guaranteed known-working upgrades list?

Question

Hi everyone!

I'm working on an OptiPlex GX620 for some friends and have LOTS of q's...

It's rather slow and they want it faster. I've been reading some of the posts here (is there a search somewhere to narrow down the results to this model?) and was wondering if you kind folks could give me a list of the known-compatible / working upgrades for:

1. Fastest CPU (read Pentium D 960 w/ A11 BIOS and copper heat pipe heatsink is max for tower- but I would prefer not changing cooling system to the copper pipes I've read about so what's the max with the stock heatsink/fan? Pentium D 945 SL9QQ?) (oh, please keep in mind it's a Win 10 Home 32-bit system with PC2-6400 RAM, of which I'm sure is running @ 5300 speed)

On a side note, I read SpeedStep refer to SL9QQ is max for a 5150. What the heck is a 5150?!?

2. RAM (I've read "4GB" {only 3.5GB max will be usable even with 64-bit OS} is the generally accepted answer here:

4 sticks of 1GB or 2 sticks of 2GB " (A11 BIOS required for 2GB sticks). Detailed info:

PC2-4200 (533MHz) or DDR2 PC2-5300 (aka DDR2-667), CL=5, Unbuffered, Non-ECC, (aka non-registered), 1.8v, 128Meg x 64

3. How can I upgrade the power supply? Are there higher wattage power supplies for this case that will help alleviate all of the extra load from the new upgrades? From what I've read, it's a custom Dell case that not much is available for?

4. Add-in PCI-E Video Card: Radeon 6670 would be a good one? Will it work on a Win 10 Home OS? Would Windows / Windows Updates automatically take care of the driver?

I'm not sure of the BIOS version on their comp at the moment (didn't make note of that). I *do* know:

-OptiPlex GX620 (Mini Tower case using on-board video I believe...)

-32-bit MS 10 Home (free upgrade from 7 via MS) (since the previous owner updated it to 10 Home, I assume the audio driver SpeedStep mentioned has already been taken care of since the audio works?)

-2GB RAM (PC2-6400) (since it's PC2-6400 I have to assume, from the info I've gleamed here, that it's already an A11 BIOS?)

-stamped on MB:

Dell

Foxconn LS-36

CN-0HH807-13740-66L-0ASC (see referred to as "0HH807 or "Foxconn LS-36" on the 'net)

(I've read it's a LGA775 motherboard but haven't physically confirmed yet)

Also, I haven't found the 620 FAQ I keep reading about yet. Could someone give me a link?

On a sidenote: When the time comes to do a system restore, does MS still allow the free upgrade again to a computer that was "registered" with it before? I figure 10 is gone once we take it back to factory (unless we buy a 10 upgrade disc)...

THANKS! :emotion-2:

Note to myself: I keep reading that for some upgrades you must take note of all settings in the BIOS before upgrading, 'cause you likely will have to do a reset for the BIOS settings (even RAM)...

ejn63 · Answer

Once Windows 10 is installed, the system's digital entitlement will allow a reinstall on anything short of a mainboard replacement.

The answer to the rest is that for just a couple of hundred dollars, you can find used/refurbished systems out there with much faster processors - more RAM/faster RAM, better video, etc. -- all for less than you'll drop for just a couple of upgrades on this one.

The CPU in that 620 is out of date and outclassed - you're better off replacing with a newer system than spending money on this one.

If you have to hold on to this one, the single best upgrade: replace the hard drive with a solid state drive. Anything else isn't worth the cost.

speedstep · Answer

5150 is DIMENSION 5150. You cant change the proprietary cooling system this is not supported.CNDell Optiplex GX620 Motherboard

Dell Compatible Part#: HH807 0HH807 F8098 0F8098 X9682 0X9682 HJ780

Socket: LGA775

Supported Memory: DDR2 Maximum Memory: Dual Channel DIMM Support for up to 3.5 GB of memory

regardless of OS or CPU or 64 bit.

The FAQ is in the same place is was a decade ago.

http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/desktop/f/3514/t/18593269

A11 Bios shows up in F2 has nothing to do with PC2 6400 Ram.

PC2 4200 is TOO SLOW for any Pentium D series which is required for windows 10.

Most of the things you have said are off or just plain wrong.

64 bit windows 10 requires Pentium D 900 series.

32 bit windows 10 works with Pentium D 800 series.

Max Ram is 3.50 gigs REGARDLESS of EMT64 or 64 bit OS.

Free Upgrade to 10 is gone forever.

Everything in the GX620 is native to windows 7,8,10 EXCEPT the onboard AD198x audio chip.

Analog Devices ADI 198x Integrated Audio

Version:    A255.12.01.7010
Importance:    Recommended
Download Type:    Driver
File Format:    Hard-Drive
File Size:    3MB

R145551.EXE         32 BIT

R145149.EXE 64 BIT

Compatibility

Systems

OptiPlex GX280

OptiPlex GX520

OptiPlex GX620

OptiPlex SX280

Precision 370

Precision 470

Precision 670

avidgamr · Answer

'Most of the things you have said are off or just plain wrong' Sheesh, a little hard on me there SpeedStep.... Yes, I know 3.5GB is max usable RAM for this board as I've read MANY of your posts w/ other people arguing about it. :emotion-4: I thought I read somewhere in this forum for PC2-6400 RAM to be used, the BIOS must be A11. Oh well, maybe not then... I don't really know what Pentium D series is in their system right now. What I can tell you about it is it says 'Intel Pentium D 2.80GHz.'. @ejn63:Yes, it's an old system but they still want to stick with it so I'm left trying to perform near miracles here and was hoping for advised known-working parts so as to avoid something that doesn't work 'cause it's not compatible with this system, that's all....

ejn63 · Answer

You won't gain any speed with PC2-6400 vs. PC2-5300; the CPU sets the memory speed.

If you want to speed up the system, replace the hard drive with a solid state drive -- nothing else makes sense from a price/performance standpoint, and you have the added advantage of being able to re-use the drive on a new system when the time for that arrives -- something you cannot do with a CPU or a memory upgrade.

rdunnill · Answer

An SSD, 4gb of memory and a modern video card are what I'd limit updates to. I have one of these, and those are the upgrades I made to it. OS is Windows 10 Professional 32-bit.

avidgamr · Answer

@SpeedStep,

Thanks for the FAQ! Lots of excellent info there!

I don't really understand this:

Q: Does Gigabyte nVidia Geforce 8600GT / GV-NX86T256H fits at DELL Optiplex MT?
A: Yes, without MOBO.

Are you saying it won't work? Without the motherboard? What?!?

So the Gigabyte nVidia GeForce 8600GT 256MB would work. That's exactly what I'm here for- a list of videos cards, etc. that are known working. Thanks!

So for the Windows 10 32-bit you say it would be the 800 series Pentium D's. So either one of these:

SL88R (A0)

SL8CM (B0)

So the Pentium Extreme Edition 840 (SL8FK) won't work then?

And the 960 mentioned in the FAQ won't work with Win 10 32-bit?

Oh, and could you fix the dead picture links on the FAQ please?

avidgamr · Answer

Thanks for the reply.

We have ordered 4 GB of matching RAM (PC2-6400, which is the same model as the 2GB that's installed in it- meaning we have 2 replacement spares if/when needed later).

As for the CPU, I didn't figure it'd be that noticable but thought *maybe*, if the replacement would be a dual core and the one installed was a single core...

A list of known working video cards and CPUs was exactly what I came here for. Never even thought of the SSD drive until I read you guys' recommendations! Could you tell me what video card you installed in yours?

I can't find much information on specs for upgrading unless I'm just plain overlooking it?...

avidgamr · Answer

On a side note, what are the differences between upgrading the Mini Tower or, say the SFF? I mean besides the size difference (standard height PCI-E card vs. half-height aka Low Profile)? What I mean is are they the same specs other than the size differences?

avidgamr · Answer

Oh, and thanks ejn63 for your reply! Yes, I know the 6400 will be automatically lowered to the 5300 speed- it's just what they had in their system that worked fine so I ordered the same model/size RAM thinking it would/should be 100% working and compatible when it comes? At least, that was my thoughts. LOL

speedstep · Answer

GV-NX86T256H only fits in mini tower. ASUS Silent 6450 LOW PROFILE Cards DELL A49964444 fit in all Models except USFF. The 6450 is recommended over a Geforce 8600 as its a newer faster Directx 11 card vs Directx 10 card.

No I can't fix the dead picture links. The dead pictures are due to thinks like the http://ftp.us.dell.com and other sites being Gone forever. newer pictures posted to the new forum are stored in the forum. PRESLER is Pentium D 900 series SMITHFIELD is pentium D 800 series.

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=bsd&cs=04&sku=A4996444

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121439

The spec is here

https://www.dell.com/downloads/global/products/optix/en/spec_optix_gx520-gx620_en.pdf

Many Newer Series REQUIRE Bios A11.

The ram limit is due to the 945G Chipset. INTEL Graphics Steals system ram and Does not put it back when you add a PCI-E video card.

A11 Bios? A11GX620.EXE

PROCESSOR:

Which is the fastest processor that GX620 (BIOS A11) support?
Intel Pentium D 960 3.6GHz. (SL9K7 - D0 - 95W) or (SL9AP - C1 - 130W)

Dell Heatsink and Shroud Assembly for Dimension E520, OptiPlex 745, and OptiPlex GX620 Systems, Dell J9761.

Optiplex 620 validated CPUs with 5 digit part number

DK050 Presler P4 Kit, 940, 3.2G, 2X2MB, 800FSB, C1
CJ163 Presler P4 Kit, 960, 3.6G, 2x2MB, 800FSB, B1
RT922 Presler P4 Kit, 945, 3.4, 2X2MB, 800FSB, C1
UJ776 Presler P4 Kit, 950, 3.4G, 2X2MB, 800FSB, C1
XJ848 Presler P4 Kit, 930, 3.0G, 2X2MB, 800FSB, C1
UY273 Presler P4 Kit, 915, 2.8G, 2X2MB, 800FSB, C1

DD517 Prescott P4 64bit Kit, 521, 2.8G, 800FSB, 1MB, Soc-T, E0
DD518 Prescott P4 64bit Kit, 531, 3.0G, 800FSB, 1MB, Soc-T, E0
DD519 Prescott P4 64bit Kit, 541, 3.2G, 800FSB, 1MB, Soc-T, E0
DD520 Prescott P4 64bit Kit, 571, 3.8G, 800FSB, 1MB, Soc-T, E0
FC071 Prescott P4 Kit, 670, 3.8G, 800FSB, 2MB, Soc-T,
FK192 Prescott P4 Kit, 630, 3.0G, 800FSB, 2MB, R0
GD037 Prescott P4 64bit Kit, 551, 3.4G, 800FSB, 1MB, Soc-T, E0
GK159 Prescott P4 Kit, 670, 3.8G, 800FSB, 2MB, R0
GR271 Prescott P4 Kit, 640, 3.2G, 800FSB, 2MB, R0
GR272 Prescott P4 Kit, 650, 3.4G, 800FSB, 2MB, R0
GR273 Prescott P4 Kit, 660, 3.6G, 800FSB, 2MB, R0
HH261 Prescott Celeron Kit, 351, 3.2G, 533FSB, 256K, Soc-T, G1
JD245 Prescott P4 64bit Kit, 561, 3.6G, 800FSB, 1MB, Soc-T, E0
FD873 Prescott Celeron Kit, 326, 2.53G, 533FSB, 256K, Socket-T
FD874 Prescott Celeron Kit, 331, 2.66G, 533FSB, 256K, Socket-T
FD875 Prescott Celeron Kit, 336, 2.80G, 533FSB, 256K, Soc-T
DH715 Prescott Celeron Kit, 336, 2.80G, 533FSB, 256K, Soc-T, G1
DH716 Prescott Celeron Kit, 341, 2.93G, 533FSB, 256K, Soc-T, G1
FD876 Prescott Celeron Kit, 341, 2.93G, 533FSB, 256K, Soc-T
FD877 Prescott Celeron Kit, 346, 3.06G, 533FSB, 256K, Soc-T
DH717 Prescott Celeron Kit, 346, 3.06G, 533FSB, 256K, Soc-T, G1
RG427 Prescott P4 64bit Kit, 521, 2.8G, 800FSB, 1MB, Soc-T, G1
RG431 Prescott Celeron Kit, 331, 2.66G, 533FSB, 256K, Soc-T, G1
RP355 Prescott Celeron Kit, 331, 2.66G, 533FSB, 256K, ALT, G1
RP356 Prescott Celeron Kit, 336, 2.8G, 533FSB, 256K, ALT, G1
RP357 Prescott Celeron Kit, 341, 2.93G, 533FSB, 256K, ALT, G1
RP358 Prescott Celeron Kit, 346, 3.06G, 533FSB, 256K, ALT, G1
RP359 Prescott Celeron Kit, 351, 3.2G, 533FSB, 256K, ALT, G1
UT710 Prescott P4 Kit, 521, 2.8G, 800FSB, 1MB, ALT, G1
UT713 Prescott P4 Kit, 531, 3.0G, 800FSB, 1MB, ALT, G1
UT714 Prescott P4 Kit, 541, 3.2G, 800FSB, 1MB, ALT, G1
UY274 Prescott P4 Kit, 524, 3.06G, 1MB, 533FSB, G1
W9854 Prescott P4 Kit, 630, 3.0G, 800FSB, 2MB, Socket-T, (RoHS)
W9855 Prescott P4 Kit, 640, 3.2G, 800FSB, 2MB, Socket-T, (RoHS)
W9856 Prescott P4 Kit, 650, 3.4G, 800FSB, 2MB, Socket-T, (RoHS)
W9857 Prescott P4 Kit, 660, 3.6G, 800FSB, 2MB, Socket-T, (RoHS)
YG105 Prescott Celeron Kit, 326, 2.53G, 533FSB, 256K, Soc-T, G1

FG941 Smithfield P4 Kit, 820, 2.8G, 800FSB, 2MB, Soc-T, B0
FG942 Smithfield P4 Kit, 830, 3.0G, 800FSB, 2MB, Socket-T, B0
FG943 Smithfield P4 Kit, 840, 3.2G, 800FSB, 2MB, Socket-T, B0
KC794 Smithfield P4 Kit, 820, 2.8G, 800FSB, 2MB, Soc-T,
KC795 Smithfield P4 Kit, 830, 3.0G, 800FSB, 2MB, Soc-T,
KC796 Smithfield P4 Kit, 840, 3.2G, 800FSB, 2MB, Socket-T,
UY272 Smithfield P4 Kit, 805, 2.66G, 2X1MB, 533FSB, B0

avidgamr · Answer

SpeedStep,

I'm not seeing any on ebay listed as "Dell" with that part number... Will a standard "AMD Radeon Asus HD 6450 Silent 1GB DDR3 Video Card PCI-E Low & High Profile" work? I didn't figure there were any serious differences to matter but I've come across differences before in this situation so I figured I'd better ask the pro!

avidgamr · Answer

Thank you everyone for the help! You have been exceptionally helpful! I will look up this info and give the owners an ebay item link (that's where they prefer to shop).

Thanks again!

To recap:

-4GB is physical max to install but OS will only see 3.5 (no matter 32 bit or 64 bit). PC2-6400 will work but is a gable as some 6400's don't work (my choice *should* work considering the original two sticks were the same model (according to Piriform's Speccy I think it was I used); also the 6400 will be downgraded to 5300 speed....

-Max CPU for Win 10 (or 7) 32 bit is KC796 Smithfield P4 Kit, 840, 3.2G, 800FSB, 2MB. Won't be much gain but honestly the CPU is like $8 used. LOL

I assume I can re-use the same CPU heatsink that exists in the system now considering it's already the 2.8 GHz Pentium D (dual core if I understand it correctly)...

-Need to find out how much disc space they are using and get a SSD HD. that's approx equal to that size (I've read that SLC is better than MLC when buying one but I saw no listing on ebay for an slc so mlc will have to suffice... I have researched and found out that this mobo is SATA II, so a SATA II or III HD will work (SATA I will be too slow).

-PCI-E Video card should help as well. I guess there is a setting to disable onboard? I've seen it both ways... ASUS Silent 6450 LOW PROFILE Cards DELL A49964444
is better than the GV-NX86T256H card but either will work considering she only does Facebook and that's pretty much it. :emotion-2:

Do I have all of this right now SpeedStep? I trust you will put me in my place if I don't? :emotion-4: LOL

Again, thank you VERY much guys/gals for the help! Saved me a lot of embarrassing trial-and-error (i.e. telling the owner's "this card didn't work, sorry-we'll buy another one and try it!" :emotion-10:)

speedstep · Answer

The ASUS EAH6450 is one slot wide and SILENT because it does not have a fan to fail.

Some of the ebay units appear to have the bracket missing.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=asus+eah6450

The version listed on DELL.COM and newegg is the same. The link I provided was to buy directly from Dell. I absolutely know that the ASUS EAH6450 works fine in All Dells all Sizes EXCEPT USFF and Micro because those models do not have slots.

https://www.asus.com/Graphics-Cards/EAH6450_SILENTDI1GD3LP/

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=bsd&cs=04&sku=A4996444

avidgamr · Answer

That Dell link should work fine! Her husband likes PayPal and will use that for checkout. Thanks!

avidgamr · Answer

BTW, I tried to choose everyone as the accepted answers as EVERYONE was helpful and answered my many questions but the system here would only let me choose *one*- so I chose none again. LOL

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guaranteed known-working upgrades list?

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