board for 45nm tech Quad and Core2Duo chips, so it's a "fill in" on that board since I lack those fancy CPUs, they also sold out of the PentiumDs they did have for sale, bought the one and then they were gone! Strange. Anyway, I would like something GTA game capable, GTA4, which has problems with PCs due to what people call "porting from console"?? Not sure what to believe there though
 
I have a dell optiplex gx620 full tower....

i tryed running gta 4 on it and it didn't go well..! it keept freezing and was very slow


I have 2GB of ram and a Intel Pentium 4 3.4GHz HT (Hyper Threading) CPU
and a 512MB video card but its cheap but it plays a few games ok


I was not even close to playing gta 4 :pt1cable:

Games i played so far after getting the gx620

F.E.A.R (on medium Graphics) with my Card
F.E.A.R 2 (Between low and medium Graphics had to overclock a little)
Dead space (works great when everything is on low but overclocked a little)
Fable Lost Chapters (everything on high works really good no problems)


This is my video card >> Geforce 8400 GS (theres 2 different kinds theres one with a see through white fan and a black one (I have the black one) but they have the same spec so i don't really see the difference

In the future i plan on switching the gx620 Mobo with a 755 so i can use core 2 cpu's (That would be nice 😍 )
 
This is my video card >> Geforce 8400 GS (theres 2 different kinds theres one with a see through white fan and a black one (I have the black one) but they have the same spec so i don't really see the difference
Click to expand...

Yeah, the color of the fan makes a HUGE difference, lol. The 8400GS is NOT a gaming card, so it really doesn't matter which one you get. I suggest you do some research on video cards before you buy your next one.
 



hi i tried the core 2 due with no luck i have the latest bios a11! so im going to try the Pentium D 900 series processor like a 925 or 950 will any one work as long as its socket 775? there are laods!
 
i have a dell optiplex gx620 with chip set i945p and bios a11 this should run with a Pentium d 950 processor but it does not work all i get is the fan spinning full speed and nothing ells! anyone know what im doing wrong any info is much appreciated!
 
^ What are your specs? Is this the tower model or low profile? Has anyone here successfully upgraded to D 950? I keep finding posts of people that say they did, but the detailed links are always dead. I'm trying to figure out which CPU to upgrade my GX620 Tower to. So far the D 945 seems to work for most people (it's also what the OptiPlex 745 runs, so it makes sense), but D 950 is a little murky. Anyone have any insights or links on the matter?
 
TO be honest, the performance diff from the highest pentium D 9xx to the lowest Pentium D 9xx is not that much.
go with something you can get the cheapest, and stay in the middle of the road if you want the best result.
better yet, save the money and get a newer mainboard.
you will be much happier.
 
I just obtained (recycled) a GX620 desktop and will be upgrading to a Pentium D 930 chip to support VT-x and will use it for VMWare ESXi. Have installed 4GB of memory, 1.5TB & 2TB internal 5400 RPM Sata drives. Will report on how it goes.

I will run several linux images on for samba (for multimedia sharing, backup space), apache, dokuwiki, dhcpd and several other services at home. It will allow me to manage the services with one box, even when I upgrade or change Linux OS or make other major changes.

I figure with a minimal investment ($150) in hardware the payback in electrical savings (going from 2 systems to 1) will be about 9 months.
 
So far so good. I've got ESXi 4.1.0 running.

One tip, after installing the VT capable CPU and Upgrading the BIOS to A11, when trying to create a 64-bit VM, ESXi complained that the CPU was not VT enabled. So I powered off the machine. Unplugged the power supply from the motherboard, removed the BIOS battery, and set the reset jumper for 5 seconds. After I put everything back and powered on the machine, I was able to enter the BIOS and now under Performance there was a Virtualization option which I turned on. Then everything worked.

Another minor issue: I have 4GB of memory (4@1GB), however VMWare only reports 3,324.9mb of memory. This is not a problem for me as my VMs are not that resource intensive.
 
The Optiplex GX620 does abutment bifold amount processor but its the Pentium d bifold core,not the Intel duo amount which is newer adaptation of the bifold amount processors.all i had to do was a bios beam and i'm aerial with a 3.2 gig pentium d bifold amount processor.
 
FYI: The issue about 4GB of memory and only having 3,324.9mb of memory available was related to a 256mb video card. Replaced the card (with a Diablotek PCI 8mb Rage XL) and now have 256mb more memory 3,580.9mb.
 



I have the GX620 also and would like to know if it will handle a 3.46 ghz Pentium D dual core. I have an opportunity to get this processor and also understand it will run 1066 mhz ddr2 memory in lieu of the 800 mhz. Does anyone know if this combo will work ( I know the bios must be updated).... but does anyone see any other problems.....thanks rocknroller
 



I also have a GX620 mid-tower and want to upgrade. My idea is to change processors to a 950 (3.2 ghz or a 3.4 ghz...960 I think) and add 2 sticks x 2gb ddr2 ram giving (6400 or 800 mhz) dual channel, and of course, update the bios to handle the changes. Anyone know if this combo will support 1066 mhz ram? I realize this is a bit of trouble but I am planning on using the unit strictly for media such as streaming video and such. Also want to add a pci express card to provide HDMI output including audio on the HDMI cable (also need advice on the best card for this) . Would greatly appreciate any suggestions on these mods and whether or not I am better off to change out the MB and update from there, please advise....thanks...rocknroller....
 
I have several GX620 SFF and am planning to use one as an HTPC. Although I am not using it now. (Our company throws out old systems and I collect anything useful).

I am currently running a Win 7 Ultimate HTPC (using USB TV tuner card for over the air DVR functionality) on a GX280 with a 3.4Ghz Pentium 4 (single core) and it works decently for 720p.

I don't think you need ultra performance for this. A decent processor, Pentium D only (dual core 3.2 and above) and 4GB of decent memory is probably enough. I don't think you need 1066 memory. Even though the CPU may support the fast memory, I think the motherboard and supporting chips need to support it too.

As for the video card, the SFF case I am planning to use needs a low profile card and low power utilization. I was looking at the Sparkle GeForce 210 card from Newegg. It has VGA, DVI and HDMI.

I also want to connect it to a Home Theater receiver and was looking at a Xonar DG 5.1 or 7.1 to provide optical digital sound output.

Are you planning to have this streaming video machine anywhere where the sound might be a concern? If you do, try to pick low power components so it isn't too noisy. Intel has some great web pages on it's various CPUs and power requirements. I picked a 930 processor for a GX620 desktop which had lower power utilization than some other similar chips. If I remember correctly I have a 945 (3.4Ghz) sitting around for one of these machine. I haven't tried it yet, but if you want I can test if it works on the GX620. There are two differences between the 945 and 950. The 950 supports virtualization and uses more power. Otherwise they are the same.

Also I'd advise installing as little other software as possible. Less software to steal CPU cycles.
 
Yesterday I started setting up my GX620 SFF for HTPC. I upgraded the BIOS to A11. I installed the Intel 945 Pentium D (3.4Ghz), Zotac GeForce 210 card 1GB DDR3 (passively cooled - max 18watts) and the Xonar DG 5.1 (optical audio out - no HDMI on my old Home Theater receiver). Used 4GB (2x2) DDR2 667 memory (which clocked down to 533?), so I doubt faster memory would have any benefit. Using a WD Caviar Blue 500GB hard drive and Window 7 Enterprise 64 bit.

All is working fine. No problems yet with the power supply (only 275 watts). However it runs a bit warm. I will do further research to determine if it's too hot and/or too noisy for HTPC use. If I need to, I'll consider installing the Hard drive outside the case to give more room for cooling the video card.
 



I'm trying to upgrade my gx620 to a dual core as well. Did you replace the heat sink as well? If so, where did you get one?
 


I used the same heatsink that came with the SFF GX620. The system originally had a 2.8Ghz Pentium D. Note: You can't put a Core 2 CPU in the gx620. Just the Pentium D's or Pentium 4s. If you want I can take a picture of the heatsink.

What CPU (Intel model number ie. 820, 945 etc...) do you want to put in it? Is it a Small Form Factor case? There are 4 different cases for the GX620 USFF, SFF, Desktop, Mini-Tower. Each has a bit different cooling setup. See: http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/opgx620/en/ug/A02/index.htm

Unfortunately I have not found software that could monitor the system temperature, but my setup seems to be working with no problems. The CPU barely breaks a sweat no matter what I am doing. I do monitor the video card temperature which is quite hot but has not caused any problems (at 1080p) yet (peaks in the mid 70s C). It is clearly not a silent PC, but it's tolerable.

We watch a lot of Netflix, Hulu, record and watch recorded TV using Windows Media Center (off a Silicon Dust HD Homerun dual) and various other content.
 

Where do we find this bios flash that you used? was it A11?
 
A11 Bios is available on the Dell support site. Also the HTPC GX620 is working fine. I am preparing to build another one for use with Win 7 Ultimate, HD HomeRun Prime and Remote Potato. I may try to use the Pentium D 2.8ghz processor and 2GB of memory that I have available.
 
Just built another GX620 last night (so far running 4 in the house) and another one on the way. I am using Pentium 4 3.0Ghz, Pentium D 2.8Ghz (820), Pentium D 3.0Ghz (930), and Pentium D 3.4Ghz (945). All are working fine. The HTPC is working fine after 8 months of being constantly powered on (although it sleeps when it can). No heat problems yet.
 
I have a bunch of these and one had bad caps another worked fine. The other two not sure yet.

Anyway there's one major major flaw and it's the heatsink design. There is too much gap between the core cpu and the heatsink. I even added a 1mm thick thermal pad and contact was very poor. So we need to figure out the hole parameters and see what will mount in replacement. Another thing to try is a 2mm thick shim or even 3mm thick shim 2"x2" and crank it down tight.

The contact is poor and pressure is even worse so a shim is required. Since the temps we see with the GX620 are very extreme. There is no sensor because DELL didn't want customers literally shitting themselves when they saw the idle temperature.

We know the pressure is poor because the instant it goes under load the fan skyrockets and we notice thermal throttling on all the Pentium 4's and Pentium D's. It's insta-throttling so the second you go under load your seeing 1-20% of it's true potential out of any CPU. In other words at high load we see as much performance as say a Athlon XP 1500+ or some such junk.

I tested different CPU's and some have said Core 2 Duo's work and they just might. Will need further testing but I have a Core 2 duo 6300, p4 3.2, 3.4, 3.8, and Pentium Dual Core 1.8Ghz I believe.

A cpu success is a green light after boot up, an amber LED indicates cpu post failure and the chip stays cold.

Tested Core 2 Duo 6300... amber led cold cpu. Although the board I tested has bad caps.

I'll test on another and report back.

I also suspect the Screw/ Thread/ heatsink dimensions may work with a LGA1366 heatsink.. I'll see. I'd also try and connect the northbridge to the CPU heatsink by use of a large piece of copper shim enough to cover the whole and run across to the northbridge. This way the Extreme "typical" heat from the northbridge can be dissipated by the cpu heatsink directly.

From my experience the reference design of the GX620 is very poor in terms of cooling. The northbridge regularly seeing 85C+ at idle and load approaches and exceeds 100C+ under load. All the while EXTREME throttling is occuring because it's all running way way way too hot.

So if we can compress the CPU and Northbridge under a Copper shim I'd say 3mm thick to be safe across the CPU, and Northbridge and crank down the heatsinks tight we should see very low 60C load temps on the CPU and Northbridge and load it out and get perfect performance. Far better than DELL had ever imagined. I'm talking about a copper Sheet 3-5mm Thick just to be extra safe between 3 and 5mm so 4mm or so would work. The demensions would be 4"x4" but u may need to trim with TIN SNIPS, also test for flatness on a pane of glass with soap.

YES OLD THREAD BUT IT'S NICE JOINING A GX620 GRAVE YARD DISCUSSION.
 


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OK but wait there are Core 2 chips that are 800 FSB and I'm looking at one now - Core 2 Duo 4300 SL9TB 1.80Ghz/2M/800/06 - isn't the 800 after the cache size the FSB speed?

Yes It's slower than the Pentium 4 HT 3.2Ghz that is in the unit now, so not sure if there are any real gains overall.

But the question remains how to side load the correct BIOS to support a newer chip. From what I can see the CPU and BOARD have the ability, its just the BIOS that is holding an upgrade back. And the board can go faster than an 800 FSB but at the current 800 FSB wouldn't the 4300 CPU mentioned be an easy swap and may not need a newer BIOS flash?

Is there a guide to what DELL BIOS versions provide specific chip support? I have yet to find any tables that can easily be referenced.

 
As anyone tried this, as I need to know asap.
I have Old dell optiplex gx620 desktop. I bought it old used from my local market. It lasted me fine till few month back. And now I since orange light came , I either need to change the motherboard, or buy a used other whole pc.
I have p4 2.8 MHz n 3 gb ram n 2hdd 250gb each sata n dvdrw in it.
Now here is the question, if anyone tried it.
Has anyone removed the old motherboard and processor and replaced it with either dell optiplex 760 motherboard(Intel q35) n c2d 3.0 ghz with existing ddr 2 ram or even with dell optiplex 780 motherboard(Intel q45 or Intel q43) n c2d 3.0 ghz pro n 4-8 gb ddr 3 ram.

If it can be done then that what I will do, otherwise buy a another used system of dell optiplex 760 or 780 or even Hp 7900 or hp8000. Otherwise I increase my budget n buy used haswell g3220 or i3-4150 complete system.
this will only be done if I can instead these board n processor in gx620 since with ram n hdd it will sell for $5 here only.
 
I have several GX620 and GX745, GX755 machines... On the GX620 it does not support the Core 2 chipset in BIOS. The best it can take is a Dual Core Pentium D 8XX processor. But the good news is that the DELL case and power supply are almost identical for these three models, so you can just replace the DELL GX620 motherboard with a new 700 series board and gain support for the Core 2 DUO and QUAD chipset. That's about the cheapest solution for you. The GX620's memory may work in you 700 board depending on which one you select. Some newer boards may require DDR3 memory so best to check the DELL website for the specifics. The good thing is that DELL unlike HP posts the full service manuals online making the job a bit easier.
 


Thx for info but I was hoping for 780 mainly with ddr3.

True to told, I wanted to buy used i3-4150 with micro atx board n instead in this casing.
 
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