Unsolved
This post is more than 5 years old
1 Rookie
•
8 Posts
0
4850
August 8th, 2018 17:00
Dell optiplex gx520 GPU upgrade
Hi I own a dell optiplex gx520 and id like to upgrade the GPU for gaming (around 1GB) I know it’s not a gaming orianted game but I’d want to. I also want to know what cpu I can upgrade to?
No Events found!
speedstep
9 Legend
•
47K Posts
0
August 9th, 2018 05:00
You will want to update to a 620.
The 520 has 2 ram slots removed and has the X16 video slot removed.
This means you cant update the GPU.
Max CPU is Pentium D 915 with BIOS A11.
You will want a TOWER version.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/803416719
Once you have a Tower you can upgrade to Pentium D945 to D960.
You can also use a short version of GT 1030 or GTX 1050TI for the video.
RADEON R series cards DO NOT WORK in this model.
The most you can do depends on what Size you have.
The Tower has full size slots and 305W power supply.
The smaller units only have 250W power and low profile slots. All 520's have ZERO pci-e X16 slots.
Pentium D 915 chips are not expensive.
https://www.amazon.com/Intel-Pentium-SL9DA-dual-Presler/dp/B009YPSYJG
You will however need to UPDATE the BIOS to A11 BEFORE changing.
https://downloads.dell.com/bios/A11GX620.EXE
https://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/04/drivers/driversdetails?driverid=r142230
Once updated the System will also take 2 GIG DDR2 Dimms.
http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/optiplex-gx520/CT4429218
The reason I advise against all of this is because the GX620 I listed has 4 gigs of ram already and can be updated with an X16 PCI-E video card.
jayyhick65
3 Posts
0
March 3rd, 2022 11:00
Is the list of upgrades for the gx520?
speedstep
9 Legend
•
47K Posts
0
March 3rd, 2022 13:00
@Mallu86
@jayyhick65
GX520 is stripped down with no PCi-E slot and only 2 ram slots so as far as gaming goes there are ZERO options. Max ram on GX620 is 3.25 - 3.50 gigs ram.
Either way games will be too slow to be playable.
You need a newer model like a 7010 9010 or better tower. You can then add a Quadro K2200 which is not crazy expensive.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/403507174585
OptiPlex-7010-Towers
Quadro k2200
Total cost for the upgrade should be $200 or less.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJnFuIOZgtY
speedstep
9 Legend
•
47K Posts
0
March 3rd, 2022 13:00
@jayyhick65
The 620 and 520 use same bios and same motherboard but the pci-e Slot and ram slots are REMOVED from the 520.
jayyhick65
3 Posts
0
March 3rd, 2022 15:00
i heard that the tower version of the gx520 has 1 pci-e slot
speedstep
9 Legend
•
47K Posts
0
March 3rd, 2022 21:00
@jayyhick65
The Tower 520 has a single 10W X1 PCI-E slot not a 75W X16 video slot. Its MISSING 2 ram slots so 2 gigs is max ram which is not really a full 2 gigs because the onboard INTEL Graphics steals 512 megs of system ram and you never get that back.
520 models ALL of them are crippled and cannot be upgraded.
A newer model like the 755 tower doesnt have these limits.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/185323764225