Adding an SSD to an Optiplex 780

Hi Brent1978,

Yes, that should speed things up indeed. Your Opti 780 supports SATA III, so I would recommend an SATA III compatible drive. Other than that, they're pretty much the same.

Of course you can keep the existing hard drive for data storage.

I keep getting conflicting information on this computer. It looks to me like it supports only SATA II 3Gb/s. I hear a SATA III SSD will work, but only at SATA II speed. Another person told me it can handle 1600mhz ram, but it looks to me like 1060mhz tops. Where do I look to know for sure?

Sometimes manuals only go up to the parts available at the time. I don't want to spend money on faster RAM that will just work slower when I can get slower RAM cheaper and get the same result. The same goes for a SATA III SSD.

Thanks for your reply.

Thanks for your reply. I did not mean to be rude. I am just getting a lot of conflicting information on this board. You should see my thread about the RAM for my system. A lot of people are confused. I look to see owners who tried RAM and how it worked for them. 

en.community.dell.com/.../19637706

Sorry, you're correct. SATA II, 3.0 Gb/s.

I rely on the Crucial system scanner to verify which RAM will work. Very fast to install.

Does anyone have an opinion of the Intel 320 series?  I want to see if I can speed this up with a cheap used SSD. I will try to find one that is not all worn out. One guy posted a picture of the Intel software showing the drive health and lifespan.

It's king of a fun challenge to see what kind of speed I can get for the least money, but I do not want to buy junk either. Over on Tom's Hardware all the guys suggest the latest and greatest.

Is there and adapter for the type of hard drive caddy on the Optiplex 780MT? It's the type that a plastic holder holds the drive and you slide it in. I want to convert it to a 2 1/2 drive. I can't just use regular adapters for slots that have screws on the side.

I bought a plastic caddy for my extra slot and a 3 1/2 to 2 1/2 bay convertor and it went right in fine.

Hi Brent1978. I hope you can answer this. I, too have a 780. I was thinking of a $50..00 or so SDD. Do you mind telling me what  you installed? Did you make any other changes? I hope to hear from you. Thanks, Randy.