Inspiron 5680, upgradeability?

Down the line im going to add a m.2 NVMe SSD, any known problems with this? I was going to add a 500gb 960 Evo or Intel 760p 512 (when it comes out).

M.2 upgrade -- no problem.

I eventually may upgrade to the i5-8400 or even i5-8600k - but can an aftermarket CPU cooler be fitted (air or water)?

Not without changing the mounting bracket and tripping a failure error (which cannot be suppressed) with each bootup.

I've seen some people have upgraded the PSU (currently have the 460w) and the only issue is being unable to fit one of the securing screws?

An aftermarket PS will work if it's the correct size.

Finally, would this model be able to be fitted with a standard aftermarket ATX motherboard? power button connections and hole alignment all the same etc?

Absolutely not - the case wiring and mounting of the board are completely nonstandard -- you'd need to replace the case with the board.

Also realize that to replace the system board, you'll need a new copy of Windows -- the OEM version is tied to the Dell board/ACPI table/BIOS.

Aftermarket Anything Is not supported and wont be.

    Intel® Core™ i5 8400
    Intel® Core™ i7 8700

are options but dell only supports what came with the system.

It's not necessarily a no-go, but you won't find one that will fit the backplate on the board - you'd have to fit a standard backplate, which will likely require drilling the backplate to fit nonstandard mounting holes.  Additionally, if you replace the stock cooling fan with a non-Dell unit, it'll have to be wired directly to the power supply - which in turn will break the circuit the OEM fan completes, which will lead to a fan failure error each time you boot the system.

Essentially all pre-built "brand" name systems use proprietary hardware such as this.  The only way around it is to build a system yourself from off the shelf parts - or have a "boutique" builder do it for you.

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@ejn63wrote:

It's not necessarily a no-go, but you won't find one that will fit the backplate on the board - you'd have to fit a standard backplate, which will likely require drilling the backplate to fit nonstandard mounting holes.  Additionally, if you replace the stock cooling fan with a non-Dell unit, it'll have to be wired directly to the power supply - which in turn will break the circuit the OEM fan completes, which will lead to a fan failure error each time you boot the system.

Essentially all pre-built "brand" name systems use proprietary hardware such as this.  The only way around it is to build a system yourself from off the shelf parts - or have a "boutique" builder do it for you.

 

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3rd party fans that have PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) will not trip up the BIOS fan Failure error I know this because I installed PWM led fans on my dell's that run off the motherboard header and they work perfectly with no problems at all. (links to proof images)

https://i.imgur.com/nTZrADK.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/VEgeUIT.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/qxnof9c.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/l4ueSOs.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/nDqcquC.jpg

Thanks all,

so i could still upgrade to a i5 8400 but would have to stick with the dell cooler (which im fine with)?

I think you could go with a corsair h80i v2 with a corsair AF 120 quiet (the included Corsair SP120L PWM fans are too loud).I tested a 100i v2 (an h80i v2 with a bigger radiator) on my Optiplex 9010 (which is actually proprietary unlike this system) and while the radiator won't fit inside the standoffs screw right into the dell backplate and I got the pump head to fit fine. Also, I recently learned these machines use standard 4 pin connectors so the h80i v2 appears to be a good option. Additionally, it has occurred to me recently only the Optiplex machines have proprietary 5 pin headers.

My Optiplex 9010 with a Corsair h100iv2 1/2 installed. (proof images)

https://i.imgur.com/xJGLUR7.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/DeFIYD0.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/7GAd0Vv.jpg

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@elpro999dellwrote:

I think you could go with a corsair h80i v2 with a corsair AF 120 quiet (the included Corsair SP120L PWM fans are too loud).I tested a 100i v2 (an h80i v2 with a bigger radiator) on my Optiplex 9010 (which is actually proprietary unlike this system) and while the radiator won't fit inside the standoffs screw right into the dell backplate and I got the pump head to fit fine. Also, I recently learned these machines use standard 4 pin connectors so the h80i v2 appears to be a good option. Additionally, it has occurred to me recently only the Optiplex machines have proprietary 5 pin headers.

My Optiplex 9010 with a Corsair h100iv2 1/2 installed. (proof images)

https://i.imgur.com/xJGLUR7.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/DeFIYD0.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/7GAd0Vv.jpg

 

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Good work getting a proper Liquid-Cooler on there, but does the radiator fit inside the case?

The OptiPlex-9010 case looks about the same as my new Vostro-460 Kodi/HTPC project. To get an 11inch video-card in there, I was thinking I could remove the drive-cage and DVD-ROM and move all the drives to the top.

If you need space for the radiator, maybe you could do something similar?

Is that a custom-cut side-window I spy there? 

@Tesla1856 no the h100i v2 is too big to fit inside. I mentioned that it would be better if the h80i v2 is used as you could screw it into the back of the Inspiron 5680. As for my Optiplex, I eyeballed the gap between the drive cage and the DVD drive cage and could pop a 120mm radiator in there. Also, no that side window is for my corsair 350d, however, I have strongly considered making a side window for both of my optiplexes (780 and 9010) especially after the cosmetic upgrades i've done to them, maybe someday.

Demo image:

https://i.imgur.com/6J6ud35.jpg

You could upgrade the CPU to an i7-8700 max on that cooler.

The Ram can go up to 64 GB max 4 x 16 GB dimms. (despite dell saying max 32 GB on their website)

You can swap out the PSU but bear in mind that PSU would handle a 1070 or more depending on future graphic card power requirements. Dell even use a 1080 with this same PSU on their XPS line but I wouldn't risk it myself.

Swapping out the Dell motherboard would make it no longer a Dell Inspiron and a completely new machine as that's the main part. It would be just a new rig sat in a Dell case so i really can't see any point in doing that. Plus I don't think it's possible anyway especially atx as it's a matx case. You would be better just buying a new case at that point and salvaging some of the parts if your budget strapped at that point in time.

You could add a M.2 drive down the line of any capacity that's available on the market too.

just upgrade mine to RM850X Corsair, some adjustment need to be made though , but it works perfectly...

EVO 970 is faster, and cheaper than the 960. 

Edit: Oops, didn't see that the OP is from April...

I want to know if i can change my i5 8400 processor with i7 8700?