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November 14th, 2024 15:33
Optiplex 3040 upgrades
I just picked up an Optiplex 3040 SFF for free and was looking to upgrade it for extremely light gaming, maybe no stronger than high settings on roblox. It has an i3 6100 and 4GB of DDR3 memory, and a huge 500gb drive. I have a plan to put a Radeon RX 6400 low profile in it and upgrade the memory to 16 GB. Would there be any compatibility issues? I researched and found the PSU should be able to hold up fine. Is there also any way to upgrade the drive? It seems like it could plug into smaller drives too.
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bradthetechnut
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November 15th, 2024 05:18
The RX 6400 LP will work as long as it fits. Consider upgrading the CPU to an I5-6500.
2 things you should do with your free Optiplex, the first being even if it came from a refurb place. 1. Replace the size 2032 CMOS battery. 2. Replace the thermal paste on the CPU.
I attached the 3040 spec sheet.
1 Attachment
ecemea-optiplex-3040-technical-spec-sheet.pdf
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redxps630
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November 14th, 2024 17:38
It only works with low voltage ddr3L in case you are not aware of it.
therealjerry64
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November 14th, 2024 21:03
@redxps630 I was not, thank you for notifying me of that
redxps630
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November 15th, 2024 03:05
you may not know that 3040 like all the other 3000 series SFF Dell only accommodates single slot width gpu
this is because the x 16 slot is one width from psu.
you need to be careful of the card width of Radeon RX 6400 low profile
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redxps630
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November 15th, 2024 14:56
agree w battery change
thermal paste refresh is optional and not a recommended immediate service.
when you go to car dealer you hear all kinds of recommended work but here the paste is definitely not a critical step.
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redxps630
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November 15th, 2024 14:58
User benchmark of RX6400 in Optiplex 3040. Interestingly they all use i5-6500
https://www.userbenchmark.com/PCBuilder?searchTerm=Optiplex%203040%20RX6400
therealjerry64
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November 15th, 2024 15:14
thank you all, I will take all of this into account
bradthetechnut
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November 16th, 2024 00:44
@redxps630 No need to be challenging about the thermal paste. The 3040 was introduced in 2015 and likely has the original thermal paste.
mykola2022
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June 8th, 2025 12:32
The questions about upgrade my OptiPlex 3040.
1. Processor i5-6500 is not supported for Win11: how to resolve it? New motherboard? If yes, which is acceptable?
2. Am I free to replace HDD with SSD?
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therealjerry64
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June 8th, 2025 13:19
@mykola2022 You can upgrade to windows 11 with any processor - though it's not recommended by Microsoft. There's plenty of videos online showing how to do it. You can also upgrade the CPU itself if you feel it's required, since it's not soldered directly to the board. You can upgrade to an SSD, though I'm not sure about support for NVMEs, I have not looked.
Also, next time I'd suggest opening a new post to ask these questions. Most people in old threads won't respond to necroposting.
bradthetechnut
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June 9th, 2025 22:33
As per spec sheet I attached above, the 3040 is limited to i5 6th Gen for the best CPU.
Changing MB's in the 3040 case is barely feasible. Both cases and MB's are proprietary. Better to get a newer PC or build your own.
Using SATA SSD is no issue. Just need an adapter to make it fit.
Another option as mentioned above is find a workaround you're comfortable with for installing Win11.
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