Upgrading a Optiplex 380 MT

[blokewhoknowsnothingabouttech]

Hi, I have a bit of a collection of PCs and I am very pleased with them. However, I have a optiplex 380 MT just sitting around and I am not really sure what to do with it. So now I've decided that once I have enough money, I'm going to tart it up a bit -

I'd like to change the rather underpowered CPU that is currently installed (a pentium e5200) for a used quad core Xenon, I intend to do this using a socket 775 to 771 conversion mod

I'd also like to add a bit more ram. If I remember correctly, 4GB is the maximum amount that is supported. This is less than the 8GB I would like to have, but 4GB is certainly an upgrade over the 1GB I have currently!

Next is a GPU, ideally I'd like something such as a used Radeon 5770, however if I cannot find any on eBay or they are unreasonably priced, I would be open to whatever the Nvidia equivalent would be instead.

Finally, all these mods mean I will need a new PSU as the stock dell unit is rather feeble. I don't want something too overkill, just something that will run everything reliably with a little headroom. I am open to suggestions.


Are these upgrades possible?

 

[junii421]

https://www.amazon.com/KENTEK-120mm-Black-Power-Supply/dp/B005GHMRUI

 

[blokewhoknowsnothingabouttech]

https://www.amazon.com/KENTEK-120mm-Black-Power-Supply/dp/B005GHMRUI

Ooh, sorry forgot to tell you I'm in the UK

 

[william p]

http://www.userbenchmark.com/System/Dell-OptiPlex-380/1942
The dell 305W PSU is actually pretty stout if that's the one you have. But if you need a PCIe cable then you need something else. Dell 375W from the T3400 gets you 1- 6 pin PCIe cable, or aftermarket units will work if you match the output on the 5V. rail. Dell uses that more than others.
Zotac GTX 1050Ti Mini fits the BTX Mini Towers nicely (1050 also).

 

[william p]

BTW 8GB DDR3 1333 runs just fine in mine.

 

[blokewhoknowsnothingabouttech]

BTW 8GB DDR3 1333 runs just fine in mine.

Oooh, that sounds good. I only thought that the 380 could take 4GB of ram max because that's what it said in the technical manual but iif it can take more, I'll put 8GB in! Thanks for the info!

Side note - For the GPU, I think I'll go for a GT 1030. The 1050Ti is very nice (it's what I use in my main PC) but a bit overkill for what I'd like to use that rig for & I think the 1030 would give me enough beef (it has similar performance to the 750/750Ti as far as I know) and not drink anywhere near as much power as a 5770

 

[william p]

I just ran Cinebench with my 380 Q9505S/1050Ti and a 5770 scored about the same with the same CPU. Dell only lists RAM configurations they tested, and sold. if bigger modules come along later they don't go back and certify them. I have BIOS A5. later ones have digital signing which makes it hard to add Xeon microcode later. These have run X5460 Xeons which are 120W CPUs. Big news for an Optiplex. Crucuial.com lists DDR3 8GB kits for the 380 and guarantees them.