Optiplex Help

[The Tired Technician]

So i recently got my hands on a Dell Optiplex 380. And i have about 50 bucks to do something with it, I'm thinking just a FAH box to help keep my room a little warmer in the wintertime. But the question is, what do i even put into it? It has a Core 2 Duo E7500, and no graphics card in sight. a single 4 gig ddr3 stick, and an Intel SATA II 120gb SSD. What should I do with this thing to make as much heat as possible, with like 50 USD to work with total? Any help is appreciated. 

[The Tired Technician]

12 minutes ago, James Evens said:

Pick up a old FX-extreme CPU and mainboard. Those old Intel chips which discoloured the mainboards overtime are also fine.

thats not a bad idea, but i dont think thats on the lga775 platform for the tower that i have.

[WhitetailAni]

Mainboard = motherboard

[The Tired Technician]

1 hour ago, ragnarok0273 said:

Mainboard = motherboard

yes, i know. I was asking for a processor that would fit into the dell optiplex 380, for the lga 775 socket. 

 

[The Tired Technician]

All i want is a processor for the computer i have that i can upgrade to, and a suitable graphics card. Which core 2 quad makes the most heat thats compatible with that socket, and a single slot graphics card that makes enough power to push a display, or good for FAH GPU folding

[WhitetailAni]

Core 2 Quad Q9650 is the best it gets for the Intel G61 Express chipset.

For GPUs:
Is it a slim tower or a full height one?

[The Tired Technician]

1 minute ago, ragnarok0273 said:

Core 2 Quad Q9650 is the best it gets for the Intel G61 Express chipset.

For GPUs:
Is it a slim tower or a full height one?

is a CPU, GPU, and RAM doable with that processor for about a total of 50 USD though? Also its the MT tower, full height. 

[WhitetailAni]

1 minute ago, The_Maskarade said:

is a CPU, GPU, and RAM doable with that processor for about a total of 50 USD though? Also its the MT tower, full height. 

Good to know. Single-slot low-profile cards are a pain to find.

[WhitetailAni]

Core 2 Quad Q9300 (Q9650 was $50 USD on its own): $30 USD

4GB DDR3-1600 (I'm assuming you want 8GB): $14 USD

$6 USD left for a card... hmmm...
Well, Christmas is coming, and it has a VGA port. It likely has a GPU somewhere on the board.

My advice:
Get the CPU and RAM, and use the iGPU on the board until you have more to spend.

Plus, most GPUs are expensive right now.

Yes, even PCI ones.

[The Tired Technician]

2 minutes ago, ragnarok0273 said:

Core 2 Quad Q9300 (Q9650 was $50 USD on its own): $30 USD

4GB DDR3-1600 (I'm assuming you want 8GB): $14 USD

$6 USD left for a card... hmmm...
Well, Christmas is coming, and it has a VGA port. It likely has a GPU somewhere on the board.

My advice:
Get the CPU and RAM, and use the iGPU on the board until you have more to spend.

Plus, most GPUs are expensive right now.

Yes, even PCI ones.

Alright thanks, ill do some digging on ebay or something to find the CPU. As for RAM and a GPU, ill probably look on craigslist, offerup, or letgo. Thanks for being helpful. This isnt going to be a computer i use for awhile, just as a small heater for me, while being a FAH box. So RAM isnt as hugely as important as normal. 

[WhitetailAni]

I attached links for the CPU and RAM. Click the underlined text  

[The Tired Technician]

1 minute ago, ragnarok0273 said:

I attached links for the CPU and RAM. Click the underlined text  

Thanks again, mate.

[WhitetailAni]

No problem!

[LogicalDrm]

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