Optiplex 9010 upgrade

Windows 10 is still almost free using OEM system builder DVD and installing with the "I dont have a key option"

You install without a key and then change the key to the WIN7 Home or Pro key on the COA sticker.

You go to the activation screen where it says change key or you run ADMIN command prompt and SLUI 3

Doesnt matter which DVD you use aka home and pro use the same media.

https://www.newegg.com/microsoft-windows-10-pro-64-bit-reinstall-recovery-disc-only-no-license-key-included/p/N82E16832350238

There are no windows 10 Drivers but the Cab File with all the drivers works fine.

You download the WIN7 cab file 9010-win7-A08-MPTNY.CAB and move to the my documents folder.

https://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/04/Drivers/DriversDetails?driverId=MPTNY

https://dl.dell.com/FOLDER02076459M/1/9010-win7-A08-MPTNY.CAB

Then extract the contents using 7 zip.  Any yellow ! in device manager you tell windows update driver from my pc instead of from the internet and everything installs and works just fine.

https://www.7-zip.org/download.html

Appreciate the info, the 9010 is getting up there in years, any thoughts on whether it might be best to just purchase a newer model? 

If I was to stick with the 9010, I found this upgrade drive https://www.dell.com/en-us/work/shop/dell-upgrade-kit-solid-state-drive-256-gb-sata-6gb-s/apd/a9794106/storage-drives-media

I'm just on the fence whether to upgrade this unit. I'm a light user, mostly email and internet cruising.

Thanks

I think your current 9010 with SSD and maybe a RAM upgrade should serve your needs pretty well.

The linked kit will work well, but maybe you should consider other options as well. $100 would buy you 500GB Samsung EVO 860 or 1TB from less famous brand (Adata, Kingston, Sandisk, ...).

Was thinking of getting a smaller SSD for the operating system (250 gb), and a larger standard drive for my data storage etc. Would a larger SSD be advantageous? Thanks

P.S. I'm going to replace the coin cell and re apply thermal paste to my processor. If the computer still works afterwards I'll be going for the upgrade, looking forward to it!

Adding the SSD to existing HDD is popular option, as you get both a fast storage and a large storage, just not in one package. 250GB is a good choice - not too small for OS and apps, but not too expensive.

Dont forget to grab SATA cable, if you opt for 3rd party SSD, and only use the motherboard ports marked SATA0 and SATA1 for SSD - the port marked SATA2 is only SATA 3Gbps and would slow down the SSD (sorry if obvious).

PS: if the computer is a fun project of sorts, maybe consider M.2 PCIe x4 SSD. It does not add much over SATA except for the fleeting feeling of accomplishment, when you finally get the thing running 

Cool, thanks for the heads-up on the SATA0,1 channels. I'll do some looking into the M.2 option, would the M.2 provide faster transfer speeds?

9010 DOES NOT HAVE and WILL NEVER HAVE M2 PCI-E option.

Hi @GeodeNZ,

If you compare SSD transfer speeds, you'll find a 256GB is slightly faster than a 128GB SSD, but won't be noticeable if you compared use side by side with the same system.  I'd go with the size you want first.

Increasing RAM and using a SSD definitely increases speed.  I did that with my 755 and even the lagging USB's speeded up and don't lag anymore.

You're system is also SATA III.  If you bought a new PC, like an Optiplex, with an I7, it would have SATA III.  Add more than 8GB of RAM.  And the system wouldn't be cheap and wouldn't hardly be cost effective as compared to what you want to do.

Newer than 9010 Optiplex's don't have the numbers for diagnostic l.e.d.'s, just a blinking power button to decipher if something goes wrong.  Mini towers are smaller with smaller PSU's so upgrade options are a bit limited.

A 9010 with an I7 is what I want to replace my 755.

Also, before investing in RAM, you might try the SSD first, then see if you want more RAM.  It sounds like you're current RAM is sufficient for what you use it for.  My 755 MT with 8GB ram seemlessly runs recording studio software, yet it's a SATA II system.  (I still want SATA III.  In some ways, it still has my 755 beat.)

If using non-Dell RAM, Crucial comes highly recommended by the Rockstars in this forum.  It's guaranteed to work in Dell's and has a lifetime warranty.  Not wanting to invest that much in my 755, I use A-Tech, which also has a lifetime warranty.

The 9010's tech is still relevant in today's world.  Optiplex's were built to stay that way a long time.

Optiplex 9010 Tech Guide 

So, how's all that?

@speedstep  Never? The 9010 does have PCI-E x16 and x16 wired as x4 slots. There are many PCI-E to M.2 PCI-E adapters on the market and installing one of those is about as difficult as installing graphics card or other expansion card. Windows 10 is going to recognize the drive.

Booting Windows 10 from such drive may be more challenging, as the 9010 may not support it as a boot option, but even that can be bypassed by using boot manager on supported boot media such as USB (flash) drive.

Admittedly it may be more complicated, more expensive (2,5" SATA SSDs are pretty cheap) and chances are most users wont even notice the performance increase over SATAIII, but it seems like an option.

M2 PCI-E requires 120b/130b line coding with PCI-E 3.0

Fitting into the slot is only 1 piece.

This is a known issue back to 2009. 8b/10b PCI-E 2.X line code vs 120b/130b Line code as well as the bus clock being 8gbps instead of 5gbps.

https://www.intel.com/content/dam/doc/guide/pci-express3-phy-implementation-considerations-idf2009-presentation.pdf

https://www.dell.com/downloads/global/products/optix/en/dell_optiplex_9010_spec_sheet.pdf

Q77 Express chipset is PCI-E 2.0 Bus  NOT 3.0

https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/64027/intel-q77-express-chipset.html

M2 PCI-E is version 3.0

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/memory-storage/solid-state-drives/consumer-ssds/600p-series/600p-512gb-m-2-80mm-3d1.html

@speedstep  Much like most regular PCI-E 3.0 expansion cards the M.2 PCI-E SSDs are compatible with 2.0 standard. Obviously it decreases the maximum speed to something like 1500 MB/s (if the SSD uses 4 lanes).

On a side note, the Optiplex 9010 in question not only has the PCI-E 2.0 lanes connected to the Q77 PCH, but it also has PCI-E 3.0 lanes connected to the i7 3770 CPU.

USB 3 is not PCI-E version 3.0

SATA 3 is not PCI-E version 3.0

https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/64027/intel-q77-express-chipset.html

Q77 chipset is PCI-E 2.0

@speedstep  The Q77 has 8 PCIe 2.0 lanes, those are connected to the x4 slot and x1 slot.

The x16 slot is connected to the CPU, the i7 3770 supports PCIe 3.0, if Intel is anything to go by:

https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/65719/intel-core-i7-3770-processor-8m-cache-up-to-3-90-ghz.html

Even with 4 lanes, the PCIe 2.0 may bottleneck the SSD, but with entry level SSDs there may not be much of a difference.

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@Maho Jakobic wrote:

@speedstep  Never? The 9010 does have PCI-E x16 and x16 wired as x4 slots. There are many PCI-E to M.2 PCI-E adapters on the market and installing one of those is about as difficult as installing graphics card or other expansion card. Windows 10 is going to recognize the drive.

Booting Windows 10 from such drive may be more challenging, as the 9010 may not support it as a boot option, but even that can be bypassed by using boot manager on supported boot media such as USB (flash) drive.

Admittedly it may be more complicated, more expensive (2,5" SATA SSDs are pretty cheap) and chances are most users wont even notice the performance increase over SATAIII, but it seems like an option.

---

Totally agree.

In other systems with PCIe 2.0, I've upgraded from a slower SATA II SSD (~280 MB/s) to faster a M.2 NVMe SSD (~1700 MB/s), which in my opinion was totally worth it.  Note these performance numbers are only for large files.

The Optiplex 9010 has SATA III (~560 MB/s), so upgrading to NVMe won't be as big a jump.  And, as Maho Jakobic has mentioned, it can be more complicated to set up as a boot drive, especially since the Optiplex 9010 doesn't appear to natively boot NVMe.  Using a M.2 NVMe SSD as a data drive is easy, though.

That the Optiplex 9010 will "NEVER HAVE M2 PCI-E" is easily debunked by searching* actual system configs on userbenchmark.com.  Since the M.2 NVMe Samsung 950 PRO is special and bootable in almost any system (even non-UEFI systems) I did a search and found one running in an Optiplex 9010 here.  Note it's marked as the "System drive".  So, debunked.  As Maho Jakobic alluded to, Clover could be used to chain boot from a USB stick which adds working UEFI NVMe boot support (as software rather than firmware) to Windows 10 running on almost any M.2 NVMe SSD, but it's complicated to set up.  I've used both the 950 PRO and Clover to run Windows 10 on NVMe in a Dell system older than the Optiplex 9010.

*To see if someone's running a specific SSD/HD/graphics card, etc. in your system go to userbenchmark.com and search for your system from search area in upper-right corner. Once your specific system is selected scroll down and click on "Best Build (Edit with custom PC builder)". On left-hand side remove with gray "X" all of CPU, GPU, SSD and RAM - leaving only MBD (the motherboard/system model). Then click desired tab ("SSD" in this case) and "Change Baseline SSD". To see how many benchmarks have this criteria, click "Load baseline user benchmarks" in lower-left section of page. (If that button is not present, there are no benchmarks with your criteria.) From the list of benchmarks, you can click and drill down to system specifics.