FSB of Optiplex 380 MB

user1190.

Below are the FSB for different processor options that shipped with the 380.

Thanks for you reply Jesse, I'm not getting Notifications to my email for some reason.  I just posted a long Post here and somehow lost it, is this forum not working as it should?  I know it's a new format so would expect, maybe, some issues?

Short version: I don't know if it is worth putting a CPU with an FSB of 1333MHz on a MB that has a FSB of 1066MHz?  What are your thoughts?

I guess Dell don't post this kind of info on this particular Series, meaning the FSB of the MB?

The FSB of all suggested RAM is 1066MHz, so does this tell us the MB is also 1066MHz?

Isn't this a bit of a bottleneck, installing a CPU with an FSB of 1333MHz?

I should disclose this is a project pc.  I love these old Optiplex Towers, so did not want to see this one go to waste.  I cleaned it up real well and a fresh install of Windows 7 Pro.  I have a Q8300 to put in it but don't think it would run well as it has a FSB of 1333MHz.  And, there is only one other Upgrade in the 1066MHz sector, and that would not be worth doing unless I can find one for free.

Thanks so much and forgive my ignorance in this area, Max

Now I see that Crucial is reporting that 8GB of RAM will work on this pc, does anyone think this to be true?

Yes (2x4GB) is the max RAM

@elpro999dell, where do you see that?  And why is Dell so mysterious about the specs of their OEM MB's?

I've not had good luck with 1333MHz CPU's on a MB that only supports 1066MHz?  They just don't run as they should, and transfer info at the speeds they should.

I have a ASRock P43DE3 motherboard. It ran perfect with a Intel Core2 Duo E6600 (dual-core).

I had a Q6600 Quad for it and that works (you can swap E6600 for Q6600 on anything and it will work).

But I checked the MB-Specs and it said 1333fsb was fine too, so I thought I would be smart and ordered an Intel Core2 Quad Processor Q8400 (4M Cache, 2.66 GHz, 1333 MHz FSB) for it.

No matter what I tried, that thing would not work right. I had to return it and installed the planned Q6600 (quad-core) and it works fine to this day.

Moral or the story ... when upgrading motherboards ... stick with what you know works and don't press your luck. :Smile:

intel g41 is 1333mhz fsb capable according to intel

https://ark.intel.com/products/36528/Intel-82G41-Graphics-and-Memory-Controller-Hub

This machine can do 8GB but cannot be 1.5v RAM and must be 1066mhz speed as mentioned by @speedstep in this post.

https://www.dell.com/community/Desktops-General/Dell-Optiplex-380-max-RAM/td-p/4720466

If you buy crucial Ram using their configurator they GUARANTEE That it works. Several vendors make ram that works fine with 1.35v or 1.5v

It does support 8GB DDR3, BUT i has to be low density INTEL Compatible RAM. Main Reason they say 4 is because 32 bit os only supports 3.25 gigs ram.  Adding more is not addressed by the os.  Furthermore the INTEL GRAPHICS Steals from system ram so you never actually get to 8 you get 7.25 useable.  FSB Depends on the PROCESSOR.  Adding faster Ram Does NOT INCREASE THE FSB.

https://ark.intel.com/products/36528/Intel-82G41-Graphics-and-Memory-Controller-Hub

This means that if the ram is 1.5v only its not likely to work.

8 gig and 16 gig and 32 gig DIMMS DO NOT AND WILL NOT EVER WORK.  Aka max ram is 8 gigs total with 2 slots of 4 gigs each.

Max ram IS NOT 16 or 32 or 64 gigs.

If you pick random ram from crucial they DO NOT GUARANTEE that it works and they WILL NOT RMA it if it doesnt.

DDR3 PC3-12800 • CL=11 • Unbuffered • NON-ECC • DDR3-1600 • 1.35V • 512Meg x 64 •

http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/optiplex-380-desktop/CT2348265

4 GiG dimm's Do work. 2 Slots = 8 gigs MAX

 http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/optiplex-380-desktop/CT5288140

With latest bios and MINI TOWER all the cpus below should work.

http://www.dell.com/downloads/global/products/optix/en/optiplex-380-tech-guide.pdf

   
Intel® Core™2 Quad Processor Q9650         
Intel® Core™2 Quad Processor Q9550S     
Intel® Core™2 Quad Processor Q9550         
Intel® Core™2 Quad Processor Q9450     
Intel® Core™2 Quad Processor Q9400S     
Intel® Core™2 Quad Processor Q9400         
Intel® Core™2 Quad Processor Q9300         
Intel® Core™2 Quad Processor Q8400S         
Intel® Core™2 Quad Processor Q8400         
Intel® Core™2 Quad Processor Q8300          
Intel® Core™2 Quad Processor Q8200         
Intel® Core™2 Quad Processor Q6700     
Intel® Core™2 Quad Processor Q6600     
Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E8600         
Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E8500         
Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E8400         
Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E8300     
Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E8200     
Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E8190     
Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E7600         
Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E7500         
Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E7400         
Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E7300     
Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E7200     
Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E6850         
Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E6750         
Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E6700         
Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E6600         
Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E6550         
Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E6540         
Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E6420         

That was a wealth of information guys, I'll need to come back when I have time and study up.  At least I know I can install 8GB RAM.  I will look closer at the best cpu upgrade also, though I'm leaning on the E7600 just to be safe.

Last time I did something like this it did not work out.  The Q9400 did not run as well as an E5800 if I remember correctly.  The only difference was similar to what I'm looking at here.  The RAM was of the lower 1066, and the FSB of the Q9400 was 1333 or course.

I'm not a huge techie, but I'm learning.  It seems hard for me to grasp all of this technical stuff, but need to learn at least some of the basics so I'm not buying hardware that don't work well with what I have.  I need to understand is the relationship between all these components.  I looked at a diagram once and was even more confused, but will go back and look again. 

MB-FSB, PSU, CPU, RAM and GRAPHICS?

It seems to me - without knowing any better - that the FSB should be the most important, and if is at 1333MHz then the rest of the components should match that, or most of the time match that, with some exceptions?

I'll repost when I have more time to really have some better input.