Upgrading AMD CPU in Dell Optiplex 740 Enhanced

[ken h]

I have a Dell Optiplex 740 Small Form Factor, Enhanced, which currently has AMD Athlon 64 x2 Dual Core 4450B 2.3ghz with 2GB RAM, motherboard Dell YP693.

As I understand it, and according to the info on Dell's web site, the 'Enhanced' version can be upgraded to first generation Phenom x4 Quad Core CPU's. I'd like to do this for non-gaming use. I also plan on upgrading the RAM to 4GB and even possibly adding a midrange graphics card at some point, although that may be limited by the small form factor size of the Optiplex 740. Dell lists three possible options, the one I'm considering is the Radeon HD4650.

I need advice on:

- What about the power requirements of the new cpu compared to the existing one? It does not appear there are any Phenom's with the TDP of 45 watts that the Athlon 4450B has; they all seem to be between 65 and 125.

- How fast of a new cpu can I use without upgrading the fan/cooler? Or what would be a decent cooling unit for the fastest Phenom I can run? Or are there other inexpensive ways to make a Phenom work reliably in this unit?

- Is the Dell recommended graphics card the best option, or are there others that would be a better value?

- Any other comments or suggestions?

 

[cat1092]

Well, I'm back.

After two years I finally did the deal and upgraded. The CPU is now a Phenom X4 9750 2.4gHz 95w. The graphics card is a XFX Radeon R7 240A CLF2 low profile. And I also added 2GB more ram for a total of 4GB.

Once I decided what I wanted to do and got the parts, it went exactly as planned. Everything booted right up with no problems. I picked the parts I did for value, trying to get as much bang for the buck as possible. There are faster graphics cards that have low power and a 9850 at 95w but both were much more expensive than what I got.

Among the lessons learned is that with a 275w power supply the upgrade options are very limited but for now it looks like this particular Dell Optiplex 740 SFF will run fine with a quad core 95w CPU and a graphics card with a GPU load of 122w (according to Tom's Hardware review). Operational temps are all within the recommended limits; CPU running between 19C & 23C, GPU between 38C & 48C (streaming HD video).

If you're going to upgrade one of these, be sure to get a single slot size graphics card for the entire length of it (no room for anything else) and for the Phenom X4 CPU get a 95w version (there is a 9850 with 95w and 9750, 9850 and 9950 with 125w versions).

Like I originally said, I'm not a gamer so for my use this is a solid upgrade in all respects. And it didn't break the bank either.

Sounds like a good game plan for me to go with, everywhere I looked, was told that the AM2 MB would restrict performance, in my case, all I need is the CPU.

Thanks for sharing your experience with us, the ones of us whom has the DT edition of the Optiplex 740 are kind of limited as to what we can do. Plus there's no way to install a Samsung SSD properly because of the lack of nVidia SATA drivers, yes it's SATA-2, but more of an enhanced IDE, as one can load one of the green Dell OEM XP Pro SP2 reinstall CD's & have a legit system.

This isn't supposed to happen with true SATA ports, unless either SATA drivers are slipstreamed, or the BIOS is set to legacy or 'compatibility' mode. It can be set to RAID, yet the latest BIOS (2.2.7) isn't like that of the Optiplex 780, where one can choose SATA/AHCI.

Still, with a decent HDD, one may get a lot of bang for the buck with the CPU upgrade, I already have the GPU.

Cat

 

[ken h]

Latest experiment.

Took a $14 risk on 8GB (2x4GB PC2-6400) of RAM that is supposed to be only for AMD CPU based units.

Unfortunately it didn't go as planned. I already had 4x1GB=4GB total running fine. The new RAM would only run with one stick for a total of 4GB. When both 4GB sticks were in, it would not boot and the blue screen of death appeared with cryptic messages.....

After a little research it appears this unit is only designed to run a maximum of 2GB per DIMM slot, but that doesn't explain why a single 4GB stick works fine.

In any event, I'll now look for 4x2GB, and we'll see if that works.

And, I'm about to pull the trigger on a Phenom II X4. That ought to be interesting!

 

[cat1092]

Did you try placing one of the 4GB sticks in the other channel?

It may be that it's also a max of 4GB per channel, that could be why the 4GB stick worked in Slot #1. Try plugging another in Slot #3, which should be a different color, or at least on most MB's are.

Still I don't blame you, even if the other 4GB stick were to work, you'd lose the benefit of dual channel, or 'ganged' memory (am just getting familiar with AMD terms). Though the Optiplex 740 Enhanced doesn't use an AMD MB, so the regular rules of dual channel applies. Mine is capable of only 8GB max, 2GB x4 DDR2 PC2-6400. It's best to purchase all 4 sticks as a complete set, GSkill has some good deals on RAM, just remember that DDR2 memory is much more expensive than DDR3/DDR4.

Here's what I purchased, two sets, at half the price of what one would pay at Newegg & performs well.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00C5378J6?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=od_aui_detailpages00

Don't be surprised when you open the package, they look small, it's just these are low profile memory sticks, and can purchase two sets for less than one premium brand set on Newegg or Amazon. These comes with a Lifetime warranty & A-Tech has been around for awhile. They also perform as well as any other PC2-6400 RAM sticks that I've owned, ran the overnight memtest option on them with bootable CD version, not the short Windows default. Not a single error.

The reason why the low price, A-Tech purchases these in massive bulks, and can therefore pass the savings onto it's customers.

Luckily, you're not a notebook owner with only two slots that holds 8GB of DDR2 RAM, pricing is around the $250 mark & climbing, am holding onto my 4GB set and when the peak is there, list it & regain every cent I paid & then some.:lol:

Good Luck!

Cat

 

[ken h]

Did you try placing one of the 4GB sticks in the other channel?

It may be that it's also a max of 4GB per channel, that could be why the 4GB stick worked in Slot #1. Try plugging another in Slot #3, which should be a different color, or at least on most MB's are.

Still I don't blame you, even if the other 4GB stick were to work, you'd lose the benefit of dual channel, or 'ganged' memory (am just getting familiar with AMD terms). Though the Optiplex 740 Enhanced doesn't use an AMD MB, so the regular rules of dual channel applies. Mine is capable of only 8GB max, 2GB x4 DDR2 PC2-6400. It's best to purchase all 4 sticks as a complete set, GSkill has some good deals on RAM, just remember that DDR2 memory is much more expensive than DDR3/DDR4.

Here's what I purchased, two sets, at half the price of what one would pay at Newegg & performs well.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00C5378J6?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=od_aui_detailpages00

Don't be surprised when you open the package, they look small, it's just these are low profile memory sticks, and can purchase two sets for less than one premium brand set on Newegg or Amazon. These comes with a Lifetime warranty & A-Tech has been around for awhile. They also perform as well as any other PC2-6400 RAM sticks that I've owned, ran the overnight memtest option on them with bootable CD version, not the short Windows default. Not a single error.

The reason why the low price, A-Tech purchases these in massive bulks, and can therefore pass the savings onto it's customers.

Luckily, you're not a notebook owner with only two slots that holds 8GB of DDR2 RAM, pricing is around the $250 mark & climbing, am holding onto my 4GB set and when the peak is there, list it & regain every cent I paid & then some.:lol:

Good Luck!

Cat

You know, I was thinking about this after I posted, and did try the 2nd stick in slot 3, and it did work! So, 8GB in single channel mode is still much faster than 4GB in dual channel mode, and your suggestion of 4x2GB would be the best of all?

I've read various opinions on which is better, single channel mode or dual channel mode, and can't tell which is preferred.

 

[cat1092]

Dual channel is always preferred, even if the end result is the same type & amount of RAM. For an older PC, would be more critical to take advantage of every performance option available. As posted above, two kits of these are needed, for less than one kit of the 'premium' brands & I have this in my Optiplex 740. To determine the performance gain, if running Windows Vista or above, after the PC has been booted, run the WEI with the two 4GB sticks in (single channel mode), and again with four sticks of 2GB in dual channel mode. Even with that one stick saturating the channel, it's not dual channel, it would take DIMM's to be populated to gain that benefit.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00C5378J6?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=od_aui_detailpages00

However, if you're satisfied with the way things are (no BSOD's) & can't return the RAM for a full refund, minus a possible 10-15% restocking fee (seems that 16GB of brand name RAM would be very costly), it may be best to stick with what you have, though the link I provided allows you a huge discount for what you actually need. If you keep the set, the next time you're looking for an older PC, find one that'll accept 16GB DDR2, otherwise it's an wasted investment. Some of the PC's with Intel Q43/45 chipsets that has DDR2 RAM will often have 4 slots, and can take full advantage of it. Though the same with 16GB of DDR3 RAM will be much faster.

You should also run the Memtest86 bootable CD for 12 hours minimum (24 hours are even better), to ensure there's no errors. If there's errors or the test won't complete, get you money back before it's too late.

Though to this day, some brand new PC's with 4 DIMM's will only have one filled, have seen this cause crashes on one PC. So had an identical dual channel 8GB (DDR3 PC3-12800) set to replace the single 8GB stick installed for a relative, so more BSOD's! The OEM charged over $1,000 for the PC & too cheap to install a dual channel RAM set that was likely 100% profit, where a customer upgraded another PC (they don't return or send the originals in addition to the upgrade, one reason why I don't bother with OEM RAM upgrades). It's a 100% ripoff, and chances are, the same upgraded set could have been resold 25+ times in a day. That's also how they cover parts on warranty repairs, other customers has paid for these multiple times already.

I was going to install the other 8GB stick in the first slot of the 2nd channel, she told me to keep it, and asked me to help her order the same set of RAM for the 2nd channel to avert possible problems, a few days later arrived, the PC has 16GB RAM is dual channel mode. Unfortunately, for the same price today, the PC could be stuffed with it's max of 32GB as mine.

Yet at 16GB, she's well satisfied, and chances are well meets her needs.

This is why it's good to run the Crucial system scanner before purchasing RAM, even if it's not purchased there, at least you know the max it'll accept.

http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/systemscanner

Good Luck!

Cat

 

[ken h]

Did you try placing one of the 4GB sticks in the other channel?

It may be that it's also a max of 4GB per channel, that could be why the 4GB stick worked in Slot #1. Try plugging another in Slot #3, which should be a different color, or at least on most MB's are.

Still I don't blame you, even if the other 4GB stick were to work, you'd lose the benefit of dual channel, or 'ganged' memory (am just getting familiar with AMD terms). Though the Optiplex 740 Enhanced doesn't use an AMD MB, so the regular rules of dual channel applies. Mine is capable of only 8GB max, 2GB x4 DDR2 PC2-6400. It's best to purchase all 4 sticks as a complete set, GSkill has some good deals on RAM, just remember that DDR2 memory is much more expensive than DDR3/DDR4.

I tried your advice and I got one of the 740's I have to boot and run with 4GB in slot 1 and 4GB in slot 3. Then it started having problems running; it just turned off. I tried a 2nd 740 I have and the RAM killed it, something on the motherboard because the CPU works in a 3rd 740 I have.

I sold the RAM for what I bought it for and will probably buy 4x2GB=8GB PC2-6400 DDR2-800 off ebay for about $15, to try next. And the Phenom II X4 is still planned.

Another experiment was buying a Dell OEM nVidia GeForce 9300 GE low profile graphics card, for $8, off ebay. It has a DMS59 connector (two DVI or VGA) and a 7-pin TV out connector. With the correct nVidia 7 or 9 pin dongle for TV out ($3), the card outputs HDTV formats 1080i & 720p on Component Video, and it works really well for one of my applications (an older HD monitor that only has Component Video and VGA input). For Windows Media Center, it worked with all the standard and premium HD cable channels I get with my CableCard from Comcast and Silicondust HD HomeRun Prime (for PlayReady PC Runtime). I also like it because it does not use a fan for cooling, just a heat sink with fins. And, it's certified by Dell so it's guaranteed to work flawlessly with 740's. If you have an HDTV and want to use a 740, I recommend this as a basic upgrade over the integrated graphics in the 740 series; it even looks great using PC apps!

 

[cat1092]

Will the Phenom II x4 run in the Optiplex 740 (Enhanced Edition only)? Don't know all of the details about the Enhanced, only that it has some type of 8MB chip, maybe the BIOS, since it's there regardless of OS installed.

I'd be a bit concerned about running anything above 95W on that board, and not just because of the MB possibly melting, the 280W PSU supplied has to be figured in, if much any type of GPU is installed that requires much power, the PSU will either go, shutdown to prevent damage, if not, and it does go, can take a lot with it. Your CPU/RAM, GPU & SSD (if installed), and of course MB could be fried because of lack of power. While I know that sounds weird, it happens more often than we realize, there's likely a Topic per day about these soft of issues, or a few per week.

On another custom AMD PC that I have, an AMD Athlon II x4 630 with 8GB RAM, is giving me both CPU & RAM WEI scores of 7.2, though I have DDR3 RAM. It also runs at 95W TDP, has a 2MB L2 cache, and am getting (hopefully) a new MB this week, has been ordered from Newegg, just waiting for shipment.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157582

While I know that this won't fit in a BTX type PC, this is the reason why I've gone away from them, and chances are very slim that my Optiplex 740 will see duty again. It's optical drives was removed for the screws, so that I could snip those push pins off of the cooler that shipped with my i7-4790K for my main PC, which is also a Dell, the XPS 8700. Seen the trick online, used alcohol to remove that useless pre-applied paste & applied my favorite, MX-4 instead, it only takes a half of a pea size drop to cover the surface. And no, I don't manually spread, instead, lower gently, have things aligned & give just a tiny wiggle, and then proceed to tighten the cooler in a criss-cross pattern, taking about 5 times on each to snug all down.

Also the CMOS battery was removed to replace a dying one on another PC, and appears to be the same size chassis as my Optiplex 780, loaded to the gills with a Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650 (12MB L2 cache) running at 3.0GHz, the best of the consumer editions, just before the 1st gen i7's were released. Actually there were some higher rated enthusiast CPU of the Q98xx series, probably some of the $1,000 CPU's. My Optiplex 780 also runs 16GB of DDR3 RAM, 4GB x4 sticks, the tricky part was in finding 'double sided' modules. I believe it was said for Crucial RAM, stay away from models that ends in 'J'.

Anyway, will check to see if there's any better looking parts (trim pieces, panels, etc) that looks & fits better, have already swapped the lid. Regardless, will keep the MB, maybe one day, someone who has more appreciation for nVidia chipsets than myself can do something with it. Had nVidia not abandoned the MB market, they could had provided true AHCI drivers, necessary for proper SSD function, and Dell's updated BIOS for it (A15) didn't give pure SATA only support. If so, then one couldn't take any old Dell reinstall XP Pro/Home/MCE (or W2K) reinstall CD, and install, it would stop at the point of proving drivers if this were the case. Even more surprising, all three OS's activated & validated! Keeping in mind that all were official Dell Reinstall CD's that I had accumulated over the years, just wanted to see what would happen.

To be honest, am not sure who provides support for the Optiplex 740, as there's limited drivers for install, I presume these were included in the package on CD, with reinstall media and/or a recovery partition. I know that it shipped with Vista Business, so downgrading to XP Pro was fully legit & many did, but the Home/MCE activations were surprising, to install W2K, all one needs to do is input the correct key, no validation needed. Actually, IMO, W2K was a better OS than XP, because users were limited to what could be installed, and to this day, many industrial machinery runs from the OS (offline).

So for the right person, the Optiplex 740 can be quite a useful computer, sadly there's few & expensive options to place the MB in a mid tower to add more power for even better graphics, and for as much CPU as the Enhanced BIOS allows. If one gets lucky on a given day, an empty mid tower will appear on eBay, and even at $50, will go fast. Unfortunately, there's no mass market demand for BTX mid towers, even though on eBay & other sites, these refurbished PC's are selling like hotcakes.

Good Luck with your project, and hang in there, sometimes what seems impossible can happen, have seen it many more times than I can count. 🙂

Cat

 

[ken h]

Will the Phenom II x4 run in the Optiplex 740 (Enhanced Edition only)?

Since earlier in this thread Danny got a Athlon II to work, which is an AM3 socket CPU, I think the Phenom II, also AM3 socket, will probably work. But until I try it who knows?

I'd be a bit concerned about running anything above 95W on that board, and not just because of the MB possibly melting, the 280W PSU supplied has to be figured in....

I agree and the Phenom II X4 I'll try will be a 95w; I'm specifically looking at the B99, B97 and 955. The B99 at 3.3Ghz is much more rare but the other two at 3.2Ghz are available now for just over $60.

Remember that at the end of the product cycle, Dell did ship Optiplex 740's with Phenom X4 95w CPU's, and I've been running the Phenom X4 9750 at 95W for over a year, so I'm not concerned about 95w.

Beyond that, no one knows until it's tried.

To be honest, am not sure who provides support for the Optiplex 740, as there's limited drivers for install, I presume these were included in the package on CD, with reinstall media and/or a recovery partition. I know that it shipped with Vista Business, so downgrading to XP Pro was fully legit & many did, but the Home/MCE activations were surprising, to install W2K, all one needs to do is input the correct key, no validation needed. Actually, IMO, W2K was a better OS than XP, because users were limited to what could be installed, and to this day, many industrial machinery runs from the OS (offline).

I'm running 7 on all the 740's I have and it works like a charm. For me the kicker is it includes Windows Media Center, which I use in a number of locations.

So for the right person, the Optiplex 740 can be quite a useful computer....

Yes indeed.

Good Luck with your project, and hang in there, sometimes what seems impossible can happen, have seen it many more times than I can count. 🙂

Cat

Thanks.

 

[cat1092]

Since I'm going to soon have a spare Athlon II x4 630 (2.8GHz) soon that runs at 95W, will likely pull it out & use it as a Linux box & probably add Windows 7 Home Premium.

My main AMD PC is a custom build that was given to me, have already upgraded the MB, sadly it's mATX & won't fit in the Optiplex 740, but when I get the FX-6300 CPU for it, that Athlon II x4 630 should be a drop in replacement. It's an AM3 CPU, so will be bottlenecked a bit, yet that won't affect the frequency & quad core mode. Though will have to use the cooler that's in this one & not the Dell supplied one, as it's only an aluminum block w/out a downward blowing fan.

I just hope that no 3rd party adapters will be needed for the cooler, would use the stock one, but Dell doesn't recommend it above 65W, except for the models that shipped with higher performance (95W) CPU's. May be better off purchasing the upgraded Dell cooler from eBay, if I can get the P/N. So it just may well get a last shot at life, with 6GB RAM installed, Linux Mint should perform decently with 64 bit Athlon II x4 630, so will Windows 7 Home Premium. Funny thing that you mentioned Windows Media Center, I loved that app until around the release of Windows 8, Microsoft scrapped the Free Streaming Internet TV from the suite, which I watched TV daily on. I suppose with Netflix/Hulu & other such offerings gaining in popularity, Microsoft seen it as a way to get customers pay for these offerings on Windows 8, in the Store.

The last OS on it was Windows 7 Ultimate (full version), that license was transferred to the Optiplex 780, it performed decently, but with a Athlon x2 4850e CPU (45W), resources were under strain. That won't be the case with the quad core 630, can also install 7 Home Premium. Actually, the PC has a digital entitlement to Windows 10 Pro, but since the qualifying license was moved to another PC, that entitlement may be down the drain. Still, it won't be any harm in trying, the worst I can get is a black screen. 🙂

Cat

 

[cat1092]

Will the Athlon II x4 630 (I believe 95W?) run in this PC? I've removed the AMD 7570 GPU to another PC & will stick an ATI 3/4xxx series back in, have a couple on hand.

If needed, can run with the onboard graphics, it's only going to be a Linux box.

Anyone tried this CPU? And does the fan/cooler for that CPU work in the PC, a downward blowing one, not the aluminum block that's stock? I can always make adjustments if needed.

Thanks for any reponses!

Cat