[SOLVED] inspiron 3656 upgrades

[lolo4dee]

so i have an old dell inspiron 3656 i would like to upgrade a fair bit for fun.

now i know i wont be able to upgrade the cpu because its soldered. but can i move the motherboard into a new case? i have a diypc m28-tg laying around unused, could it fit the motherboard?

also what type of ram does it use and what is the max it supports?

can i upgrade the cpu cooler?

can i upgrade the powersupply? i think it has a 180watt and thats not very much and i would like to put a new gpu in it and i doupt a 180 watt could power much.

thanks for any help.

 

[Barty1884]

I can't find much regarding it, but this listing suggests the 'desktop' board is more akin to a laptop.
https://www.ebay.ca/i/152515864547?chn=ps&mkevt=1&mkrid=706-89093-2056-0&mkcid=2&dispItem=1

I've no idea if that's reliable or not - but there's not exactly a lot of teardowns on that machine.

If that image is to be believed...You're probably not going to be able to transplant that board easily (if at all), and some of the USB ports won't be accessible. Beyond that:

1. It uses DDR3L (low-voltage).
2. Probably, but it would be a DIY cooler - I doubt there's anything off the shelf that'll just 'fit'
3. Similarly, not with an off the shelf unit. Proprietary 4pin connector on there for ATX. CPU 4pin looks to be standard though.

However, looks like the TDP of those CPUs (A10-8700p etc) are maxing out at 35W. So theoretically that 180W could power a decent GPU.
BUT, what GPU would you want to pair with the weak chip? There's also the question of whether the PCIe slot is capable of the full 75W.

I'd think your options are going to be GT1030 or similar.