Upgrading a Dell Optiplex 960MT?
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tecolote



Joined: 24 Feb 2020
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 24, 2020 2:12 pm    Post subject: Upgrading a Dell Optiplex 960MT? Reply with quote

Recently bought a 960MT, and wanting to upgrade its E8000 Series Core 2 Duo to a Q9000 series Intel Core 2 Quad CPU. Which model should I try to buy?
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Wasmachineman_NL



Joined: 04 Jul 2019
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 24, 2020 2:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Any 1333 FSB Core 2 Quad should work.
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debs3759



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PostPosted: Mon Feb 24, 2020 2:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Q9650 (or QX9650 if you want to overclock) with give you the best performance for the money. Q9650 can be bought for under $30 if you are patient and don't buy the first you see Smile
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crazybubba64



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PostPosted: Mon Feb 24, 2020 2:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

If the prices are lower, the Xeon X33xx series chips are identical to the Q9xxx quads and should run on your system.
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tecolote



Joined: 24 Feb 2020
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PostPosted: Tue Feb 25, 2020 5:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

debs3759 wrote:
Q9650 (or QX9650 if you want to overclock) with give you the best performance for the money. Q9650 can be bought for under $30 if you are patient and don't buy the first you see Smile


Thanks for the info. Will this require a cooler? The Dell OptiPlex series seem short on spare space and power connectors...could not even get Scythe SCIT-1000 in to cool the hard disk!
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debs3759



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PostPosted: Wed Feb 26, 2020 12:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

As far as I am aware, all socket 775 need coolers.
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tecolote



Joined: 24 Feb 2020
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 26, 2020 9:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

debs3759 wrote:
As far as I am aware, all socket 775 need coolers.


Neither the previous OptiPlex 755 nor the current model 966 came with a CPU cooler. When I tried to install a Scythe SCIT-1000 hard disk cooler in the 755, I could find no power connector, nor was there really room for it. Any idea what CPU cooler would fit the Optiplex 960MT, if I was to upgrade its CPU to the Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650?
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svmlegacy



Joined: 15 Jun 2016
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 26, 2020 10:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

You definitely need a cooler for any LGA775 chip. I don't think any aftermarket coolers would would, I'm pretty sure these utilized the case fan and a heat sink to cool the chip. Pretty specific to the individual model of optiplex.
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crazybubba64



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PostPosted: Wed Feb 26, 2020 11:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

960MT has a BTX board layout, and uses a BTX-style cooler.

From pictures, it looks like it would be compatible with the XPS 410's cooler, which has proper heatpipes and would handle the quad-core parts much better than the solid cast aluminum heatsink that ships by default.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/252711333597

You shouldn't need to add any additional cooling fans (unless the main intake is missing).

Be sure to get some decent thermal compound as well.

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tecolote



Joined: 24 Feb 2020
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PostPosted: Thu Feb 27, 2020 4:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

crazybubba64 wrote:
960MT has a BTX board layout, and uses a BTX-style cooler.

From pictures, it looks like it would be compatible with the XPS 410's cooler, which has proper heatpipes and would handle the quad-core parts much better than the solid cast aluminum heatsink that ships by default.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/252711333597

You shouldn't need to add any additional cooling fans (unless the main intake is missing).

Be sure to get some decent thermal compound as well.


Thanks a lot! It's cheap, so worth the gamble it will work. Fingers crossed....
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