Help With Dell Optiplex 745

Minitower Optiplex 745:

Supported microprocessor types: Intel® Pentium® 4, Pentium® D, Celeron®, or Core™ processor

DDR2 RAM should be installed in matched pairs so you'd need to install 2 of them. But there's no point installing 4 GB of RAM with a 32-bit version of Windows which can only use ~3.0 - 3.5 GB of RAM. Note, this system supports 2 GB RAM modules but only those running at 533, 667 MHz. It doesn't support 2 GB modules running at 800 MHz, but apparently will support smallar modules running at 800 MHz.

thanks, RoHe, but, especifically, can you give me a example of those intel Core Processors? i havent heard of them, i have only heard of core 2 duo, i3, i5 or i7 but i never have seen one of those

pcuser1234

The following discussion about upgrading the Optiplex 745 processor, may help,

http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/desktop/f/3514/p/19428877/20019735.aspx#20019735

Remember to upgrade the BIOS to the latest version, prior to installing the processor.

Bev.

From Intel: "The Core brand of Intel's 32-bit single- and dual-core microprocessor is based on P6 microarchitecture. Intel Core branched off as Duo (dual-core) and Solo (Duo with one disabled core)."

Your current processor came in versions that fit into either a  "socket  478" or "socket 775".  So your first step has be to figure out exactly what you have because that''ll be the first limitation on what other CPUs might work in this system. Here's a comparison of CPU sockets.  Note: even if a new CPU fits into the socket on your motherboard, that doesn't necessarily mean this PC model will support that new CPU. 

You'll also need to update to the latest version of BIOS on this system, in case Dell added new processor support after the manual was published, but still within the socket limitations. Note that there's always a (small) chance that a BIOS flash update will brick the motherboard so be sure to disconnect all peripherals, except mouse, monitor and keyboard, follow the BIOS update directions carefully, and never do it when there's a chance of thunderstoms or power outages in your area. You can find the latest version of BIOS by clicking Support at top of any forum page and following the links from there.

You might also want to search these forums to see if anyone posted about specific recommended processor upgrades for this system, since I can't give you specifics on which one(s) will/won't work. 

And perhaps somebody with more knowledge than I have may post specific upgrade choices here for you.

And you'll have to decide whether the cost of these upgrades is worth it vs spending some extra to get a system with the latest hardware and Win7.

BEV TYPES FASTER THAN I DO!!!

Thanks, Bev.

Ron,

Not really, just did not typed as many words.  LOL  

Bev.

thank you guys, i will go for a Core 2 Duo E6700 in ebay.com, a pair of 2gb ddr2 667 of ram memory(4GB RAM) and a pci express x16 geforce gt 430. i will have to change the operating system to windows 7 64 bits ( Or Windows 8) due to the 4gb ram memory chsnge

Please keep in mind that Dell doesn't offer any Win 7 drivers for the Optiplex 745.

Vista 64-bit drivers are offered for this model and some may or may not work with  Win 7 64-bit. So do some more homework on these forums to see if anybody has posted about upgrading the 745 to Win 7 64-bit and what issues they may have had before you embark on this adventure.

And be sure to install the drivers in the correct order, after manually loading Win 7 on the hard drive.

ok, thanks for the advice, i wanna run windows 7 because vista is very slow and bad, i have seen threads where the vista drivers for x32 bit work for windows 7. i am not so sure about windows 7 x64

as for the 64 bit windows 7 i found this :answers.yahoo.com/.../index the processor supports 64bit windows and i found people using x64 vista drivers and the windows experience was smooth and they didnt have amy problems

Not debating if the processor supports 64-bit Windows or not.

Hopefully the 64-bit Vista drivers will work with 64-bit Win 7 for whatever audio and video cards you have.

Sorry, not able to answer that question with any real authority.  Bev. likely knows that answer...

pcuser1234

The 305W power supply should work, but it will be borderline.

Bev.

yeah, i found that too, but other thing that worries me is that the geforce gt430 needs a minimum of 300w power supply, i have 305w if i put all three core2 duo, gt430 and the 4gb of ram i wont need to replace the power supply for a new one? or it would support all of the components, i made a estimation with a power supply calculator and it said i needed 284w for all three of them. I am not so sure if that is the real thing or not