Optiplex 380 Upgrade.

[mrjaggerson]

Hi Everyone.

I've got this Optiplex 380 Desktop (Not MT or SFF) which I intend to use to work and some light gaming, but I have some questions, first my plan:

- Upgrade the E7500 for a Xeon E5450.

- Upgrade the Nvidia 9300GE for a GT 1030

- Change the Hard Drive for a 240GB SSD.

As for ram, it already has 8gb DDR3 which seems to be the maximum allowed.

Now my question is, will my PSU be able to handle all that? It has a 235w PSU, which apparently I can't upgrade because of it's dimensions.

I already removed the CD drive (since I haven't used CD's since 2008 or so) in case that helps lol.

 

[clutchc]

Assuming the Optiplex doesn't need a BIOS update to recognize the Xeon E5450, you should be fine. The system can handle the extra 15W processor and the SSD will draw less than the HDD. The optical drive wouldn't use power unless it was reading or writing.

 

[Kisianik]

Hi Everyone.

I've got this Optiplex 380 Desktop (Not MT or SFF) which I intend to use to work and some light gaming, but I have some questions, first my plan:

- Upgrade the E7500 for a Xeon E5450.

- Upgrade the Nvidia 9300GE for a GT 1030

- Change the Hard Drive for a 240GB SSD.

As for ram, it already has 8gb DDR3 which seems to be the maximum allowed.

Now my question is, will my PSU be able to handle all that? It has a 235w PSU, which apparently I can't upgrade because of it's dimensions.

I already removed the CD drive (since I haven't used CD's since 2008 or so) in case that helps lol.

Slow down mate.
Intel Xeon E5450 is socket LGA771 and your motherboard is socket LGA775.
It is not directly compatible, but it is possible through the MOD.
You must read it first https://www.delidded.com/lga-771-to-775-adapter/ Check for links to eBay in that articles,
next, if you want, you can see those YouTube clips https://www.google.com/search?q=LGA+771+to+775+MOD+Adapter+Sticker&source=lnms&tbm=vid&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjHjYXRtdHcAhWQ_1QKHTVqBo0Q_AUIDCgD&biw=1920&bih=1018

Unless you know about this already.

And at the end you will be at mercy of Dell BIOS. Be ready that it might not work, just because it is Dell (sometimes Dell is placing CPU restrictions in the BIOS).
So you been warned.

 

[clutchc]

@ Kisianik
Good catch. I forgot about that obscure (to me anyway) 771 socket that came out between the 775 and 1366.

 

[mrjaggerson]

Yeah, I already knew about that, I verified beforehand that the Bios A07 that comes with the optiplex 380 is able to be modified to be compatible with the Xeon E5450.

BTW, I already put the SSD, and the 1030 and so far so good, I'm just waiting for the Xeon to arrive and see if the PSU can actually handle it.

 

[mrjaggerson]

And here it is.

https://imgur.com/a/lzfjp6X

So far so good, I actually didn't need to install the custom bios, apparently it has something to do with the Xeon stepping that I got, oh well. So far so good.

Now it's time to test if it handles the temps or I need to get creative with the cooling.

 

[william p]

RW134 is the Dell desktop heatpipe cooler.
There are people running 120W Xeons in those X5460.
With an 80W CPU and a 30W GPU there shouldn't be any PSU problems.