Dell Optiplex 990 CPU Upgrade

I didn't know you could overclock an optiplex. I have a 790 which is similar, and I don't see any bios setting to select clock for anything (cpu, gpu, memory, etc). How will you do it?

I also looked at using an i7 instead of the original i5 2400, but the gain wasn't enough to justify the money and effort on it.

You might want to consider buying a more powerful computer if the 990 won't fit your needs.

An Optiplex can't be overclocked.  It was primarily made for business, so it does have some power for gaming, but it's not an all out gaming machine.

If using a separate GPU card, what GPU do you have?

The performance increase would be a mere 28% according to game-debate.

The same if you went with the I7 2600 non-K version, which is compatible.  The I7 2600k isn't compatible.

It's not stated what chassis size you have which lets us know what MB you have.  I'm going on the premise that there's a better than not chance that it's not a USFF.

Two ways to more significantly increase speed:  Have the OS on an SSD.  Increase RAM - as long as it's not already maxed.

Optiplex 990 Tech Guide 

@bradthetechnut 

Just a few questions.

The i7-2600 has a 99% upgrade success rate!!!

The i7-2600K has a 97% upgrade success rate!!!

http://www.cpu-upgrade.com/CPUs/Intel/Core_i5/i5-2400.html

The "TDP" and "Stepping" are the same???

"The I7 2600k isn't compatible." Is that from first hand experience or just research???

Since Intel " K " CPU's are unlocked would it be possible to adjust the base clock???

I have 13 of the Dell 990's but no i7-2600K to test with, so I cannot say yes or no???

Regards,

U2

" K " CPU's use over 95W whereas the "T" cpus use 45W.

All 790 990 units have LESS THAN 300W power supply.

95W cpu needs optional 365W power supply minimum. 

EVGA 700BR is bare minimum recommended upgrade.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/evga-700w-atx12v-eps12v-80-plus-bronze-power-supply-dc-dc-technology-black/6346160.p?skuId=6346160

I thought that the 990 came with an i5-2400

The TDP is 95W.

https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/52207/intel-core-i5-2400-processor-6m-cache-up-to-3-40-ghz.html

Just like the i7-2600 and the i7-2600K???

That's why I thought the i7-2600K should work if the i7-2600 will???

Just asking.

Regards,

U2

That's a good question since there's few differences between the two.  The non-K version looks like it's a little better than the K version.  Exception being the non-K has Intel HD Graphics 2000 and the K has 3000.

https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/compare.html?productIds=52213,52214  Differences are highlighted in blue.

28% is not a mere improvement... It is more than the average generational improvement in graphics cards and CPUs. So that's a pretty large improvement

I went from an E8400 to a Q9650 in my 755 MT a ways back.  64% improvement in performance according to game-debate.  Something I've mentioned before, if my PC really was 64% faster, I really didn't notice much difference.  When I put Win10 on an SSD and maxed the RAM, that's when I really noticed a difference in speed.

It was still good to go from a duo to a quad, but something I didn't analyze at the time:  If 100% = 2x faster (or twice the improvement in performance), then 64% is only 1.64x faster.  28% only yields 1.28x faster.

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@greywolf79 wrote:

28% is not a mere improvement... It is more than the average generational improvement in graphics cards and CPUs. So that's a pretty large improvement

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Not really, as the CPU is the only thing that gets faster, while upgrading to a new platform generation will give you faster memory, higher performance chipsets, increased system bandwidth, upgraded integrated graphics, etc., all in addition to the faster CPU, leading to a much higher overall performance increase.

I have found, that unless you are significantly upgrading BOTH the clock speed and the number of cores (2 core to 4, 4 cores to 6/8) then the time, money and effort in upgrading processors is simply not worth it.

In this case, both processors are quad-core and the i5 has a base processor speed of 3.1 GHz, while the i7 increases this slightly to 3.4 GHz - unless the i7 is for free, why bother?

I didn't bother with an i7 because its not that much faster than an i5.

For some folks, it's just a hobby and a numbers game. If you can overclock by 1 hz, it's still a gain and worth any effort, even if it's cooking the processor. If you can get 1 Frame per second more out of a gpu, it's an improvement.

If your car runs the 1/4 mile even .0001 second faster ... it is faster. Money is no object. It's faster.

It doesn't matter that it is less than a millisecond faster, and you have absolutely nothing to do once you cross the finish line ... It's still faster, and that's all that matters

Adding A GT1030 GPU or better is not a waste because you can move that card to any newer system.

For mini tower you can use EVGA 700BR

https://www.evga.com/products/product.aspx?pn=100-BR-0700-K1

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/evga-700w-atx12v-eps12v-80-plus-bronze-power-supply-dc-dc-technology-black/6346160.p?skuId=6346160

Keep in mind that B2 G2 BQ N1 W1 versions from the same vendor DO NOT WORK.

https://www.dell.com/en-us/work/shop/msi-gt-1030-2g-lp-oc-graphic-card-2-gb-gddr5-pcie-30-x16-low-profile-hdmi-displayport/apd/aa362018/graphic-video-cards

The GT 1030 fits in all models EXCEPT USFF that have slots.

Not working in USFF because there are no slots.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2y32mBdZHJY

Newer Turing Based RTX and GTX 16XX cards do not work in NON UEFI Models.

Newer RX series ATI cards have the same issue.

Older dells can use Pascal based cards like the GT1030 without issue.

Systems as old as the XPS 400 from 2006 or Optiplex GX620 work fine but you must have room for the card and power supply upgrade.   The GT1030 works without upgrading the power supply.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qa9b0TkTsLM

which is newer 990  or 9020

9020

Those model years weren't the only years certain models were made.  I believe it's the year they were introduced.  For example, my 7010 is from 2014.