Upgrade Old PC To Be VR Ready

[SuperShermanTanker]

Hello I have my old Alienware X51 desktop which is a late 2012 model and I wanted to upgrade it to be VR ready and I was wondering what I will need to get it up to the spec in performance

Here's it's current hardware:

Intel i3 3220 LGA 1155

6gb of RAM

1tb Seagate 7200 RPM HDD

Nvidia Geforce GTX 645 with 1gb of video memory

240 watt external AC adapter for the PSU

 

I do know the PSU would need to be upgraded so I bought a 330 watt external AC adapter for it to be able to handle up to a 150 watt GPU fine with up to a 95 watt, I'm also planning to somehow jerry rig it with a SSD boot drive

[asapansh]

3 minutes ago, SuperShermanTanker said:

Hello I have my old Alienware X51 desktop which is a late 2012 model and I wanted to upgrade it to be VR ready and I was wondering what I will need to get it up to the spec in performance

Here's it's current hardware:

Intel i3 3220 LGA 1155

6gb of RAM

1tb Seagate 7200 RPM HDD

Nvidia Geforce GTX 645 with 1gb of video memory

240 watt external AC adapter for the PSU

 

I do know the PSU would need to be upgraded so I bought a 330 watt external AC adapter for it to be able to handle up to a 150 watt GPU fine with up to a 95 watt, I'm also planning to somehow jerry rig it with a SSD boot drive

 

the only thing that you will be able to keep is the hdd. everything else will need to be replaced 

[aeroencychris]

GPU is the biggest bottleneck so I'd go for a GTX 1060 at the least, ideally a 1070. Try that and see how it goes, but if it's not enough then your CPU is probably the bottleneck here. Ideally you could salvage the hard drive and maybe RAM and just build entirely new, but I can see how that's not exactly cost effective here. Worst case you could try the GPU and if it doesn't work just keep upgrading from there.

[Herman Mcpootis]

would recommend you swap out the i3 for a low-power i5/i7/xeon, add another 2 gb of ddr3 and a gtx 1060 6gb if possible(though not sure if your power brick can take it).

[SuperShermanTanker]

3 minutes ago, cdsboy2000 said:

GPU is the biggest bottleneck so I'd go for a GTX 1060 at the least, ideally a 1070. Try that and see how it goes, but if it's not enough then your CPU is probably the bottleneck here. Ideally you could salvage the hard drive and maybe RAM and just build entirely new, but I can see how that's not exactly cost effective here. Worst case you could try the GPU and if it doesn't work just keep upgrading from there.

 

3 minutes ago, herman mcpootis said:

would recommend you swap out the i3 for a low-power i5/i7/xeon, add another 2 gb of ddr3 and a gtx 1060 6gb if possible(though not sure if your power brick can take it).

The GPU I know can be upgrade because my RX 480 from my newer main PC will fit in there and I will have enough power to power the RX480 with the new power brick I figure if I just upgrade the CPU to a non overclockable i5 or i7 it should be fine and the GPU I'm still wondering what I should get I know it has to be a blower style due to a lack of airflow in the case

PS the 330 watt PSU should be able to handle everything all the PSU suggestions from the manufacturers keep a lot of headroom like a 500 watt PSU for a RX480 when I can power a RX480 with a i5 just fine with a 450 watt PSU it's all down to individual component power consumption under load and I know that a machine that has a 95 watt i5 with a 150 watt mid range GPU is not going to consume more then 300 watts

[asapansh]

http://pcpartpicker.com/list/NT6DwV use this to remake your system

[Energycore]

6 minutes ago, asapansh said:

the only thing that you will be able to keep is the hdd. everything else will need to be replaced 

You forgot the 6GB RAM

 

And the case is probably reusable, but with an ATX PSU outside

 

11 minutes ago, SuperShermanTanker said:

I do know the PSU would need to be upgraded so I bought a 330 watt external AC adapter for it to be able to handle up to a 150 watt GPU fine with up to a 95 watt, I'm also planning to somehow jerry rig it with a SSD boot drive

i7-3770, GTX 1060, those will do fine for VR.

 

But at least get a 400W PSU, and one that's good because otherwise you might overload that power brick.

 

If you're lucky, you'll be able to use that motherboard on a new case.

[SuperShermanTanker]

2 minutes ago, Energycore said:

You forgot the 6GB RAM

 

And the case is probably reusable, but with an ATX PSU outside

 

i7-3770, GTX 1060, those will do fine for VR.

 

But at least get a 400W PSU, and one that's good because otherwise you might overload that power brick.

 

If you're lucky, you'll be able to use that motherboard on a new case.

I know the power brick will be fine dell says that it can support up to a 95 watt CPU and a 150 watt GPU I did the calculations and the 330 watt power brick just enough to handle it

[CostcoSamples]

You should be able to find a used Ivy Bridge i5 or i7 CPU.  An i7 would be ideal if you can find a good deal.  I actually just picked up an i5 3470 for $70 CAD.  Something similar would be fine.  And of course replace your GPU.

[Energycore]

3 minutes ago, SuperShermanTanker said:

I know the power brick will be fine dell says that it can support up to a 95 watt CPU and a 150 watt GPU I did the calculations and the 330 watt power brick just enough to handle it

Definitely get a i7-3770 and GTX 1060, but then undervolt the snot out of it so it doesn't draw over 150W

 

Still though, I have my doubts about that power brick. It's not actively cooled, I'm not even sure it's an acceptable PSU

[Sakkura]

If you get an Oculus Rift, you might not need to upgrade the CPU or memory - though it's pretty borderline. And you won't need as much of a GPU upgrade as you would with the HTC Vive. RX 470 would do well, or maybe the upcoming 1050 Ti.

[SuperShermanTanker]

4 minutes ago, Sakkura said:

If you get an Oculus Rift, you might not need to upgrade the CPU or memory - though it's pretty borderline. And you won't need as much of a GPU upgrade as you would with the HTC Vive. RX 470 would do well, or maybe the upcoming 1050 Ti.

I was thinking the RX470 since it's under 150 watts and is sold with a blower style cooler

[STRMfrmXMN]

To answer your question, yes 330W is enough.

[arnavvr]

3770K + GTX 1070 ITX 

[Energycore]

11 minutes ago, arnavvr said:

3770K + GTX 1070 ITX 

1070 is not a 150W GPU though.

 

Maybe it will be if you underclock undervolt it.

[SuperShermanTanker]

16 minutes ago, arnavvr said:

3770K + GTX 1070 ITX 

 

4 minutes ago, Energycore said:

1070 is not a 150W GPU though.

 

Maybe it will be if you underclock undervolt it.

I'm not willing to fork out the money on a 1070 and if I was to I would upgrade my main PC from the RX480 first and I would stick the RX480 from my main PC into my old PC and just use the 480 for VR

[arnavvr]

3 minutes ago, Energycore said:

1070 is not a 150W GPU though.

 

Maybe it will be if you underclock undervolt it.

He's upgrading the psu. 

[Energycore]

Just now, arnavvr said:

He's upgrading the psu. 

To a 330W one.

[SuperShermanTanker]

21 minutes ago, arnavvr said:

He's upgrading the psu. 

 

21 minutes ago, Energycore said:

To a 330W one.

yah the 330watt one is the biggest they sell and I hope to be able to grab the CPU later on used if the i3 isn't powerful enough with Oculus's lowered minimum specs

[SuperShermanTanker]

1 hour ago, Energycore said:

Definitely get a i7-3770 and GTX 1060, but then undervolt the snot out of it so it doesn't draw over 150W

 

Still though, I have my doubts about that power brick. It's not actively cooled, I'm not even sure it's an acceptable PSU

The old PSU lasted me since january of 2013 with the machine being pretty heavilly used until 2015 when I built my first PC and then the machine has been used as a secondary machine at a family members house I visited everyday so the machine got pretty heavilly used until mid 2015 and then it was just sitting there on my shelf until now when I decided it would be the best PC in terms of size to put on the side of a room to power a VR headset

[SuperShermanTanker]

1 hour ago, CostcoSamples said:

You should be able to find a used Ivy Bridge i5 or i7 CPU.  An i7 would be ideal if you can find a good deal.  I actually just picked up an i5 3470 for $70 CAD.  Something similar would be fine.  And of course replace your GPU.

do you think a ivy bridge i5 would be strong enough for VR or do you think I should try and jump on the i7

[Energycore]

1 minute ago, SuperShermanTanker said:

do you think a ivy bridge i5 would be strong enough for VR or do you think I should try and jump on the i7

I think you should get that i7. Used 3770s aren't that expensive.

[arnavvr]

33 minutes ago, SuperShermanTanker said:

 

I'm not willing to fork out the money on a 1070 and if I was to I would upgrade my main PC from the RX480 first and I would stick the RX480 from my main PC into my old PC and just use the 480 for VR

Then go 3570K/3770K + 1060

[arnavvr]

5 minutes ago, Energycore said:

I think you should get that i7. Used 3770s aren't that expensive.

Old Sandy i7s and Xeons are a great choice also. 

[Energycore]

3 minutes ago, arnavvr said:

Old Sandy i7s and Xeons are a great choice also. 

I would say to get the best possible IPC for VR but these are valid as well.