Overclocking an Optiplex 745

[aisle9]

I'd love to overclock my Optiplex 745 SFF. The original Celeron D (which is an awesome overclocker itself) has been swapped for a Core 2 Duo E6600. There's plenty of headroom; AIDA64 puts Tjmax at 80C, and even on an FPU-only test, it hovers around 68C. Thing is, it's got a proprietary, locked Dell motherboard. I know options like SetFSB are out there, but those overclocks don't stick after a reboot courtesy of Dell's BIOS. Where would I go to find a custom BIOS that has overclocking options unlocked, if such a thing even exists/is possible?

[Biggerboot]

SetFSP is pretty much the only way I've heard of.  I imagine everyone would be using custom bios for their Dells if it were a thing (then again, if anyone has knowledge of this I'd be interested).  If there was a way to experiment with the bios without bricking it I would try more with it myself.

 

That being said, an e8400 only costs $5 where I'm at.  That would get you basically a 600mhz boost for almost nothing.

[aisle9]

8 hours ago, Biggerboot said:

SetFSP is pretty much the only way I've heard of.  I imagine everyone would be using custom bios for their Dells if it were a thing (then again, if anyone has knowledge of this I'd be interested).  If there was a way to experiment with the bios without bricking it I would try more with it myself.

 

That being said, an e8400 only costs $5 where I'm at.  That would get you basically a 600mhz boost for almost nothing.

Unfortunately, the Optiplex 745 is only capable of handling up to the 6000 series of Core 2 processors. I bought my dad am Optiplex 755 SFF with a C2D E8500, and I kind of wish I'd gotten my hands on that box instead. 

 

I've considered tracking down a Q6600, but considering that my $13 (yes, $13 for the PC, an extra gig of RAM and an E6600 to replace the Celeron) HTPC is now more of a $75 media server, I'm not sure my wife is interested in letting me upgrade the processor again...especially in light of the 960GB SSD that was added to the family yesterday lol

[KeltonDSMer]

11 hours ago, aisle9 said:

I'd love to overclock my Optiplex 745 SFF. The original Celeron D (which is an awesome overclocker itself) has been swapped for a Core 2 Duo E6600. There's plenty of headroom; AIDA64 puts Tjmax at 80C, and even on an FPU-only test, it hovers around 68C. Thing is, it's got a proprietary, locked Dell motherboard. I know options like SetFSB are out there, but those overclocks don't stick after a reboot courtesy of Dell's BIOS. Where would I go to find a custom BIOS that has overclocking options unlocked, if such a thing even exists/is possible?

 

Look into BSEL mod. I used two slivers of electrical tape to gain 25% clockspeed on a q6600/locked Dell MOBO by tricking it into running a higher FSB. It automatically dropped the RAM divider and the stock voltage was enough for the OC.

 

MOD:

Spoiler

Stock R15

Spoiler

OC R15

Spoiler

 

 

I am not sure what combination multi/FSB your chip runs, but if the stock FSB isn't too high there are probably a couple pins you can block off to bump it up!

[aisle9]

30 minutes ago, KeltonDSMer said:

 

Look into BSEL mod. I used two slivers of electrical tape to gain 25% clockspeed on a q6600/locked Dell MOBO by tricking it into running a higher FSB. It automatically dropped the RAM divider and the stock voltage was enough for the OC.

 

MOD:

  Reveal hidden contents

Stock R15

  Reveal hidden contents

OC R15

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

I am not sure what combination multi/FSB your chip runs, but if the stock FSB isn't too high there are probably a couple pins you can block off to bump it up!

It would seem I have a project for this weekend. Thank you!

[KeltonDSMer]

14 minutes ago, aisle9 said:

It would seem I have a project for this weekend. Thank you!

 

No problem, if you run into any problems or have some extra questions, I'd recommend asking @harrynowl and/or @Jumper118. They are 775/771 (and beyond) OC wizards!

 

Best of luck, I hope there is an option on that chip to bump up clocks a bit!