[SOLVED] Upgrade my old Dell Optiplex 760 or sell it and buy another prebuilt PC instead?

testsubject2575

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Is it cost effective to upgrade my Dell Optiplex 760 with 1x 2GB DDR2 RAM, a GTX 750 Ti and an Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650 or just sell my optiplex and buy an Intel i5 2400 prebuilt system unit instead? I'll use this unit only for a span of 4 years and I'll switch to a Ryzen 5 build when I start my work after grad. Also, upgrading my Optiplex might take a year since I can't spend that much money for my computer and I have daily expenses.

I don't play that much other than Dota 2 and few old FPS games, but I do video editing and programming. I would like to mod my pc as well but buying another pc might be a better idea since I am stuck with my 235 watt PSU. I don't know.
 
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The E7500 is about $6 to try it. So it's very cost effective. But the Q9650 is a good mod also, but $40 into an old machine that could be put into a better GPU that can be moved forward later. The E7500 @ 3.66 with an SSD will be a very responsive computer in most situations. The E7500/3.66 with a GTX1050 will smash the Q9650 - GTX750 in gaming also. @ 1080P it won't even be close.
No Wattage label means no restriction.
You could add more RAM to 8GB, and an SSD. But the 235W PSU means you have one of the smaller cases so no GPU upgrade.
Those 2 mods will help a lot, and the SSD can move forward.
1x2 RAM sucks. It's not taking advantage of dual channel. 4x2 is where you should be. Then you can decide if you need something better. But you're basically stuck below 1080P with that no matter what.
 
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testsubject2575

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You could add more RAM to 8GB, and an SSD. But the 235W PSU means you have one of the smaller cases so no GPU upgrade.
Those 2 mods will help a lot, and the SSD can move forward.
1x2 RAM sucks. It's not taking advantage of dual channel. 4x2 is where you should be. Then you can decide if you need something better. But you're basically stuck below 1080P with that no matter what.
No problem with being stuck at 1080p, I just want to have a playable fps since internet on my location also sucks. I could upgrade to 8GB RAM by stacking 4x 2GB DDR2s to fill the 4 DIMM slots which is cheap in our country. I could get it for like 10 dollars for 3pcs or even buy 2 take 1.

About the GPU upgrade, with my 235 watt PSU does it mean I can't have a GPU because of power limitations? Because I could easily fit any GPU by placing it on the HDDs current location (which requires me to dremel the back plate), and move my HDD on the empty Optical Drive slot.
 
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The i5-2500 prebuilt would be a solid kick in the pants in terms of what you're used to:
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare/Intel-Core2-Quad-Q9650-vs-Intel-i5-2500/1050vs803

I know this from experience too as I have q9650 and i5-2500 systems (both Dell too).

But your best bet is this Lenovo M92P i5-3550 on reddit for $65 shipped. Solid hardware and solid deal that would really shine compared to your current setup, even without a gpu:
View: https://www.reddit.com/r/hardwareswap/comments/efl1ba/usanh_h_sff_lenovo_m92p_desktop_core_i5_3rd_gen_w/


Plus, the M92P can be upgraded to a 3770 as well as 32GB of ram.

As far as selling your current system, you won't get much for it as is, but you could part it out if you want to generate some cash. I would just keep it as a spare/secondary system. You can still use it by remote desktopping into it from your new one or vice versa. That's how I use a lot of my older systems. I've got 20 running right now.
 
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About the GPU upgrade, with my 235 watt PSU does it mean I can't have a GPU because of power limitations? Because I could easily fit any GPU by placing it on the HDDs current location (which requires me to dremel the back plate), and move my HDD on the empty Optical Drive slot.
Tell me which size you have. Desktop or Small Form Factor. If you're willing to dremel we can talk. Although a nibbler creates less metal dust. The GTX1050 Low profile all have a hardmounted HDMI port in the 2nd slot area. But can run off of the PCIe just like a GTX750. For the DT version there is a 90* bracket that mounts the GPU sideways. On a DT case all the metal in the back just lifts out straight up.
https://www.amazon.com/Dell-HX727-G...=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B004Z1K712
Then a full height Zotac GtX 1050 Mini fits. I've had a GTX 1060 in one but running a bigger PSU outside the case would be needed to power it. Fix your RAM issue and see how it runs, then decide if it's worth pursuing for you.
A GTX 750 and an old 720P HDTV can make a low budget retro gaming rig. For single thread apps. an E7500 CPU with a pinmod to 3.66GHz is a pretty potent setup. You can have fun with it. But there will always be better stuff out there.
A Dell T 3500 workstation would be a good choice for an upgrade system.
 
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testsubject2575

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Tell me which size you have. Desktop or Small Form Factor. If you're willing to dremel we can talk. Although a nibbler creates less metal dust. The GTX1050 Low profile all have a hardmounted HDMI port in the 2nd slot area. But can run off of the PCIe just like a GTX750. For the DT version there is a 90* bracket that mounts the GPU sideways. On a DT case all the metal in the back just lifts out straight up.
https://www.amazon.com/Dell-HX727-G...=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B004Z1K712
Then a full height Zotac GtX 1050 Mini fits. I've had a GTX 1060 in one but running a bigger PSU outside the case would be needed to power it. Fix your RAM issue and see how it runs, then decide if it's worth pursuing for you.
A GTX 750 and an old 720P HDTV can make a low budget retro gaming rig. For single thread apps. an E7500 CPU with a pinmod to 3.66GHz is a pretty potent setup. You can have fun with it. But there will always be better stuff out there.
A Dell T 3500 workstation would be a good choice for an upgrade system.
I have a SFF PC.
 
If you already have the GTX750 I would put the E7500 with a tapemod and fix the RAM and run old games on a 720P TV. if you have an actual monitor the GTX 750 can run just about any resolution under 1080P, but will struggle at that point. This assumes you have a 2GB DDR5 version and not a 1GB, or DDR3 type. It's your decision whether you want to buy a Q9650. It will be 20% slower in any single thread app. A small SSD doesn't cost much and will make as much difference as anything else. Plus it can move ahead to a newer system. The CPU can't. IMO the GTX 750 is the correct GPU for that system, but not for anything newer. If you're going to buy a GPU I would save up for a GTX1050 2GB low profile. Zotac can run on a Legacy BIOS machine like that. That one can move forward. It will run OK at that level. The GTX1050Ti 4GB can have issues with some games in a 8GB sytem. But mostly works OK.
If you get an SSSD turn off Auto defragmentation in Ssytem Tools.
Here are the builds for the Opti 760. many will be towers and have better GPUs but you can look around and see what does what.
https://www.userbenchmark.com/System/Dell-OptiPlex-760-----------------/3231
There may not be any overclocked E7500 there. But the single thread CPU score will showit if there's one there.
You will see a lot of Q6600 tapemods. The mods will score 32%CPU and the base ones will score 26%.
 
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Actually I want a Quadcore CPU because right now I always reach the peak of my Pentium E5200 2.5GHz just by playing Dota 2, and no background running apps.

Also, there is no label of wattage on the PCIe slot so I don't know if it supports 60watt GPU.
 
How about a Core 2 Quad Q9650 3.0GHz? Does it make any big difference?
It depends on if you have more processes or a lack of processing power that peaks out your current processor--they are two different things.

Here's a comparison of your current processor, the q9650, and an e8600 which is slower than the modded e7500 that's been suggested:
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compar...5200-vs-Intel-Core2-Duo-E8600/1050vs1097vs957

As you can tell, the e8600 has the fastest single thread performance, which is what you will feel in gaming, and is almost 30% faster than what you currently have in your e5200:
http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/385/Intel_Core_2_Duo_E8600_vs_Intel_Pentium_Dual-Core_E5200.html

But this means nothing if you have 4 processes being thrown at the cpu as this only has 2 cores like your current cpu. In that case, the q9650 will destroy either of these since it can work on all 4 processes at the same time, even if slower.
 
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It depends on if you have more processes or a lack of processing power that peaks out your current processor--they are two different things.

Here's a comparison of your current processor, the q9650, and an e8600 which is slower than the modded e7500 that's been suggested:
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compar...5200-vs-Intel-Core2-Duo-E8600/1050vs1097vs957

As you can tell, the e8600 has the fastest single thread performance, which is what you will feel in gaming, and is almost 30% faster than what you currently have in your e5200:
http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/385/Intel_Core_2_Duo_E8600_vs_Intel_Pentium_Dual-Core_E5200.html

But this means nothing if you have 4 processes being thrown at the cpu as this only has 2 cores like your current cpu. In that case, the q9650 will destroy either of these since it can work on all 4 processes at the same time, even if slower.
How about the GPU upgrade, I can't find any wattage label on the PCIe slot, the labels are only SLOT1 and SLOT2.
 
The E7500 is about $6 to try it. So it's very cost effective. But the Q9650 is a good mod also, but $40 into an old machine that could be put into a better GPU that can be moved forward later. The E7500 @ 3.66 with an SSD will be a very responsive computer in most situations. The E7500/3.66 with a GTX1050 will smash the Q9650 - GTX750 in gaming also. @ 1080P it won't even be close.
No Wattage label means no restriction.
 
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Actually I want a Quadcore CPU because right now I always reach the peak of my Pentium E5200 2.5GHz just by playing Dota 2, and no background running apps.
Until you get more RAM you can't tell anything about your computer. There's not enough, and it's single channel. 4x2GB is where you need to be. Your system is probably going to the HDD alll the time right now.
 
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Until you get more RAM you can't tell anything about your computer. There's not enough, and it's single channel. 4x2GB is where you need to be. Your system is probably going to the HDD alll the time right now.
I'll try 8GB RAM and a 250GB SSD first then check the improvements, I'll decide later whether I choose a higher clocked dual core over a quad core. Also, I'm not into overclocking.

So GTX 750 Ti is safe for my motherboard because there are no labels of wattage on the PCIe slot.
 

testsubject2575

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You will probably need an upgraded CPU heatsink either way. JP911
https://www.amazon.com/Dell-Optiplex-Factor-Heatsink-JP911/dp/B005GFMI1S
It has a copper heatspreader and a couple heatpipes inside.
I didn't shop fpr price. Just found an image for you. They can be had for less.
By the way, does the Q9650, 8GB RAM, an SSD, and a GTX 750 Ti consume almost 100% of the PSU's wattage? I'm kinda afraid of having a PC that starts to smell like it's cooking barbecues when I've installed every upgrade I could possibly have.
 
Instead of tape modding an e7500, why not just run an e8600? They're cheap and the fsb is a bit quicker too.
The tapemod changes the E7500 fsb from 266 to 333, the same as the e8600. But the multiplier stays at 11x333 for 3.66Ghz.
This used to be done on the Q6600 2.4GHz to get a 3GHZ CPU, but the Q9650 is 10% better so it's not used much any more.
https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/tape-mod-bsel-mod-intel-q6600.1798850/
The 2nd photo is the tapemod form 266fsb to 333fsb.