This post hit the nail on the head. Informative and exactly the information I was seeking. Currently maxing out a 745 MT I've decided to resurrect and it's been a blast. Thank you, aisle9!!
What type of case is it? The motherboard isn't necessarily proprietary, it's just in the BTX form factor that's been dead for a decade.
Actually, it was kind of DOA, but that's beside the point.
Anyway, about the best processor you can put in a 745 is the Q6600. You can put the X6800 in there if you really want, but the addition 0.3GHz isn't worth the cost if you can't overclock, and Optiplex boards can't. You can do the BSEL tape mod to a Q6600 to make it think it's overclocked.
If you have a mini tower (MT), you're in good shape in terms of graphics card potential. If you've got the desktop (DT) version, you can install a PCIe riser, but the layout is wacky and you'll only be able to fit a half-length mini ITX card. If it's a SFF case, the best you can do is a tiny, low-profile card. I've got a GT 730 in my SFF Optiplex, and I had to ghetto rig a 755 to take a GTX 750 Ti.
Let me get this out of the way now: THE SFF CASE WILL NOT FIT THE SFF HALF-WIDTH GTX 750TI. The hard drive caddy interferes with the cooler, and even if the HDD caddy were out of there, that SFF 750 Ti would light that case up like a 9590 with a Logisys PSU. You have negative zero percent cooling, and you have no PCIe connector on your PSU (the 750 Ti doesn't need one, though).
Do put 8GB of DDR2 RAM in there. Speed isn't terribly important, but getting the 8GB is if you intend to run Windows 10.
Of course, you could always take all the fun out of it by moving everything into another case with a new motherboard, but that's not sporting, is it? I've got two Optiplexes, a 755 DT and a 745 SFF, set up as HTPCs/very light gamers. I spent a total of about $120 between the two of them, not counting the 750 Ti and hard drives I already had, and really think they were some of the best builds I've made. Those Optiplexes are worth their weight in gold if you're using them right.
Hit me up with any questions. I've worked with the 745 and 755 a few times each.
pblegend got a reaction from aisle9 in Using an old optiplex to make a custom gaming pc?
