Install Windows 8-64 on Dell Optiplex?

skallal

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I've been salivating at the idea on installing W 8-64 Pro on a Dell Optiplex 755 at work. But a sudden reality check came over me & I realize Windows 8 doesn't necessarily work on older machines. The Dell is a Vista era machine. So maybe W 7-64 Pro would be a better choice?

Obviously I should call Dell. But I am hoping someone on these forums might have some experience with the machine in question.

A Google search returned a lot of questions about installing Windows 7 which made me realize W 7 must had been a challenge 3 years ago.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Sony Vaio Duo 11
    CPU
    i7
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel 4000
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    11.6" touch screen w/ digitizer & Asus 27" external monitor
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    256 GB SSD
    Cooling
    Internal fan
    Keyboard
    Slider keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech T650 Touchpad & Microsoft Touch Mouse
I run Windows 8 32 bit on a gx755 at work...as it only has 2gb of ram. Everything worked just fine right out of the box, no Dell drivers needed. This is my primary Windows 8 machine.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self-Built in July 2009
    CPU
    Intel Q9550 2.83Ghz OC'd to 3.40Ghz
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R rev. 1.1, F12 BIOS
    Memory
    8GB G.Skill PI DDR2-800, 4-4-4-12 timings
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 1280MB Nvidia GeForce GTX570
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC899A 8 channel onboard audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    23" Acer x233H
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Intel X25-M 80GB Gen 2 SSD
    Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black, 32MB cache. WD1001FALS
    PSU
    Corsair 620HX modular
    Case
    Antec P182
    Cooling
    stock
    Keyboard
    ABS M1 Mechanical
    Mouse
    Logitech G9 Laser Mouse
    Internet Speed
    15/2 cable modem
    Other Info
    Windows and Linux enthusiast. Logitech G35 Headset.
Do you know if the same is true for 64 bits?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Sony Vaio Duo 11
    CPU
    i7
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel 4000
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    11.6" touch screen w/ digitizer & Asus 27" external monitor
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    256 GB SSD
    Cooling
    Internal fan
    Keyboard
    Slider keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech T650 Touchpad & Microsoft Touch Mouse
Having looked at dells spec for those machines. There is nothing that should be be a problem for windows 8 in either 32 bit (2gb ram or less) or 64bit (4gb or more).

Windows 8 is supposed to run on any machine that was vista/win7 certified without issue.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    .
Yes, sir, excuse me while I chuckle. I run Win8 CP 32 bit on a Dell Optiplex GX 260. Don't ask Dell for the time of day, ask the fine folks that moderate this site because they're much more plugged into the Stream than Dell is. My 260 is an XP model in every
sense of the word and, with a little determination and feedback, I was able to interface WIN 8 into place on the unit. So, yes -
you CAN do it. My unit is date coded in 2003. Nine years later, still going strong. Be optimistic and, have a goodday !
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 Ultimate SP1
I will test with 64 but today on my 755 and I will let you know if it all works out of box.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self-Built in July 2009
    CPU
    Intel Q9550 2.83Ghz OC'd to 3.40Ghz
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R rev. 1.1, F12 BIOS
    Memory
    8GB G.Skill PI DDR2-800, 4-4-4-12 timings
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 1280MB Nvidia GeForce GTX570
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC899A 8 channel onboard audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    23" Acer x233H
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Intel X25-M 80GB Gen 2 SSD
    Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black, 32MB cache. WD1001FALS
    PSU
    Corsair 620HX modular
    Case
    Antec P182
    Cooling
    stock
    Keyboard
    ABS M1 Mechanical
    Mouse
    Logitech G9 Laser Mouse
    Internet Speed
    15/2 cable modem
    Other Info
    Windows and Linux enthusiast. Logitech G35 Headset.
I will test with 64 but today on my 755 and I will let you know if it all works out of box.

Hey that would be great...
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Sony Vaio Duo 11
    CPU
    i7
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel 4000
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    11.6" touch screen w/ digitizer & Asus 27" external monitor
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    256 GB SSD
    Cooling
    Internal fan
    Keyboard
    Slider keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech T650 Touchpad & Microsoft Touch Mouse
I've got a spare hard drive in the machine right now, and booting up Windows 8 64bit enterprise eval for this box. Should know for you in about 20 minutes.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self-Built in July 2009
    CPU
    Intel Q9550 2.83Ghz OC'd to 3.40Ghz
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R rev. 1.1, F12 BIOS
    Memory
    8GB G.Skill PI DDR2-800, 4-4-4-12 timings
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 1280MB Nvidia GeForce GTX570
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC899A 8 channel onboard audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    23" Acer x233H
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Intel X25-M 80GB Gen 2 SSD
    Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black, 32MB cache. WD1001FALS
    PSU
    Corsair 620HX modular
    Case
    Antec P182
    Cooling
    stock
    Keyboard
    ABS M1 Mechanical
    Mouse
    Logitech G9 Laser Mouse
    Internet Speed
    15/2 cable modem
    Other Info
    Windows and Linux enthusiast. Logitech G35 Headset.
Ok, I loaded Win 8 64bit enterprise to my Dell Optiplex GX755 machine. It's a Core 2 Duo, E7200 @ 2.53Ghz, with 2.0GB of RAM. I installed from a USB key in less than 20 minutes.

My video is running at 1920x1080 out of the box. It's connected to my network.

There are 3 items in Device Manager with Exclamation points
1). PCI Serial Port (go to dell downlods, pick vista 64bit, under chipset, grab Intel_AMT_SOL--LMS_A02_R255438)
2). PCI Simple Communications Controller (go to dell downloads, pick vista 64bit, under chipset, grab the Intel_AMT-HECI-A02-R255437)
3). Video Controller. (go to dell downloads, pick vista 64bit, under chipset, grab the Intel_AMT-HECI-A02-R255437, get R174616.exe)

So, just get all 3 of the chipset drivers for Vista 64bit and install them. Device manager should be clean, and everything on the box should be working.


Hope this helps. BTW: A GX755 isn't that old of a machine, I love these things for testing and playing around. It's a nice SFF box.


With nothing loaded by Windows 8 and the 3 Dell chipset drivers, I boot to around
41 running processes
35% of physical memory in use (0.7/2.0GB)
CPU idles between 2%-4%
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self-Built in July 2009
    CPU
    Intel Q9550 2.83Ghz OC'd to 3.40Ghz
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R rev. 1.1, F12 BIOS
    Memory
    8GB G.Skill PI DDR2-800, 4-4-4-12 timings
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 1280MB Nvidia GeForce GTX570
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC899A 8 channel onboard audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    23" Acer x233H
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Intel X25-M 80GB Gen 2 SSD
    Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black, 32MB cache. WD1001FALS
    PSU
    Corsair 620HX modular
    Case
    Antec P182
    Cooling
    stock
    Keyboard
    ABS M1 Mechanical
    Mouse
    Logitech G9 Laser Mouse
    Internet Speed
    15/2 cable modem
    Other Info
    Windows and Linux enthusiast. Logitech G35 Headset.
Try it. A Vista-era PC is capable of running W8 flawlessly.

This is my lowest usable config on x64:
I'm now on dual core E5200 + 1.5GB RAM (left -overs and spare parts from other pc's). Win8 x64 runs fine: a bit more than half of memory is available.
It was first running with 1GB but some extra RAM lets you open some more browser tabs + a light VM or two.

After I reformatted the RP install, I'm now on W7 and it seems it's using 100-150MB more for same usage.
The important thing is that even a pc like this can run the os without problems. As they say: running on fumes.

@pparks1
Good review! It seems that your old rig works well. 0.7/2.0GB is a good balance for x64. This gives you about 0.5/1.5GB confirmed on my setup.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy DV6 7250
    CPU
    Intel i7-3630QM
    Motherboard
    HP, Intel HM77 Express Chipset
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD4000 + Nvidia Geforce 630M
    Sound Card
    IDT HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6' built-in + Samsung S22D300 + 17.3' LG Phillips
    Screen Resolution
    multiple resolutions
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 250GB + Hitachi HDD 750GB
    PSU
    120W adapter
    Case
    small
    Cooling
    laptop cooling pad
    Keyboard
    Backlit built-in + big one in USB
    Mouse
    SteelSeries Sensei
    Internet Speed
    slow and steady
    Browser
    Chromium, Pale Moon, Firefox Developer Edition
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    That's basically it.
i was told By Dell that this Computer would crash in the run (Dell Optiplex GX520)

of course Dell want to sell you a new one. Honestly it will not be a bad idea, I means a new one Dell; or whatever, first thing than may crash is the HD or the PSU and Dell old motherboards are famous to get leaking condensers
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
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