Help me with my first PC please?!

[Reuben Raine]

I am gonna buy an old Dell optiplex machine (3010, or 7020). I an then going to get a new power supply (300 watt), in order to run an Nvidia GT 740. I will then add a new case fan. Is this a viable option for my first PC for some light gaming???

I would only play things like minecraft on it.

Finally, the pre built dell pc would use standard items (ATX motherboard, standard size power supply). The pc will also have an i5 or an i7 cpu.

 

Please help me as this is my first "gaming" PC

[Fasauceome]

10 minutes ago, Reuben Raine said:

I an then going to get a new power supply (300 watt), in order to run an Nvidia GT 740

why? first of all there's no 300 watt power supply worth buying, second the GT740 has such minimal power requirements

 

and also it won't yield any real performance upgrade over integrated graphics so don't bother.

[Epimetheus]

For gaming i think a 740 isn't fit for really anything. Don't know about really light old games though,but you could save the money you'd spend on a trashy power supply and get a 1050ti, that's probably going to be fine regardless of the psu

[Adorable Cat]

I'd just do what someone in another thread recommended you: don't buy a new power supply and just get like a 1050ti that doesn't need power connectors and add an SSD as a boot drive.

[WkdPaul]

* threads merged and moved to the appropriate section *

[Jurrunio]

19 minutes ago, Reuben Raine said:

minecraft on it.

Multiplayer maybe, singleplayer heavily depends on CPU performance.

 

20 minutes ago, Reuben Raine said:

an i5 or an i7 cpu.

this doesnt mean all that much without knowing the exact model

[Reuben Raine]

Thanks for the help, I would like to know where to buy a gtx 1050ti cheaply, as I have a small budget. Or any other cheaper card you could recommend.

[Reuben Raine]

It would probably be a second gen i5 quad core clocked at 3.3ghz 

[Animal901]

24 minutes ago, Reuben Raine said:

I am gonna buy an old Dell optiplex machine (3010, or 7020). I an then going to get a new power supply (300 watt), in order to run an Nvidia GT 740. I will then add a new case fan. Is this a viable option for my first PC for some light gaming???

I would only play things like minecraft on it.

Finally, the pre built dell pc would use standard items (ATX motherboard, standard size power supply). The pc will also have an i5 or an i7 cpu.

 

Please help me as this is my first "gaming" PC

You need a 500 to 650watt psu. Get a gtx 760, gtx 960, gtx 1060, or rx580. Stop looking at i5, get I7. put as much ram in it as possible. No less than 240gb Solid state drive. Look on Ebay. 

[Animal901]

Rx 470, rx 480, and rx580 are good too.

[Reuben Raine]

Thanks for the help, I used corsair's pay wattage calculator and it said I would need a 350 watt psu.

Also, my budget can stretch to an i7.

Finally, thanks for the help on the GPU.

[Reuben Raine]

Thanks again, I would probably buy the slightly newer 3010 or 7020 mini tower ones with an i7 at 3.3ghz 

I would probs get a 450 -500 watt psu, then put a gpu in

[Epimetheus]

3 minutes ago, Genwyn said:

Q6600 + 740 is a common combo for optiplex 380’s, it’ll play GTA V at normal in 720p for example and get decent framerates.

 

The 740 is not a display adapter card, it’s a cheaper alternative to the 750/750ti and is just barely under the 750 on average.

I mean, it gets 60 fps in 720p low, and gta v is a pretty light game, due to its age and optimization. It ran on even an am1 apu. Besides, he's pairing it with a significantly faster cpu than the q6600. However i mostly agree with what you wrote after 

[Reuben Raine]

Thanks for the help, I will probably go for a gtx 960 with the i7 cpu. Will I need to upgrade the psu for this card (stock I think it has a 235 watt psu)?

[Reuben Raine]

I have been thinking about a Geforce GTX 970 as well. I think I can afford this. Would I need to upgrade the (roughly 250 watt) power supply???

[Reuben Raine]

3 hours ago, Animal901 said:

You need a 500 to 650watt psu. 

 

3 hours ago, Adorable Cat said:

I'd just do what someone in another thread recommended you: don't buy a new power supply

Would this mean that I would need a new Power Supply Unit for the Geforce Gtx 960/970? If so, what wattage would I need??

 

Thanks for the advice so far, just need this extra help please

[Animal901]

@Reuben Raine you want to play it safe on psu. You never know how much you will cram into the case later. 500 is the median. 650 would be the overkill on a simple desktop. Some could pull it off with a 430 to 450 watt, but they say headroom is key to a reliable system that will last a long time.  Off brands lie about the watts. Gtx 960 would be a cool video card.  970 would be much better.. pay attention to sizes of the parts its hard to cram. You might have to switch to right angle sata plugs if the card is too big. Oem motherboards have poor socket placement. 

[Reuben Raine]

Thank you so much for this! I am probably going to get a corsair or an EVGA PSU off of their own website. I will see the dimensions of the cards and then decide on which one; the gtx 970 is the ideal, but I can settle for the 960 or even possibly the 760 if i have to.

 

Everyone thanks for the help. Any monitors anyone would recommend??

[Reuben Raine]

@Animal901 @Epimetheus I have just found a HP Compaq Elite 8200 for cheap. it is working and the seller is trusted.

 

It has a 2ng Gen i7 clocked at 3.4Ghz. It has a 320Watt PSU. and it uses relatively standard parts.

HP Compaq 8200 Elite PC Quad i7 2600 3.40GHz 8GB Ram 500GB HDD RW 2ND GEN

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HP-Compaq-8200-Elite-PC-Quad-i7-2600-3-40GHz-8GB-Ram-500GB-HDD-RW-2ND-GEN/123926407601?hash=item1cda96e9b1:g:1hgAAOSwzYpa5yeQ

 

I would then put a GTX 960 in it.

 

 

Please help

[Animal901]

4 hours ago, Reuben Raine said:

@Animal901 @Epimetheus I have just found a HP Compaq Elite 8200 for cheap. it is working and the seller is trusted.

 

It has a 2ng Gen i7 clocked at 3.4Ghz. It has a 320Watt PSU. and it uses relatively standard parts.

HP Compaq 8200 Elite PC Quad i7 2600 3.40GHz 8GB Ram 500GB HDD RW 2ND GEN

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HP-Compaq-8200-Elite-PC-Quad-i7-2600-3-40GHz-8GB-Ram-500GB-HDD-RW-2ND-GEN/123926407601?hash=item1cda96e9b1:g:1hgAAOSwzYpa5yeQ

 

I would then put a GTX 960 in it.

 

 

Please help

For this machine You will want to update the bios and put in an i7 3770. If you cant, oh well, just run the 2600... put as much ram as the cpu/board combo can handle. You might be limited to 16. Which is just fine..Depending on the motherboard you might have to order a gtx 1060 mini 3gb. Put as much ram in it as possible. Hopefully the psu will let you use an aftermarket card. You might need psu plug adapters. This case is probably designed by bmw for hp. This case only takes certain psu made by delta. The motherboard only accepts that type of delta hp psu. You'll be limited to 2 or 3 psu options. You can make a decent computer out of it, but you will have to learn how to work around its psuedo buisness class limitations. Id probably still recommend the rx580. Mine is great. 

[Reuben Raine]

Thanks for the help. I am still learning and as this is my first pc build, I will stick to the dell optiplex.

 

Thanks again