Dell Optiplex 7020 for gaming

nobla

nobla

nobla

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25 Feb 2016
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15
Hi,

Ive acquired a Dell OptiPlex 7020 mini tower (i7 4790, 16GB RAM, 256GM SSD) from work and I was hoping to do some gaming on it. However the PSU is only 290W so I will need to replace it. Unfortunately Dell use an 8 pin motherboard connector rather than an ATX one so I have managed to find an adaptor and order that, which is on its way from China.

Next problem is that there is a cage in the bottom with the hard disk in it that limits the space for a GPU. There is only approximately 25cm free and I guess I would need a card considerably shorter to allow for the GPU power connector.

I'm hoping to make it ready for VR and also game in 1080p so was looking at a GTX 980ti. Are there any shorter ones, as they all appear to be nearer 30 cm in length and should I wait for Pascal, are the next gen GPUs likely to be smaller?

Should I not bother trying to make this PC into something it obviously wasn't designed for and think about building a new PC from scratch?

Thanks
 
Remove the cage and mount the SSD somewhere else. Hack it out if necessary it will be worth the hassle if you can get a 980ti in there. You can stick an SSD anywhere nowadays, bit of velcro, or tie wrap. I take it there is no mechanical HD in there ? What are you going to do for storage as 256gb will run out quickly if you are not careful ?

Looks like you could mount the SSD in the circled area. Even if you got a 3.5" HDD you could mount this in the 5.25" bay with a bracket. Also get a fan for the intake at the front/middle.

104268p.jpg
 
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Something like an R9 Nano would fit that length and have room to spare if you want. Not 980Ti speed but not a million miles off. Having said that, I'd wait for polaris/pascal as they are likely to be shorter for equivalent performance due to using HBM more & having lower power draw from new process nodes so less need for lots of cooling.
 
Thanks for the replies. Unfortunately the cage appears to be riveted in and I can't cut the bugger out as I will need to return the pc intact at some point, was then planning to use the new psu and gpu the in my own build.

R9 nano looks like an option, but appears to be a minimum recommendation for VR so might be a bit underpowered in a year or so?

I wish pascal was a bit closer, might have to get a cheapish card to tide me over until they launch.
 
I'd junk the case and get a new one, along with a new motherboard and PSU. For the extra cost it isn't worth messing around with that case IMO
 
Yeah, you might be right.

Whats the best graphics card i can run on the 290W Dell PSU ? Will it power a GTX 750ti that doesnt have a power connector?
 
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If he will need to return it then junking the case wouldn't be an option really if he can't even hack it.

750ti is probably your best bet with the standard power supply otherwise your looking at a middle 7000 series or a 6670 which actually is a good card, but if you change your psu then depending on new or old you can't go wrong with a 7950/70 or even a 7990 2nd hand
 
Think i might go for a GTX 750ti until pascal/polaris then put a decent PSU in and get the best card that will fit in. Hopefully one of the next gen cards will fit in that has similar performance to a 980ti and will let me run VR

Later on if I return the Dell then I will have a decent PSU and GPU to base my own build around.
 
David Bisset said:
That can draw an extra 100W in games, pushing system power draw well past the limits of the PSU (which also won't have the connectors to attach it anyway)
Click to expand...

Dell makes good PSU's, I have an old 280w PSU running my 950 with a 4760k on my HTPC. No problems at all plus 950's come with a 6 pin connector if required.
 
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A 750ti will work well in there. I have one in media PC and have been quite surprised at what it can run with decent settings too.
 
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