That is a rather old (13 years) system and I would not start trying to upgrade hardware to get better performance. You probably have a small HDD which, if it is as old as the system, is on it's last legs. Also you have at Maximum 8 GB of DDR2 RAM and a slow 2nd generation CPU. Plus if you are using the integrated video, that would be the reason that video is less than acceptable. And if you have a discrete video card then it would be a basic card far below what would be optimal for video rendering. If you are editing and rendering videos then that system is always going to be a source of frustration. I would suggest saving any money you would have spent on upgrading and use it toward a new much faster system. This page should give you a bit more insight into video rendering and what you need for good performance.
Optiplex 755 w core 2 duo 3GHz cpu and 8 gb ddr2 ram integrated video can be used for general internet search and email and watch 720p video. You can download Windows 10 and do clean install on hdd. 2,5” sata ssd is inexpensive ($20 for 150 GB) and can help shorten boot up time significantly but would not affect video performance or slow cpu multitask processing. On the other hand a working 755 sells on average $50 on local craigslist. Tells you how much it is worth. only very old discrete video card matches the old core 2 duo cpu. if you get a $2-5 simple PCIe video card that does not require power connector can give it a try but not much should be expected.
Even upgrade to optiplex 790 MT w 2nd gen i5 or i7 cpu and 8-16 GB DDR3 will be a big boost of speed. can add a full height discrete video card too.
It is not practical to spend any money to upgrade a 12+ yr old computer. Save the money for a new or newer computer.
That model is a business office model and is not useful as a photo editor. Don't forget that Microsoft no longer supports Windows 7 or any windows version before that. It is not safe to use on the internet.
3010 & 3020 are still okay (i5 is max) but I the other models I mentioned are better and I think will make you happier with what you do. The 3020 has USB 3.0 and it's in the back.
Sure, you could do with what I did with my previous 755 - I maxed it at Core 2 Quad Q9650 3.0 GHz, 8GB RAM, and an SSD. Still a little old for me, but awesome. But by the time you do that, your money is better spent upgrading PC's. (GPU was nothing to brag about.)
Reloading OS also has potential to speed up a PC, but in this case, probably isn't a final answer as compared to the above for your video rendering and editing.
I upgraded one of these for fun for around $80 Australian by putting in 8GB of ram, an SSD, an Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 (second fastest CPU you can get for these) and and a Radeon HD 8490 (terrible GPU but it was $15 and anything is better than the integrated graphics). This has made the PC completely usable once more and it can now load videos, play Minecraft, and generally do everything a basic office PC needs to in a reasonable amount of time.
However, as others have said, upgrading this is really not logical since you can buy a much better computer for a relatively small amount, though it can be done if you really can't afford a new one.
While it works with windows 10 its not worth buying a 10 license when you can get an XE2 system that is more than 5 x faster with windows 10 for LESS than the cost of the windows 10 license.
This works in most dell models with at least 2 gigs ram and doesn't need to be installed you F12 boot it live and run from the DVD.
You will want to run it alongside windows rather than wipe out your windows whatever version you have because you need windows for diagnostics and bios updates etc.
JOcean
9 Legend
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12.6K Posts
0
April 20th, 2020 12:00
That is a rather old (13 years) system and I would not start trying to upgrade hardware to get better performance. You probably have a small HDD which, if it is as old as the system, is on it's last legs. Also you have at Maximum 8 GB of DDR2 RAM and a slow 2nd generation CPU. Plus if you are using the integrated video, that would be the reason that video is less than acceptable. And if you have a discrete video card then it would be a basic card far below what would be optimal for video rendering. If you are editing and rendering videos then that system is always going to be a source of frustration. I would suggest saving any money you would have spent on upgrading and use it toward a new much faster system. This page should give you a bit more insight into video rendering and what you need for good performance.
redxps630
9 Legend
•
15.4K Posts
0
April 20th, 2020 12:00
Optiplex 755 w core 2 duo 3GHz cpu and 8 gb ddr2 ram integrated video can be used for general internet search and email and watch 720p video. You can download Windows 10 and do clean install on hdd. 2,5” sata ssd is inexpensive ($20 for 150 GB) and can help shorten boot up time significantly but would not affect video performance or slow cpu multitask processing. On the other hand a working 755 sells on average $50 on local craigslist. Tells you how much it is worth. only very old discrete video card matches the old core 2 duo cpu. if you get a $2-5 simple PCIe video card that does not require power connector can give it a try but not much should be expected.
Even upgrade to optiplex 790 MT w 2nd gen i5 or i7 cpu and 8-16 GB DDR3 will be a big boost of speed. can add a full height discrete video card too.
Mary G
4 Operator
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20.1K Posts
0
April 20th, 2020 12:00
It is not practical to spend any money to upgrade a 12+ yr old computer. Save the money for a new or newer computer.
That model is a business office model and is not useful as a photo editor. Don't forget that Microsoft no longer supports Windows 7 or any windows version before that. It is not safe to use on the internet.
bradthetechnut
7 Technologist
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9.4K Posts
0
April 20th, 2020 18:00
I'm going to suggest going with 4-digit models that come with USB 3.0 and come with or take an I7. - 7010, 7020, 9010, 9020 Please see this thread for details I gave on those models in a post: https://www.dell.com/community/Optiplex-Desktops/Putting-an-evga-gtx-650-into-an-optiplex/td-p/7541004
3010 & 3020 are still okay (i5 is max) but I the other models I mentioned are better and I think will make you happier with what you do. The 3020 has USB 3.0 and it's in the back.
Sure, you could do with what I did with my previous 755 - I maxed it at Core 2 Quad Q9650 3.0 GHz, 8GB RAM, and an SSD. Still a little old for me, but awesome. But by the time you do that, your money is better spent upgrading PC's. (GPU was nothing to brag about.)
Reloading OS also has potential to speed up a PC, but in this case, probably isn't a final answer as compared to the above for your video rendering and editing.
tribagon
1 Message
0
May 12th, 2021 02:00
I upgraded one of these for fun for around $80 Australian by putting in 8GB of ram, an SSD, an Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 (second fastest CPU you can get for these) and and a Radeon HD 8490 (terrible GPU but it was $15 and anything is better than the integrated graphics). This has made the PC completely usable once more and it can now load videos, play Minecraft, and generally do everything a basic office PC needs to in a reasonable amount of time.
However, as others have said, upgrading this is really not logical since you can buy a much better computer for a relatively small amount, though it can be done if you really can't afford a new one.
speedstep
9 Legend
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47K Posts
0
May 12th, 2021 04:00
Depends on OS and Drivers and Ram.
While it works with windows 10 its not worth buying a 10 license when you can get an XE2 system that is more than 5 x faster with windows 10 for LESS than the cost of the windows 10 license.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/144031844263
If you have at least 2 gigs of ram what you can do that wont cost an arm and a leg is boot UBUNTU Live.
https://releases.ubuntu.com/18.04/ubuntu-18.04.5-desktop-amd64.iso
This works in most dell models with at least 2 gigs ram and doesn't need to be installed you F12 boot it live and run from the DVD.
You will want to run it alongside windows rather than wipe out your windows whatever version you have because you need windows for diagnostics and bios updates etc.
Or swap out drive and install ubuntu clean.
Henry dell
32 Posts
0
May 13th, 2021 15:00