**Vanity** Computer Help

Me | 02/17/2014 | Me

[Zeneta]

OK.

I'm trying to figure out if I can upgrade my Dell optiplex 740, to a "Dual-core" processor.

I read on Dell's "community boards" that it might be possible. I'd like to know for sure and what it would take.

What processor, make model etc..?

Is it a function of just popping out the old chip and installing the new one ?

I'm trying to keep the cost as low as possible, so I'm willing to purchase a used machine to get the right processor if that makes sense.

Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.

System Information ------------------ Time of this report: 2/11/2014, 09:27:03 Machine name: ******** Operating System: Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 3 (2600.xpsp_sp3_qfe.130704-0421) Language: English (Regional Setting: English) System Manufacturer: Dell Inc. System Model: OptiPlex 740 Enhanced BIOS: )Phoenix - Award WorkstationBIOS v6.00PG Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) Processor 1640B, MMX, 3DNow, ~2.7GHz Memory: 3326MB RAM Page File: 964MB used, 4245MB available Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904) DX Setup Parameters: Not found DxDiag Version: 5.03.2600.5512 32bit Unicode

[drunknsage]

It’s a Dell... they don’t use the ATX standard and the back plate is not removable.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

Though you may have gotten your answer by now (I haven't read the whole thread) the only thing that matters is the brand and model of your motherboard. That info isn't in the list.

Belarc Advisor may tell you what it is. With that, a simple Google search or two will give you the info you seek.

[drunknsage]

Sounds like a Dell Inspiron Duo. Is that the system she had?

I worked on one late last year and it was a total piece of garbage, despite it actually having good features. Dell never really supported it and didn’t update the drivers.

[Rodney Dangerfield]

The OS will not support 8GB of RAM

Check craigslist for a slightly used PC that meets your needs.

[GeronL]

How much RAM will Ubuntu support?

[SamAdams76]

Back in 1982, Bill Gates had this to say...

"Stay away from those Radio Shack models and those Apples too. A PC running DOS is all you will ever need. Do not listen to those who say you need more RAM. My DOS runs on 640K of RAM and that is all the RAM you will ever need. Hard drives? Phooey. Get a PC with two floppy drives - one for my DOS and one for the app you are running and that is all you will ever need so don't waste your money. The Internet? We at Microsoft are not interested and neither should you be. As soon as we figure out the CD-ROM drive, we will sell you software packages like Cinemania and Encarta Encyclopedia that will have all the information you will ever need..."

[MistrX]

Not sure.
We pitched the dang thing.

[Rodney Dangerfield]

I bought a Dell Inspiron 530 Desktop a few years ago (used) for under $200 shipped on ebay.

It has an Intel 2.00 GHz Dual Core CPU, 4GB of RAM, 250 GB Hard Drive which I Partitioned into 2 drives, a CD/DVD drive, a CD/DVD Writer, a 512MB video card and it came in the factory box and looked like it was new from Dell.

Even the plastic slip cover for the keyboard was included as was all of the documentation and Dell O/S Disc and Drivers and when I opened the case, there was barely any dust inside.

It was like getting a new PC for half the price.

It has WXP SP3 which is the O/S I wanted, so it only recognizes 3.5 GB of RAM, but it runs great and no problems.

I also bought an Acer 21” LCD monitor on newegg.com for about $100.00 shipped to replace the 21” monitor that died.

When buying a monitor, buy one with an external power supply, the one with the little “brick” on the power cord so if the PS fails, you don’t have to replace the entire monitor, just the Power supply.

My Vid card also has a DVI output so I can run a DVI to HDMI to my 42” LCD TV if my 21” Monitor should fail and even split my LCD TV screen to watch TV on one half and PC on the other half.

I imagine you can find a similar deal nowadays for about $150 or less as I’ve seen a few on ebay for that price but I would try craigslist to see if you can find a local deal to save on shipping although I only paid about $25.00 for shipping on mine.

Good luck.

[GeronL]

Sounds like you got a good deal

[Rodney Dangerfield]

Not sure, but WXP will only support 3.5GB of RAM

I have 4GB of RAM installed in my WXP system, but it only recognizes 3.5GB of RAM

I’m thinking of downloading Ununtu and setting up a dual boot system from a thumb drive and playing around with it.

[dennisw]

Ak the ebay seller if it will work

[Rodney Dangerfield]

Yeah, it was a good deal but what really made it was the condition of the PC - it was like getting a new PC from Dell as the previous owner took meticulous care of the PC and kept everything, including all of the plastic slipcovers for the mouse, keyboard, baggies for the documentation, etc...

A quick check shows that there are plenty of deals to be found on Dual Core CPU PC’s for $150, shipping included.

That’s the route I went after my previous PC needed a new MB, then a CPU upgrade, then a Video board upgrade, etc...

You can always tell an oldtimer when they refer to a “card” as a “board” because the old video/audio cards were more like boards due to their size.

Someday, there will be “Mothercards”

[GeronL]

Someday RAM and CPU’s and HDD’s will all be as changeable as USB cards.

[Yorlik803]

http://promos.asus.com/US/G750/
I am getting one of these. ASUS is a great company.

[PieterCasparzen]

It’s very understandable that a dual core processor is requested, since the machine can then physically execute two processes simultaneously.

If one goofy single-threaded applications is a “cpu hog” and runs “flat out” without relinquishing the processor, it will still only use 50% of the cpu time.

Having two cores therefore works remarkably better than one.

I’m sitting here looking at the Optiplex 740 Technical Guidebook, a PDF I downloaded from the Dell website.

Use this google search to find it:

optiplex 740 specifications site:www.dell.com

On page 9 there is a chart showing the CPUs the 740 is “available” with; any of them should therefore work.

They are all AMD processors; four are either triple or quad-core, nine of them are dual core, and 1 is the single core 1640B that you have.

Note there are 3 columns on the right: MT (mini-tower) DT (desktop) and SFF (Small Form Factor) (i.e., a small desktop); this refers to the size of your computer case.

You should be able to buy one of the dual cores online for a very reasonable price.

For example, Amazon has:

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ 2.5GHz 2x512KB Socket AM2 Dual-Core CPU

1 new from $98.95 2 used from $34.95 1 refurbished from $55.04

You must fully review Dell specs from their website. You should know exactly what motherboard you have, just in general, also, if you’re changing cpu or memory.

You will need to properly clean the CPU and the surface of the heat sink. I recently did mine to clean the entire PC inside and out. I have an Optiplex 380 (dual core, Intel).

I used Artic Silver 5 for the required “thermal compound”; this was what was needed for my cpu core and its heat sink. I downloaded a pdf from their site that gave detailed instructions (and the engineering reasoning behind them). I also reviewed Dell info on replacing the CPU, but there was not any new info there. I just wanted to make sure there were no contradictions. While doing this I did a complete cleaning of the whole board and all components with both careful vaccuuming, blowing compressed air, and wiping with a dry cloth. I removed all components and the motherboard, but did not open up the power supply, just blew it out.

Artic Silver says it is essential to properly clean both surfaces (heat sink and cpu core) (I use 91% “isopropyl” alcohol and and lens cloth, and some coffee filters for cleaning). Also... essential to not touch the two surfaces with fingers, let hairs get in there, etc.; not the tiniest speck of foreign substance. One must first “tint” both surfaces, according to the instructions. You’re applying layers about .003” to .005” as I recall. Then a 1mm line down the middle, put them together without messing them up, etc. The instructions are specific to various types of processors. You’ll find the instructions on the Arctic Silver website. Radio Shack had the AS5 for about $12 - but in an RS package !

You probably can’t put the cpu in wrong since it will probably have some sort of tabs in an asymmetric arrangement. You need to be VERY careful to not get dust or any foreign material down onto the socket and the underside of the cpu core after you unlatch it, and avoid any damage to the pins; I never touched them, they should be clean. I only picked up the cpu by its edges.

I had intermittent system locking (complete) caused by shorting across the gobs of dust on the motherboard that were inaccessible without removing the heat sink and the fan. I’m a few weeks into the 200-hour burn in period for the AS5, all is running beautifully, like a brand new machine. I also had “shadows” on my monitor - and found out that it was simply the power cord laying next to the monitor signal cable ! During the “burn-in period” they say you should not run the PC 24 hours a day, but give it a few hours of rest. This allows the AS5 to really work in between the two surfaces the way it should.

According to Arctic Silver and Intel, the surfaces of the cpu and heat sink can be properly lapped and then the fit will of course be close enough to not need the thermal compound, but I did not have time to play with that.

The tinting process and cleanliness is all aimed at getting very small bubbles of air or foreign substances out from between the surface of the cpu core and the heat sink. Air is a VERY poor conductor of heat, so apparently it does not take much being wrong to cause the CPU to run hotter than it should. Operating temperatures and many other specs, of course, should be available from the AMD website.

My Dell is a much better machine than the old “clones” I ran years ago; the engineering has come quite a long way. One should not have to throw away PC’s every year. IMHO, you should get at least 5 years out of one if it’s at least dual core; I would think closer to 10 years if you do proper administration of your operating system.

It looks like you have 4G of RAM total ? If so, that should be fine, unless you’re doing something intense.

When buying a new machine, cheapest is not always good because you’re probably getting bottom of the barrel specifications. Buying very expensive is also probably not a good idea, as the latest and fastest can have overheating problems - and you’re way overpaying.

IMHO, it’s a good idea to know how much cpu you are using at any given time (I keep the cpu monitor icon open all the time so I know if something is chewing up cpu like crazy. Websites often do that, so I close the tab the site is in).

So... buying a new machine that is a “smart” buy... might cost you a bit more than the cpu upgrade.

IMHO it’s a good idea to think about the upgrade.

[PieterCasparzen]

Hey, I like your youtube channel !

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1RJepdDpyNoG9_H7gD7LVw?feature=c4-feed-s

[johncatl]

It's a waste of time. Get a refurbished PC running windows 7

Microcenter and Tiger Direct have a good selection.

"http://www.microcenter.com/product/426817/DC5800_Desktop_Computer_Refurbished"

"http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=8238066&CatId=2628"

[Durus]

It’s a Dell, they make their own proprietary motherboards.

[Durus]

I’ve supported both in a corporate environment, and “Macs” (which is a particular model of an Apple computer) are not less prone to failure than “PCs”. They use the same components these days as Dell or HP etc. “Macs”[Apples] are actually personal computers so the whole Mac vs. PC argument is just a marketing scam, not a viable discussion point.

[Darth Reardon]

You can ignore that response, it’s complete and utter nonsense. If you know which motherboard you have, you can easily find out what CPUs you can use.

It’s very doubtful that you need a dual core. It’s possible, depending on what you are doing, but 99% of users wouldn’t notice the difference. The most likely “correct” course of action is to do nothing.