$250 Budget Gaming PC That Plays ANYTHING... what's the catch?!

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[@nerdonabudget]

The official Nerd on a Budget Discord server is now live! Doing a slow roll out and keeping it small at first, so invite links will be limited and expires for the time being. Join using this link: discord.gg/AR8KQ2fcxq

[@mastersingleton]

This is a great budget build whereby the pros and cons of a build like this is clearly articulated. Keep up the great work.

[@JasonWitmerYT]

Thanks for educating people on that Sata adaptor. I hate that everyone assumes every PSU and adaptor are going to explode at every opportunity.

[@Omar2KYT]

@jason witmer is this good for streaming ?

[@avtips4779]

Molex to SATA... lose your data

[@Nick_R_]

Outstanding video. And I learned something new regarding presets that use resolution scaling by default. The current draw data split between your sources was fascinating too.

[@DJ.1001]

I've sold a few builds on jawa based on the dell 3040. I too used a 1650 super. However there are a few upgrades you missed. First the power supply can be upgraded, there is a Dell PSU part #D315ES. It is 315w and includes a single 6 pin pci-e. It has all the same connectors as the original PSU as well. It fits in the case other than the need to drill 2 holes and add 2 screws in the rear due to the different bolt pattern. Once installed it is secure and fit without any issues. The other upgrade in the memory. You can use faster memory but it needs to have a JDEC profile for the higher speed. Generic Crucial green pcb memory has always worked for me.

[@Iinustechtips]

Do you know how much power the i7 6700's use in these dell systems? Official tdp is 65w, but most of my dell optiplex's run at around 40w, wondering if these are any different.

[@acloserlook5823]

@@Iinustechtips 6700 and 6700x are 65w, 6700t is 35 w. In gaming 6700 only hits max when all four cores are being used. 6700t maintains steady 35w in all scenarios IME.

[@johnfreeman5956]

@@Iinustechtips Is that max usage? Because aside from maxxing it out, the CPU doesn't draw 65 watts constantly.

[@Iinustechtips]

@@johnfreeman5956 yes, I ran prime 95, and it peaks at 40ish watts

[@johnfreeman5956]

@@Iinustechtips Might be BIOS limited or throttled or something? That power draw looks a lot like the low power S skus Intel had. Have you tried putting it in another motherboard?

[@boballmendinger3799]

This is a very interesting video, but what stands out to me is the excellent production quality. The audio is clear, non fatiguing, and intelligible, with the PERFECT level of background music.

[@ThailandDantotherescue]

There really is no downside as far as I am concerned. Great video, I know there are thousands of these, but we need a thousand more. I was doing this when the best gpu you could add in was a gtx 750ti. My current system is a HP with a 1st get Ryzen 7 and 16g ram. I got it for 100$ with no video card. The computer had never been turned on. It was bought as a black friday special in bulk by someone who removed the GPUs for bitcoin mining. Due to its even jankier PSU I opted for a gtx 1650 non super, but it was at least the DDR5 model. I get very close to the same gaming performance. All I added was the GPU and a 120g ssd boot drive I got used on ebay for under 20 dollars shipped. I have owned computers since before the commodore 64. 4k gaming or even 1080p gaming means nothing to me. 720p medium settings is way better than an old guy like me needs or deserves. I have a Acer swift x with an rtx 3050 but honestly I prefer being at home with my cheap system hooked up to my 65 inch TV. You just can not beat these deals! Its great to see a young generation spending wisely instead of some 4000 dollar water cooled LED covered monstrosity that ends up being more trouble than its worth.

[@atvstudios.]

Well said mate

[@aaronhess7635]

There is some models of the non-super 1650 that don't need any external power from a pci power cable. Perfect for this build.

[@tvold9204]

I just bought one with an I7-4790 16gb ram and a gtx 1050ti with pci power. We will see how good it is!

[@PVTParts472]

@@tvold9204 i dont think the 1050ti needs a pci power cable?

[@tvold9204]

@@PVTParts472 it powers thru the pci-e slot

[@PVTParts472]

@@tvold9204 i know i have one, for some reason i thought you meant a power cable, not power through the mb

[@tvold9204]

@@PVTParts472 nah thats what I meant I have one too

[@certs743]

A tip for anyone who wants to try something like this I would recommend going with Acer Aspire TC-885. They are boring small black boxes but use off the shelf parts. All I had to do was pull the pointless DVD drive for more room and I was able to put in a high end PSU and even fit an MSI Founder's Edition GTX 1080ti in it and now have a cool little sleeper build. I originally bought it as a work from home machine but after leaving that job I started playing around with upgrades. Next upgrade will probably be looking at upgrading the i5 8400.

[@Muuchi]

By far the best explained video of optiplex's and the problems that they can have with the PSU and having to power the GPU with SATA adapters.

[@chadmann2724]

There is no problem with my 290W supply that came with the system.

[@Dingbat1967]

During the GPUpocalypse, a build like this I feel would've been a good workaround (albeit you'd probably throw in a GTX 1650 non super due to pricing being so out of whack). Nowadays with the prices back to Normal, I think you're better off building an AM4-based build ... for maybe 150$ extra, you would have a modernish build with expandability. You can get motherboard/cpu combos pretty cheap these days (think Ryzen 3 3100) with a B450 from say, amazon warehouse deals and a conventional PSU, would give you overall better results.

[@Huskmini]

what are the amazon warehouse deals? are you talking about price cuts on amazon or is there something else? i hear multiple tech youtubers mention it

[@Dingbat1967]

@@Huskmini They are usually fully functional returns to the warehouse you can get for much cheaper than brand new. They are usually tested/inspected before being sold.

[@TheGameBench]

The 1650 was $300+ at the time. Nothing made sense TBH, not even these systems.

[@Dingbat1967]

@@TheGameBench You're still alive! Cool, miss your youtube shows about the Optiplexi's... nice to see you.

[@nashcomp]

Somehow amds board seems vurnerable and broke easily after 1/years use

[@tyronewilliams8052]

I would by no means use these 7040 builds as my main gaming setup even for mid-range gaming because I would feel like i was missing out on 1440p and avg fps above 140.. but for those who are fine with 1080p mid-range 75-80 frames per sec or lower on most modern newer games then this is a fantastic setup and CANNOT be beaten for the price even 3 months later after this video was made. I have purchased 3 of these Optiplex 7040 builds and upgraded to the 1650Super and they are all primarily used as emulation and arcade machines that I place inside my larger arcade cabinet builds.. the performance eats and spits out everything from WiiU to PS3 and destroys it.. perfect for all emulation needs. Great information for anyone on a budget. Thanks!

[@rmgaminguk7079]

Really good overview showing the pros and cons. I prefer the hp Prodesk mid towers because you can swap the PSU so you don't need a pcie adapter. However they tend to have slimline dvd drives so you need an adapter for the dvd drive which tends to have a smaller sata power connector. I think for under $400 / £400 you have to consider the prebuilt upgrade route. Regarding reliability they CPU have probably been under less stress as they tend to only do light office work, but you make an excellent point about getting replacement parts.

[@darthwiizius]

CPU's barely burned in running office tasks. Even the one stick of RAM acts as an effective limiter on the system. I'd probably (maybe) just a rig a PSU up from outside the case but there's probably no point going nuts because I doubt the PCB could take much of a hammering anyway.

[@nevernicemeadow]

no one needs optical drives anyways

[@rmgaminguk7079]

@@nevernicemeadow However having to put things in your ad about stuff not working puts doubts in the mind of those looking to buy. These are likely not that tech savvy otherwise they'd be building their own. The adapter to make the drive work will pay for itself by not having to put negative statements in the ad.

[@JamesSmith-sw3nk]

Good video. For around the same money, maybe a little more, I would get a HP Z440 PC instead. It has a LOT of upgrade potential. The compatible cpu list goes from a 4c/8t cpu to a 22c/44t cpu. It comes with more powerful psu's too.

[@RonLarhz]

😱😱😱

[@angelesc2033]

@@RonLarhz lund 😱😱😱😱😱

[@HyperSonic1999orJTH]

You make a good point on the aging parts in these systems, I never thought about that.

[@ruudolf1989]

Such interesting that you realy did so large work to check all the specs and pros and cons of this computer, I think of all I seen and done my self its a good job you did, I have 2k self built comp. and Im watching and playing almoust all games 160Fps but I know the struggle. Keep up !

[@RealziesCuts]

Thank you Danny God knows on my budget these videos are incredibly helpful and even a bit motivating 💫

[@CountryGeek-hr8tk]

Thanks dude! You just saved me trying to mod my opti 7050 MT to put an ATX PSU in! Got a GTX 1650 on the way with a TDP of just 80 watts. I was going to use a PSU I already had, but that can go back in storage. Just ordered a SATA to PCIe adapter LOL

[@thejimmichanga2913]

I use the 5040 platform a good bit for pc flips. I throw in a 2nd stick of memory in, a cheap nvme like the crucial p3, and a 1050ti or 1650 and sell them locally. Generally only try to make $100-$150 on each build depending on how cheap I get it together for. I'm able to undercut any oem low-end gaming pc at similar spec by a couple hundred. Sure the draw back is its 3 or for gens behind, but still plays any modern game and your saving $200-$250 which is huge these days for a lot of people. Most of these low end oem gaming builds have little to no upgrade path anyways either seeing how their mostly proprietary parts so the cons in these optiplex builds also carry over to these low end oem gaming pc rigs as well.

[@YoridMNT]

Good video! nice build i would say its worth it for people that just wanna play something after work and don't have alot of money to spend.

[@MannElite]

Good video and well said. I think this and a modern budget pc are two different things... I was helping a neighbor tune up an old attic PC, it was it was a core 2 duo system to give you an idea of how old it was and I warned them that it was kind of wasteful to buy upgrades for it. But the reality was, they didn't even have $4-500 to get a cheap but new PC, they had $100 to spend. So I got a sata SSD and I think like a GT 710 (I honestly can't remember the exact gpu it was) from ebay for like $20... They only had to spend like $60 total, and this thing was up and running and playing microsoft word and outlook and their kid could play roblox on it. Honestly, I warned them losing their OEM Microsoft Office Software licenses is what would cost them the most in the long run lol

[@yeetus59]

Ive built similar gaming PCs from Optiplex and HP office prebuilds. I usually go for the ones that have the standard PSU size for easy upgradability. I just upgraded an HP tower with a 650w 80 platinum and it goes nicely with the RX 580 and i7 6700 combo. The CPU is definitely a bottleneck but its a great budget setup if you just want 60fps in AAA and high refresh rate esports.

[@NiGhtPiSH]

OEM systems up to 4th Gen Core used more standard components including PSUs and only needed an adapter from 24-pin to whatever Lenovo, HP or Dell put on their boards (10-pin or 14-pin). Now OEM systems are worth it only in Tiny/Mini/Micro form factors to get you up and running for basic local tasks, emulation or local streaming from a beefier rig. I still use the case of a Lenovo ThinkStation E31 for the card reader and optical drive, but I sold it's original motherboard, upgraded Xeon 1270v2, 16GB DDR3 I got it with, broke even and went 12th Gen. The difference is night and day between Ivy Bridge and Alder Lake.

[@CHURCHMISSION777]

This video was very useful and i will try this budget friendly gaming PC to.

[@carlosc3899]

I wanted to say thank you very much. You explain how and why about the PC that even a person that doesn't know anything about PC can even understand. I'm very surprised that you got that kind of fps with that PC. Thanks again 🙂👍

[@radionos8515]

I Actually found a 360w PSU that dell sold with a 6 pin PCIE that was plug and play. Under $60 used if you look around. I used the extra headroom with an 8 pin adapter to install a 1660ti without issue.

[@g-muni5855]

🔥🔥🔥 Very informative. Im in a middle of a old Dell Optiplex build for retro gaming too.

[@AndrewsVideoTips143]

Dude you got an amazing deal on that thing. My 2 year old laptop has a i7 9750h, 16 gb of ddr4 ram, 500 gb nvme ssd, and a 1660ti (max q version), and that costed $1200 2 years ago. You scored a pc that's just as fast as mine for under $300. That's insane.

[@iihamed711]

what laptop is that?

[@k9burnouts544]

My optiplex has a i7, 32Gb Ram, and a MSI OC edtition 6gb, I built 2 of them for around $440. 2 gaming pcs for less than 500 cant beat it

[@josephhall7317]

I found a Samsung galaxy book go 5g new for $225, and all I have to do is put about another 150 into it and I'll have a very slim laptop that takes a sim card and can play almost anything for $375 total. Just my opinion but I'd never spend over what an Xbox costs on a laptop for gaming but to each their own

[@funnythingunleashed]

Dell G3?

[@AndrewsVideoTips143]

@@funnythingunleashed Yes

[@patrickmcgovern4004]

I always use pcs that can take a standard power supply when I build flip systems, and I always use brand new psus to make sure they'll last. Also always include monitor, speakers, keyboard, mouse and cables. I think it's a lot more worthwhile then.

[@pikachuchujelly7628]

Agreed. I bought a PC similar to this one for about $100 and was disappointed that Dell put in this stupid proprietary power supply. It was only $100, so I can't really complain, but I'll make sure to do more research before I buy my next PC.

[@japanquakeytp]

i have a 7050 sff and got it for 90 bucks fully working, spec-d out other than the ram... its amazing!

[@R_301.1]

Bro, nice video! just a quick note: in Cyberpunk you were using high setting for crowd density in the gameplay settings section I can tell, lower it and you will be able to get 60fps because it is extremely heavy on the CPUs.

[@nohcam22]

Will forever be my favorite kind of videos.

[@nickp7186]

Just found this channel after some years of being dormant to PC gaming. Excellent video!

[@nerdonabudget]

Welcome back to PC gaming!

[@SuperHotwheels19]

Thank you for this video so much! This vid saved my mind from thinking too much about putting a gtx 1650 in an optiplex while using a sata to 6 pin adapter. I just have two questions, first is that if I used a adapter with 2 sata power to a single 6 pin, would it help or would it be useless and will you be doing a video about putting an sfx psu inside the optiplex with a 24 pin adapter?

[@sarukun1228]

I just bought an Optiplex 7040 MT on Ebay xD Still waiting for it to ship, but my intention is actually for a home server. My friends and I have been playing 7 days to die, and we often play Minecraft together. She's been hosting on her potato computer, and I'm just getting kind of tired of the lag spikes. Especially that more people keep joining in

[@g.abzilla7665]

Thanks for posting this. I was thinking of doing something like this for Emulation in my living room but didn't have many cases to make one from scratch. The only thing I have is a spare RX 570 8gb so I was thinking of buying an Optiplex and slapping it on.

[@acaciomartins2159]

Hi. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us. I am looking for such a build on the budget side...couple of questions: for games like Civilization and FM I might need some extra RAM? Also, streaming would be possible without extra upgrades on top of these? Thanks in advance!

[@iamyourmuse]

Very good job, alot of people are opting to buy older business pc's and upgrading them. I got the HP Elitedesk 800 G4 which I got refurbished from a local guy who does it out of his garage. It came with 16gb of ram and an SSD and booted up in a couple seconds, it also came with an I5-8500 and got a low profile GPU and sure, it's limited but hey, I got it and the Monitor, keyboards and mouse for $150 and spent $37 on the GPU so it's all good. It's a SFF so I couldn't go with a GPU that would need more space and power unless I ran it externally but it's a goood deal

[@ErnestPworrell88]

Damn you really squeezed every penny on this build, im impressed!

[@pwn0grapher]

These are great budget builds to get someone by in a tight spot or someone who just doesn't use their PC for anything much more than standard 1080p games. I actually prefer the Dell Precision 3620 because they essentially have all the same internals with more space for a bigger card, vent holes on the side to help with thermal throttling and a bigger 365W PSU with a PCI-e slot for about the same price if you look long enough. The two problems I have found with these are the graphics cards not being secured enough by the plastic tab can cause flickering if you push in your HDMI cable hard or the card jiggles loose. The second being the market for "ugly duckling" Dell cases is very specific and you can sit on that hardware for months if you don't put some blingy RGB to grab someone's attention.

[@MohammadNomaan]

Hi there, nice video For a 1650 4gb Ddr6 version gpu, do u think the dell 7040/7050 psu will be able to perform similarly?

[@pwn0grapher]

@@MohammadNomaan The performance on that card would be similar with slightly less frame rates, but no PCIe power adapter is required like this video.

[@elemkay5104]

Nice one. Worth pointing out that the i5 6500 or 6600 are also pretty much as capable, but also, if you find a i3-8100 or i3-9100, you get similar Quad Core performance AND an upgrade path to the 6 core i5s (8400, 8500, 9400, 9500) in the future. Just seen an i3 8100 PC for £100 on ebay, so not too much more money.

[@psttech4290]

6500/6600 are lacking behind the 6700 now, those extra threads on the i7 help a lot

[@narwhal4304]

4c/4t CPUs are frankly not cutting it in new titles anymore. New games need at least 8 threads to run smooth.

[@njsurf1973]

It's nice to see someone talk about the fact that just because you can do something doesn't mean you should. You're right it is an inexpensive entry level build... But a year and a half from now it may not be able to run what you want. Thanks for the insight.

[@mikeclark4480]

I love these builds if not for anything but the emulation performance. New sub here

[@Lenny65]

I have always liked your honesty esp on budgets . My q is this to you as in terms of parts failures ? New parts fail too even after 6 months of mild use versus the old office equipment built to run 24 7 for like 5 years . I believe older motherboards and power units are designed for long term use versus some high end bards n psu

[@GunmetalSnail]

For a few months back in 2020 I was buying Optiplex 70 and 9010s and upgrading the PSU, GPU and storage, and then flipping them. Mind you, this was before the GPU price nightmare, so it was a lot easier to get a 1060 6GB or an RX 480 and throw in there and still make some money off of each system. I put them on FB marketplace ans each one sold within a few days. Kinda miss that.

[@aerohk]

My PSU don't have an 8 pins, so I use a Molex to 8 pins, works great! It's a 1080Ti, pair with a power hungry Athlon 860k. Adapters are generally safe, just insert the connector properly, touch the cable during gaming session to see if it get too hot.

[@ImWateringPSUs]

Personally I shy away from prebuilts for my builds, but it's a very good cookie cutter option!

[@itsdeonlol]

Thanks for this as always Danny!!!

[@andystech101]

You can always undervolt the gpu as well which would take 20w off the system load 👌🏼

[@frogslayer4849]

The stock 240 PSU in my OptiPlex 3050 powers the i5 7500, 16gb ram, 1tb m.2, and 1660 Ti with the sata to pcie 6 pin adapter. If i overclock the GPU too much i can trip the power supply but running 200mhz over on the gpu and 1000mhz overclock on the gpu memory runs all day no problem.

[@sdtechconsulting]

Great video. I did something like this with my 7040MT. I am going to put a SFX PSU in mine and get a better GPU. But....I am doing this about a year after buying the Optiplex. That is the only way it makes sense. Is buy the system, get it up and running as cheap as you can. Then upgrade later

[@Sprite897]

I put a gtx 1660 ti in my own dell optiplex 7040 exact same desktop shown in the video, to power it I connected an external 500 watt power supply so I got 2 power supplys on that and if I really wanted to it could power a 30 series card because the 500 watt psu is soley dedicated to powering a gpu, the internal power supply powers the rest of the computer.

[@faizivejdani2608]

I appreciate the time you took to weigh the risk versus reward. Thank you!

[@pauls4522]

To me the smarter option would be to wait it out. Prices have really been in Flux lately and it is still fairly common to find a similar build that has a normal psu slot. This alone opens a whole new world to the pc.

[@DustyOrchid057]

you could easily put a bigger power supply just need to do some sketchy Drimmer cutting, which you would have to remove all pc components leaving you with just the pc case

[@buda3d2007]

The build quality is great for the most part, but that half PCI slot has been on at least 4 generations of Optiplex, I just wish they swapped the half slot to the bottom and and full slot to the top so I can have 16x pci instead of 4xpci for my GPU card (yes you can put a full height card in a half slot, but will run at 4x PCI, not a major performance hit, but still a hit)

[@azerva5873]

amazing vid bud, did my own similar build with an hp prodesk and spend a total of 320 euro's, very very solid performance and silwnt noise levels

[@jakerazmataz852]

I just replaced a working dell slim, that was in someone cubicle 15+ years ago. The HDD had a 2007 date on it. MB 2005. So you take your chances. It it works for 3+ years you are golden.

[@IceSam87]

I've done the same with a 5040 i7 and 16gb ram. GTX 1650 runs great for a budget. Maybe not for triple A titles but esports just run fine

[@pauljenkins3258]

I’m glad I stumbled on you I’m 62 and leagally blind just finding information on the optiplex’s”like 7th gen.” Is difficult to find I’m on a budget and my 7050 optiplex just purchased from Amazon will work for me hearing your con and pro-con opinion. Thanks

[@matthewexline6589]

I *love* this video. I own two older Dell Optiplexes and both of them have graphics cards in them and extra ram that I've added to make the systems better. I haven't ever added an M2 NVMe to any of my systems yet, and I feel stupid for not doing so, as both PCs are currently running on their original HDDs. Not being a great tech geek, I actually don't know how to install an NVMe drive into the tower pc and make it the main hard drive for the computer. How would I get the operating system onto that drive, for example? How would I actually migrate from my HDD to the NVMe? If I wanted to stick with Windows, would I need to purchase a new license for the operating system? I've got a lot of questions about updating the hard drive lol. Great video though, and in my opinion, I wouldn't worry too much about the motherboards dying. I've been pretty rough on my PCs, falling, long car rides, temperature exposure and humidity exposure, even a few power failures (power outages or power cords accidentally unplugged while system was running), and they're still running strong. Just my 2 cents there.

[@paulosoares5544]

Nice work.... Kind regards from Portugal 🇵🇹

[@ayhemgamerpro4774]

There is actually a cpu upgrade path you can upgrade up to a 9th gen i7 because all the i7s from 6th gen to 9th gen use the lga 1151 and for cooling you can fit a arctic cooler or a gtx 950 if it has no connector

[@daras-]

Got same one with i5-6500/16GB/1TBnvme/GTX1650(not super), awesome machine because of silent! Can't hear it even under full load.

[@darmelo2285]

made this exact build about a month ago except with a GTX 1060, I don't demand much from it but im already feeling its limits and looking to upgrade the cpu just wondering if you could elaborate on saying it has 'no upgrade path.' what exactly is preventing just putting in a better cpu so long as its tdp is the same or lower?

[@mibdaguy]

I scored an HP Z240 workstation equipped an i7 6700, 16gb ddr4 2133, and a 500gb sata ssd for $120. I found a 1660 super locally for $75. Grabbed a dual sata to 8 pin for $5, slapped it together, and it runs amazing! (Though it runs a little warm.)

[@eddy73]

Amazing Video! Yes, I strongly feel a custom pc is way better than the ones built like the one in the video. Saves you from having a headache.

[@nevernicemeadow]

yep... spend a bit more on normal used parts and get motherboard and PSU with standard connectors

[@samuelswenson1505]

Underclocking your vram might make the stutters go away for example if you have 4GB of DDR6 vram at 12000 mhz that is the same as 16GB ddr4 at 3000 mhz. We can determine depending on your CPU it can only handle 2133 mhz so you need to underclock the vram memory to 71 percent to remove the micro stutters. This is because ddr6 is 4 times as fast as ddr4.

[@Duncan-Donuts]

You can put a sfx psi into a mini tower optioned and get a 6 pin to 24 pin from mod diy

[@zpodfjaoij4]

Doing a sff build with this desktop but the sff version. Rx6400 used $110 Optiplex 7040 $60 Used old ddr4 stick and an an old sata ssd. Yours will be more performant. Rx 6400 works well in the sff system since the uppermost pcie spot is only x4 which matches the gpu, a little bit extra air flow. Don’t really get the upgrade bit, when you’re ready to upgrade pull your parts, sell it for about what you paid for it, buy a newer optiplex, upgrade complete, that’s what they were built for in the office, run for a long time buy an 8th gen in optiplex year or two for $60-80, upgrade complete

[@avrain27]

I had a vistro die on me when i installed a 3060 card using a sata power adapter. It worked for a while then once i tried a heavy game, it just went off with a burning smell coming out. Fortunately the card was still fine and I had to build a proper gaming PC around it. In short, I totally agree with the views in this video.

[@matthewthompson7012]

Nice video! Great presentation and covering render scales. People usually think 1440 is similar to 1080, not knowing that 1440 is 78% richer. Keep it 💯 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

[@csh9853]

yes worth the risk. ive been using a optiplex 3010 i5 for 3 years and have upgraded the gpu,memory, and ps.still running good. im gonna build one soon but the dell works for now.

[@_mytopfive]

Great video, new sub! I'm in the middle of an optiplex 7020 sff gaming build. I got one of the low profile GPUs for it, but it's still too big for the case. My solution? Time to do an open air build :)

[@VikingDudee]

The only issue with OEM systems and why even on a budget I wouldn't recommend to anyone getting into gaming is what you have said, who knows how many hours are on the system, but even that system, you can not just go out and get any standard motherboard to replace a failed motherboard, PSU connections are different, the case is different, I try my best to only look for deals on the OEM side of things if they used standards. I use a Dell OptiPlex 390 for my media server, the original board died, its a standard forum factor, but Dell used a different front panel connectors and a few other odd pinot connectors I had to modify to usa a more standard board, thats the only downfall. I'd have to further look into so and so system before I can just recommend it unless its at a really good price.

[@nicholasgeorge6367]

A well pc diet explain it shows that its good to look for newer pc parts than these stuck old hardware thanos for the time and energy bro really appreciated

[@thewillsfamilyaccount6486]

Nicely done!

[@misc5831]

Question: The Dell Optiplex 7040 has 3 integrated HD video ports. Can I run 3 monitors at once with those ports?

[@j.lietka9406]

Have you ever taken a slimline PC (like an HP Slimline Pavilion Win Vista case) and modded it to accept an ITX motherboard? Thanks 🤓 I got a hold of an HP Slimline Pavilion & a Lenovo IdeaCenter mini PC.

[@j.w.grayson6937]

Excellent job on this video!

[@killerpayne1997]

My first pc was a dell Inspiron that my mom got from her job . Me an my brother said up for gtx 1050 low pf Best little i5 pc I started with .

[@danw3735]

Nice video, I bought one for an arcade cabinet build, I'm throwing in a spare 1650super I had, should run Mame ok.

[@johnnieduke95]

Maybe you can help my situation ive got a optiplex 3010SFF with a i5 3470 CPU, 4GB DDR3 RAM, 500GB HDD and an nvidia gt 1030 low profile graphics card. Today actually should have an i7 3770 CPU arriving today and plan on adding a 500GB SSD, 2TB HDD and 16GB DDR3 RAM plan on adding these either today or tomorrow after work. i was gonna get a full form version of optiplex tower of some kind however the last 2 days been leaning towards an actual case and large case with lots of fans and a large motherboard of some sort having learned of the difficulties of upgrading. Should i just stick with my 3010SFF and these upgrades until i can piece together a custom case? All i have to play and plan on playing is elder scrolls 3 4 5, fallout 3 4 NV, and eventually the borderlands series but i dont even own those so not worried about those. i can only play ES3 and ES4 right now even though i well above minimum requirements for fallout 3 and NV unable to fix those crashes yet with my knowledge but i know it can be done even though those are known problem games on newer hardware. suprised a little bit this pc from 2011-2012 cant even run them even meeting requirements my crashes are a possible memory issue is my guess even though they only need 1-2GB RAM for fallout 3 and NV. i probably shouldnt waste more money on optiplexs though i take it from several videos ive seen i think yours has been easiest to understand, i think lol

[@Keullo-eFIN]

In fact the 10th gen are still Skylake architecture despite being called Comet Lake. It has (the i3-10100) also 2MB less cache than a 6700. Otherwise they have identical performance if compared clock to clock.

[@thePoetPlays]

I have watched dozens and dozens of videos about the optiplex because like many I'm on a very tight budget. You were so thorough with your explanations about your testing and the potential pitfalls. Great job. Big tick and subscribe from me. As to your final question, I do think they are probably worth the risk. So much so, in fact, that I've bit the bullet and ordered a slightly refurbed 9020 in an MT case, with an i7 4790 3.6ghz and 16gb ram. They've even installed Win 10 Pro on a 120 gb SSD and popped a 1 tb HD (which I probably won't be using) in with it. All for £129. I'm looking at the GTX1650 option as I don't feel comfortable with using the connectors and having any power risks I think. And when I can, I think an NVMe PCIe adaptor card with 1TB m.2 drive should complete the setup nicely. Looking forward to getting the unit and trying it all out.

[@ysoserious8526]

Just get a nice 1050ti. This card is great. It only soaks out 75W and most of the models don't even have a separate power connection, because they get all the power that is needed from the PCIe Slot of the board. They have a bit less power than the 1650 maybe but the same VRAM (4GB). THe Asus Cerberus is a really nice one, becaus the card even has a backplate which most of the other custom models don't have. I have a Gigabyte Geforce GTX 1050ti OC and it is a pretty neat card and perfect for builds likethis.

[@thePoetPlays]

@@ysoserious8526 I have the 1650 and it too only uses 75W or 8w at idle, and it's proving to be a great card tbh. Running all sorts of games that I hadn't thought would be possible. Even some in 4k with good FPS (for me anyway). So I'm pretty darn happy with the set up. Glad to hear your 1050ti is working out for you too.

[@Komandie]

@@thePoetPlays Have you tried World of Warcraft on this system?

[@thePoetPlays]

@@Komandie afraid not. Not a game I play.

[@zeroturn7091]

It depends, if it can take an XPS 8940 PSU it’s still in play as a midrange gaming PC. I wouldn’t go beyond a 3060Ti or 6600 though. These would shine as non-Windows PCs

[@walterlegere1403]

Nice to see someone showing BOTH (positive and negative) sides of upgrading these proprietary systems. To date, I've done three different OEM HP systems and a Dell All-in-One Inspiron One. I've done a 4th Gen Intel, 7th Gen Intel and 8th Gen Intel systems and discovered that "newer" isn't always "better" when it comes to upgrading these systems. The Dell was a Pentium upgraded to a 2nd Gen Core i5, an SSD and an additional 8GB of RAM. Much to my surprise and shock, the 4th Gen completely out-performed the 7th Gen and the 8th Gen only out-performed the 4th Gen because of the GPU, a low profile GTX-1050ti 4GB as opposed to a GTX-1650 8GB in the 8th Gen. He's right when he said "save your money and build a system from scratch and you won't have any future upgrade limitations". I built a 7th Gen system using mostly used parts for just a bit under $600 and that's with an Asrock Z270 MATX mainboard, 32GB RAM, 1TB NVMe, Core i7-7700K, used platinum rated 650 watt modular PS , 5- 120MM RGB case fans w/controller and a GTX-1080 8GB GPU. Plus, I can over-clock the entire system. I can also completely gut the case and start over if I want.

[@FUZZYNU7SX]

Just bought a 7050 i5 7500 and this video has been perfect for me!

[@michaeltechroom]

i have seen SilverStone 700W TFX Power Supply and pickup one for a 2007 dell inspinspiron 530s those TFX Power Supply are standard

[@cakedon]

this is scarily close to my $1000 PC from 4 years ago

[@KoffingOS]

im not sure if that pcie lane runs 75w, but you would have been better off using an adapter with molex instead of sata, cause molex can carry more power.

[@davecasey4341]

I have the exact same system that I'm using for gaming, but I have the 1660 ti in it. I am looking to upgrade the PSU and have read a couple of guides that gave ideas for that, using either a Corsair or Cooler Max SFX PSU. Yes, it will need the 24 to 8 pin adapter, but they say it will work just fine, Other than the PSU, everything else is great on the system. 32 G of RAM, 256 G SSD and 3 TB HD. I could probabl yank the HD out and stick it in m y office PC, but then again, I'm just starting to record my rides, so that 3 TB hard drive might come in handy. The thing is, I only play one game. I play Zwift and nothing else. I'm already getting 60 FPS at 1440 UHD, so for me, that's great, compared to the weak laptop I was using before. I just feel like I need a little more power to make sure the card gets all the juice it needs.

[@fiddlermuncher8701]

Great build man. Built a few identical builds for customers

[@LawrenceQue-nk3mi]

what operating system you used for the optiplex 7040?

[@rutgerhoutsma7007]

I had the same Fortnite stutters with an RX 6700 XT and I think what was happening is that Fortnite was still installing shaders. So you need to wait in the lobby for like 20 minutes for all the shaders to finish and the micro stuttering might go away. It worked for me atleast.

[@bellajackson]

hey, i got the sata adaptor you gave in the description but I am unsure where to connect it to? I've tried looking at othe videos but i keep getting the message to connect the graphics card to a power supply

[@kellyshea92]

I have a office pc build. Its has a i7 3-something k, 16gb DDR3 RAM, upgraded PSU to 650 bronze and RTX 2060 Super mini. Currently saving up to make a proper gamer build. My current off pc build can still do the job but its slowly starting to show its age. Dell Optiplex 9010 running modern games lol but no way it can do VR and im getting VR for sure

[@mat-mat101]

Great for a no-nonsense build

[@kansax8253]

Those Fortnite stutters look exactly like the stutters I got in Conan Exiles, when running my RAM at 2133 on an i7 6700k. Using XMP to get it at 3000Mhz got rid of them.

[@NickYates-re7um]

Would love to see some vids of the rtx a2000 dropped into some of these optilex builds considering they only pull 70w and are powered by the motherboard