Dell OptiPlex GPU Upgrade Guide

[@TheGameBench]

I did want to add that I initially wanted to have a 580 in here, but considering the results, it wouldn't have really mattered and I know that there's no way you can run one on the 290 power supply anyways. So, what GPU are you planning to run in your OptiPlex build? Speaking of which, we've picked out the GPU so it time to get to the build.

[@seriksson9721]

Good question, as development is progressing all the time and I think gpu will be better in terms of performance and energy efficiency. I remember the performance of gpu from earlier that required almost 1000 watts psu. Personally, I think something slightly better than 1050 ti is enough, and if you get a little more performance for a little more money then .... I am happy to listen to your recommendations.

[@krimnullz3166]

Do you think it would work with a undervolt

[@triniking1234]

I wonder how the GTX 1650 Super would've done.

[@TheGameBench]

@@seriksson9721 For sure. I have a 760 here and it made the 1060 6GB look like it was sipping power by comparison and it was on the level of something like a 1050.

[@TheGameBench]

@@krimnullz3166 Sure. The question is how far are you willing to under volt, keeping in mind you'll have to drop clocks as well and at what point are you just going to be at the level of the 570/1060? I mean, if you have one already or can get one for super cheap, it wouldn't really make sense to go that route rather than just getting a 1060.

[@boodycf4467]

I can't believe how underrated this channel is... High Quality videos, Smooth voice that I can listen to everyday, Guides for upgrading the Optiplexs... Surely you earned my sub

[@TheGameBench]

I really do appreciate that.

[@Fizzoid]

Ditto! Came across these videos after looking to upgrade a Vostro 3900 (i5-4460 with a 300W 80 Bronze PSU) and I can't believe how underrated these videos are!

[@hassana8373]

Here before this channel inevitably takes off. Love the quality and level of detail!

[@TheGameBench]

Thanks. Now if I could only get these out quicker.

[@greasemonkeymechanic1]

Killer timing as I just purchased a 9020 and was just shopping for the GPU for it. Thank you for the videos, I look forward to more from you as I build my first gaming PC. Your optiplex buyers guide is what got me started, you answered a lot of questions I was having while looking for a way to start building a cheap, but good starter PC.

[@TheGameBench]

Thanks! I'm happy I could help.

[@mrepicbruh2839]

Damn man recently the content is 🔥

[@_4zad]

Your channel is completely underrated. This is a very "real" video giving you realistic info and tips. Awesome work man!

[@cellularmitosis2]

Just wanted to say thank you so much for putting this together. Just pit together a system following your advice. It is insane how good of a deal used PC’s represent today.

[@TheGameBench]

It really is. Spend console levels of money for much higher performance.

[@leredflame286]

Your guide was perfect for what I needed I actually ended up going with a 1060 6gb in my 7020 build. Thanks for the video!

[@Marius0189]

Great videos ! I've just installed today on the very same unit, 9020 , a AMD Rx 480 sapphire nitro+ 8 Gb and a EVGA 500w GD psu.The GPU fitted just about perfect ,and I didn't have to remove the HDD cage(as seen on others).Wanted the Rx 580 nitro+,but as I've checked the dimensions it turned out that the 580 what a little bit longer so I just went for the 480. The psu ,5 min install,simple.Tested few games ,NFS Payback ,Metro 2033 Redux, Apex Legends,some Dirt Rally (nothing fancy,more to come),all on ultra ,60 fps or even more .I got the i7 4790 non K ,with 12 Gb ddr 1600 .The whole system with the upgrades cost me about 285 £.I got the tower unit (CPU,MB,RAM,250 gb SSD ,500 Gb HDD,Wi-fi card) for 130£ ,the PSU 50£,and the rx 480 from amazon 99£ (refurbished though).Overall ,as a casual gamer I think it will be enough.I'll be changing the CPU cooler as well in the future.

[@Wheel333]

I got the same gpu it was a tight fit, but had to saw a little tab of plastic off the pcie retaining clip.

[@samvin7206]

Just bought 8 optiplex MT desktops so pretty happy to see this!

[@38entamitc98]

from where?

[@sahilsarwari7398]

Probably bought them at a bulk price from a school who are replacing these with new pcs

[@samvin7206]

Oh sorry I never saw any response to my comment! I purchased them to build gaming desktops for some of my friends who want to PC game. I built each of them a PC with i5-4590 or the i7-4790k it was purely luck of the draw. I also installed 16gbs of ddr3 and MSI GTX 1070 8gb. I also upgraded the power supply to 600 Watt PSU.

[@southboundtp2067]

@@samvin7206 I found a GREAT bulk deal and currently doing the same thing, the content here is everything. . .

[@johno9163]

I stumbled onto your channel and am so glad I did. This is the definitive source for anything Optiplex!

[@nyaaalex]

Dude, your videos provide so much value. I noticed you haven’t posted anything recently but wanted to say thanks regardless! I recently picked up a 9020 with an i5-4570 for free as a fun side project and was feeling a little conflicted on GPU choice. Even though I’ll be swapping the PSU out, it’s great seeing that the 290W could potentially handle the 1060 without any major problems.

[@VirmanaMarketing]

Watched 2 of your videos. This is absolutely fantastic. The level of detail you are providing is outstanding. Keep grinding and this is going to be a very well-known channel very very soon.

[@TheGameBench]

Thanks! I appreciate it.

[@AlohaBiatch]

I really like the details you go over and the reasoning for picking certain optiplexes. I got a hp elitedesk with i7 6700 recently but it's a complete crapshoot with completely non standard PSU connectors and only one available sata power that's too short for PCIE to SATA cables. The standard parts that the optiplexes use seem much more interesting for upgrading!

[@TheGameBench]

Yeah, that's what I've found with HP. You leave a lot more to chance. I've seen some that won't even supply 75 watts to the PCIe connector so you can't even add a decent GPU. Though, I thought it might be fun to do a comparison between these OptiPlex's and the ProDesk 600/800 systems.

[@seriksson9721]

@@TheGameBench It sounds like a good idea, and or content from an HP SFF to a larger case. I have some thoughts about it myself, but you are much better.

[@TheLinkhawkins]

Just picked up an Optiplex 9020 i5-4590 8gb RAM and a 1050Ti for just over $200. Should be here soon and I'm glad you tested the same 1050Ti I got.

[@TixTakChannel]

I'm so happy i found this channel keep up the good work man, i almost 99% never sub or write a comment but you deserve it !

[@TheGameBench]

Thanks, I really appreciate it!

[@wp-wisdom]

You're not that special @Anas Benhayoun

[@vergz_oner]

Thank you just got me a Dell Optiplex 3020 i5 4570 this week for 100.Didnt know what GPU to use

[@TheGameBench]

Just keep in mind that the SATA power connector on the 3020 will keep you from installing certain GPU's. Look for a more flexible card or a shorter card. Anything with a backplate that's long enough won't work with the SATA power cable plugged in.

[@iceyberq]

@@TheGameBench do you know any rx 570s that work with it?

[@TheGameBench]

@@iceyberq If anything has a shot, it's going to be something that has closer to the reference clock speeds of 1244MHz on the core and 1750MHz on the memory. I've been trying to get the Asus Srix 570 or 470 for a decent price to do some power testing to see how much they consume, but there aren't a lot of them for sale.

[@iceyberq]

@@TheGameBench I see I'll prob just go with a 1650 since I found one on b&h for 110

[@myamaha62]

Can you do a show that explains what CPU options we have with 4th gen i5? Thank you. I am using these cheap optiplex pc. To learn how to work on and later build a pc. This way if I make a mistake and break stuff. I am not out of a lot of money.

[@tyresetaylor1754]

this guy is the ultimate OptiPlex guide on KZbin

[@edgar01111980]

I just got a used optiplex 390 Stripped out the guts and installed my current pc parts. And Im so glad my rx580 fits perfectly without removing the drive cage Its beautiful! Thanks man!

[@TheGameBench]

Nice! And, no problem.

[@seriksson9721]

Very interesting video about an always current detail. Everything is a compromise and I think you mention important and good things. The Optiplex series is good and affordable should be a very good choice. Thanks so much.

[@TheGameBench]

Thanks!

[@seriksson9721]

@@TheGameBench In fact, we viewers are or should be eternally grateful that you want to share your knowledge. I usually look at Yes tech city as well and especially his pursuit of used parts, but it is often the case to find the harmony in the building as well. It should preferably be both affordable, perform well and not burn up.

[@TheGameBench]

@@seriksson9721 Yep, I watch his videos too. I've been building since the late 90's and I had never thought to mess with pre-builts since owning my first, and only, one in the mid 90's. His videos are actually what inspired me to start messing with these OptiPlex's.

[@lalonghorn01]

Great video! I've been watching your videos on modding these Optiplex systems. I have done the same thing (adding better power supply and graphics cards) with the Dell Workstation T1650 and T1700 which are in a very similar case. The only major difference is the front panel design.

[@TheGameBench]

Yeah, the Precision is essentially the same. However, they can be found with a 360 watt PSU with a 6-pin PCIe connector. However, the OptiPlex XE2 has that PSU as well.

[@Stephen1873]

I have a Optiplex 9020 with i5 4570 16gb of ram 240gb ssd evga 600w psu rx 570 armour 8gb. Im happy with it.

[@TheGameBench]

Trust me, the 570 would have been my choice if not for power consumption.

[@afmggamez8193]

I have an optiplex as well but dont know what i should put in it

[@DerekRobinsonTech]

I just upgraded from a 7010 DT (which I have for sale) to a 7020 MT, this channel is great for what I'm using this for, my setup is a PULSE RX 570 ITX 4G G5, and a ARESGAME Power Supply 650W 80+ Bronze Certified PSU (AGV650) with the i5 CPU. I got the machine off of ebay from a local seller so the cost was low. I plan on upgrading the 16GB of ram to 1600 MHz as I currently have 1333 MHz in the system, thanks for the advice and for having such an informative channel! SUBSCRIBED!

[@stevenwilliams6638]

Fantastic video. I was looking forward to this video for awhile , and you didn't disappoint. I am still currently clearing out all of my Sandy/ivy bridge Dell Optiplex's. I have picked up a few 4th gen systems. This video saved me a TON of time. Keep up the great work. -Cheers

[@TheGameBench]

Thanks man! I'm really happy that it helped you out.

[@elchivo3770]

Dropping a comment for the algorithm .

[@neutrino9689]

Good for you!!! Show that algorithm who's the boss :)

[@FWTG]

@@neutrino9689 That Algorithm needs all the love it can get!

[@chrome1560]

You Know what!!! job is done none can do better respect!!! respect!!! respect!!! standing ovation Fantastic video. I was waitting to this video for awhile , and you didn't disappoint

[@TheGameBench]

Wow! That's some high praise. Thank you so much!

[@videogamephenomhd]

Depending on how strong the GPU is, the power supply may need to be replaced, because the default one cannot take all the force the GPU brings in it. A gold certified power supply would be recommended if any GPU were to take cover for the upgrade.

[@TheGameBench]

Absolutely. There are a lot of GPU's the stock power supply shouldn't really be paired with. That being said, power consumption is rather simple, yet one of the most misunderstood concepts in gaming PC's. Also, saying that people should just get an 80+ gold rated power supply is terrible advice as it has nothing to do with the quality of a power supply, it's ability to handle the amount of power it is advertised for, if it has any protections built in... if they even work, etc. There are plenty of garbage 80+ gold rated power supplies on the market. The 80+ rating should be rather low on your priority list when buying a power supply and there are FAR more important aspects to focus on.

[@Pengouin007Quebec]

Ty very much, yes, very helpfull to me and family 👪 I'm the family tech so your videos are cool 😎

[@TheGameBench]

Thanks! I'm glad you found it useful.

[@mattparker9726]

you should do a follow up video with a haswell i7. id like to see the 1070 performance with the cpu upgrade.

[@TheGameBench]

You read my mind. I'm already doing testing for that. I just picked up the last CPU I need and I'm going to do a similar video using i5's and i7's from the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th gen as a comparison. And I'll be using a 460 all the way up to a 1080 Ti.

[@harveydarvey4585]

Got really lucky finding an Optiplex 7010 DT with an i7-3770, 16 GB of RAM, 500 GB HDD, keyboard, and mouse for only $110+$30 shipping. Only issue was the 240W PSU and the fact that the case was too small to fit the new 600W EVGA PSU ($38.01) and MSI GTX 760 (friend gave it to me for only $7 shipping) that I got for it. So I ordered a new mid ATX case ($37.91) that'll becoming in soon to fit in all the new upgrades. All in all the total cost came up to $222.92 then with the Dell monitor ($16.99) and Dell speakers ($24.52) I found it goes to $264.43. Having lots of fun building this and I can't wait for the case to come in so I can finally finish the build which I feel overall was low cost for what I got. After the end of the year I'll probably be GPU searching though I'm not sure what will fit the i7-3770.

[@kurtphair1446]

You make awesome in depth videos that aren't the same conventional semi science that lots of hardware guys spew. Would love to see a video about power supplies and the problems with 80+ as a measure of quality!

[@TheGameBench]

Oh yeah! I would love to do that video. That's one of my pet peeves.

[@aubah]

Thanks for the great video! I will install a gtx 1650 super in a few days using the stock PSU. I will let you know if it worked or if everything exploded :D

[@TheGameBench]

Yeah, you'll be fine. The 1650S pulls less power than the 1060 6GB, so you won't have any problems with the stock PSU.

[@aubah]

@@TheGameBench Yep all went just fine :)

[@aubah]

Guys, do you think that the 8 pin gtx 1660 super will be fine too? www.gigabyte.com/Graphics-Card/GV-N166SOC-6GD/sp#sp

[@aubah]

Or maybe the 125wat max consumption of the card might be too much for a 75wat pcie + 25wat sata cable and adapter?

[@Tom-cx6vh]

What kind of performance did you see I really want to do this!

[@josedeleon1923]

I have a 9020 i7. Guess i will keep saving money to buy a 1070 or 1660

[@TheGameBench]

Yep, you could even go with a 1080 or 1080 Ti. Seeing the 1080's go for around $280 these days.

[@josedeleon1923]

The Game Bench Would you also recommend an RTX 2060?

[@TheGameBench]

@@josedeleon1923 Depends on what you can get it for. It's use for ray tracing is pretty limited and you'd be looking at about an extra 10 FPS over the 1070 for about $100 more. If you want to go new, it's not a bad way to go, but for the same price, you could get a 1080 which is 2060 Super territory.

[@xtinctt2723]

Is the optiplex 7010MT better or the 9200

[@magicstick5811]

Great video, very in-depth. I purchased a 790 i5 2400 a few years back and would've definitely appreciated this knowledge (by going with a haswell model). Anyways, I've fitted an RX 570, 16gb of ram, SSD, and I'm looking into fitting a xeon e3 1280/90. Anyways, great detail and information. I've watched your other optiplex build guide videos and they're quite amazing, since you're the only channel that covers the SATA port blockage on certain models along with the case mod by removing the HDD cage.

[@TheGameBench]

Thanks! I really do appreciate the feedback. That Xeon will be an even better option that the 2600. Higher boost clocks and more cache.

[@sprockylock391]

Just found you bloody brilliant ime 56years old from redditch just took early retirement looking to get into pc gameing watched many build bids over the past couple of weeks but found yours solid and truffle ime going down the route of doing a pre built and upgrade as ime hands on and do my research. ime going to look again in my local cash converters as ime 100% sure they have some of these recomend optiplex in for around a £100. My local C.E.X ALWAYS has GPU's and ssd hdd in abundance at good prices Many thanks for sharing with us love deffo got my sub respect

[@TheGameBench]

Awesome! I'm glad you found it useful and appreciate the support.

[@urmomsahoe1]

My plan is to get an rx 570 8gb and an upgraded PSU for a 9020 with an I7

[@robomarston8253]

You don't really need the new psu. If you get a 9020 with its original 80+ Gold PSU you are fine. The i5 4570 and the i7 4790 have the exact same 84 Watt power consumption.

[@urmomsahoe1]

@@robomarston8253 Its needed to stuff an rx570 into to it as well.

[@robomarston8253]

@@urmomsahoe1 did you watch the entire video? The PSU works with the dell PSU

[@urmomsahoe1]

@@robomarston8253 ya I ended up with a 9010 but its still a good idea to upgrade to PSU anyway even if it could run it.

[@2234045]

@@robomarston8253 I've just picked up a sapphire rx 570 8gb and it comes with an 8 pin connector.. Im a big reluctant to power it through molex to pcie or sata to pcie cable... What do you think? 🤔

[@edgar01111980]

But mah drives? 😅

[@FWTG]

Edgar this needs a T shirt.

[@F_e_l_i_x_]

Very nice work on showing Watt's consumption vs people just guessing and trying to make others "believe" they need 400 - 500 watt PSU's, adapters and more lies than just a Sata to 6 / 8 pin adapter and you are good with a stock 290 watt PSU. Thanks! Great video! Professionally done!

[@mehulmathur7699]

This is by far the most detailed video I have seen . Looks like you are somebody who knows his stuff. Thank god for youtube recommendations. Quick question: why are you not putting new videos, the last one was a long time ago :-)?

[@TheGameBench]

Thanks! I really appreciate that. I've been taking a break, selling systems since demand has been so high, but I recorded a new video yesterday and I'm planing on focusing more on the channel.

[@aaaproduction9437]

i5-3470 rx570 (the bottleneck is 7%) vs gtx 1050ti (the bottleneck is 0.7%), I am getting the same price for both (Sapphire nitro+ Rx 570 8gb and gtx 1050ti 4gb), and we all are waiting for your next video as well, Thank you so much for making videos for midrange budget pc gamers

[@TheGameBench]

Thanks! I really appreciate it.

[@nunyabusiness896]

FINALLY someone filming the screen during benchmarks instead of wasting performance on screen capture. So tired of “it gets another 10 fps without screen capture”, there’s no point in showing a bench if it’s not accurate to the real experience.

[@TheGameBench]

My thought's exactly. Though I am considering getting and external capture device and use another system to capture the footage. Would save me a lot of time.

[@nunyabusiness896]

@@TheGameBench Fair enough. As long as you aren't robbing frames from the computer running the game, I'm good with it.

[@MrRaheninm]

I just finish my first game pc and this series off videos are top tier, first i buy a 790 small form factor for normal use, later i get a 9020 case mid tower when my work was updating their work pcs (i am from Latin America and in here is too expensive to buy new parts) and i did a case swap to have the space to a good gpu (i needed to take the hd cage and adapt the front usb), with some money i could get a new power suply and a cool zaphire rx 580, a ssd and now for the first time in my life a can play current games. Been a gamer in a third world country is hard my last means of gaming where a 360 and a laptop of 2012, you can imagine a have a loong wish list of game s i want to play I am grateful for all the guidence i get from this channel

[@ProLaps69]

I just stumbled upon a 9020 i7 4790 MT for $169 at Goodwill and bought on a whim. I am going to build my father a hot rod media computer. Thanks for the great content! Can't wait for more!

[@TheGameBench]

That's awesome, and thanks! I'm glad you found it useful.

[@babyfrass13]

You gained a sub from you current, but mostly you old videos. Solid work

[@TheGameBench]

Thanks! You're talking about my older console vids? If so, I plan on making more of those.

[@PrettyboyPa]

Wow great guide! Becoming a fan of the channel with how descriptive and informative it is.

[@TheGameBench]

Thanks! I really appreciate it.

[@jfern2988]

I’ve had your vids on a loop for weeks. Other youtube channels as well. What I don’t understand. I must say nobody has fully gone over the multiple errors and issues that can occur which are extremely taxing on my nerves and wallet. For example hdd not found, thermal sensor, etc. maybe I’m just unlucky but in my case (9020 MT) pun intended. If I could start over I’d buy a cheap ryzen set up and be done with it. Nonetheless I admire the effort dedication and time not to mention overall knowledge you provide.

[@TheGameBench]

Well, the temp sensor error can happen due to the sensor failing... obviously, but it can also be due to just being dirty. The HDD error could be due to a bad hard drive, the drive could be missing the proper boot information or it was corrupted, or it could be because the install on the drive is MBR/legacy and the system is set to UEFI, or vice versa. It's been three weeks, so I'm sure you've already moved on from the 9020, but I'm sorry I didn't get to your comment sooner and that you had so many problems.

[@skootles1]

I love your channel! Your how to videos on opti are through and precise, thank you for sharing. They helped alot, from deciding which model opti to buy and reasonable upgrades like the case fan, power supply, graphics cards and hdd cage removal. I am not a gamer. I am building a 2014 opti 9020 gen4 i7 haswell for video editing, hoping to use it for adobe suite and blender. Sort of like a v8 engine stuffed under the hood of an old volkswagon, I would love to see a modern motherboard utilizing PCIe NVMe hard drive and intel cpu build inside the optiplex case. Thanks for all you go, gamer bench guy!

[@thepopeofkeke]

I just finished my first halo build but videos like this is what helped scrape your way to the top

[@TheGameBench]

Should probably make a new one for the i7.

[@antysoxial2336]

Amazing video bro keep it up

[@AchiAhisar]

I just want to thank you for all this work you've done to teach and help us! I'm in the process of collecting the parts to build a revamped Optiplex (or similar), and your videos have been the most helpful so far on KZbin! You've got yourself a subscriber... Thanks!

[@TheGameBench]

Thanks! I'm glad I could be of some help.

[@NajaetheGamer]

After watching your channel for weeks I thought u had like 500k subs lol🤣by how professional your video’s are

[@peterharband326]

Very good analysis bro. Have a 17 2600 paired with a 1060 3gb and 17-3770 with the rx 580 8gb. Both run well although a 1070 or a 1660 super would seem a better match in my opinion. Although the 580 is factory overclocked to 1430 mhz, I run it at 1290 to conserve power and doesn't seem to make a fps difference at 1080p

[@TheGameBench]

Thanks! And yeah, even with the 2600 you still have a lot more headroom on the GPU. I picked up a 9010 with a 3770 and it make s a good alternative to the 9020 with the i5 since you can get them with for about $160. Something I really wasted to elaborate on in the buyers guide, but didn't have time.

[@Fatmasters11]

I'm glad I stumbled upon this channel. I use to have an I5 2400 paired with the Zotac 1060 6gb mini, and in Battlefield 5 I use to get constant stuttering and frame drops. After I upgraded to an i5 8400 with the same 1060, the stutterings are completely gone with a higher average fps. I think games are starting to use 6 or more cores in order to run buttery smooth. The prebuilt desktop I purchased was the Refurbished Acer Aspire TC-865 along with a 500-watt Evga PSU and an additional 8gb of Ram which totaled up to 430 USD + my $150 gtx 1060 6gb= 580 USD. My question to someone is "Did I overpay"?

[@TheGameBench]

Yeah, it's crazy how many people have gotten upset about my comments about the 2ng gen i5 in my buyers guide video. Like it was a personal attack or something. Quite a few people have even argued with me about it in the comments section. I actually bought a 990 with an i5 2500 that I'm going to do a video on and I found that which thew average frame rate wasn't all that different, the 1% and .1% lows were. I think most people still don't get why they're more important and your comment about six cores is spot on. Newer games are just using more and more cores which is why the i7's, even the 2nd gen, are still relevant while the older i5's are really not aging as well. You've got a pretty solid system there and with 16GB of DDR4 and a decent PSU, I'd say that $430 wasn't a bad price at all.

[@Fatmasters11]

@@TheGameBench Thanks for the reply

[@randallsmith2521]

I found this at the perfect time. I do think that now (9 months later) it would have been nice to have seen power figures for a 4x4GB RAM setup just in case that makes a big difference. In any event, you've given me the data I need to select GPUs for some flips.

[@TheGameBench]

Yeah, the difference between, say... a 4x4GB vs 2x8GB setup is going to be pretty negligible. Glad I could help out. Though I don't think I would push the 1060 anymore unless people listened to updated buyers guide.

[@xxboostedxx871]

I recently replaced the motherboard in my optiplex 390 it works great!!

[@Lightning0614]

These videos are so informative, and don't make me go to sleep unlike hardwarecanucks.

[@gregscrap]

Very good video hope to see more.

[@TheGameBench]

Thanks! Next video will be up in a few days.

[@rafaeljerez6260]

I just found this channel and Whoa! is amazing! I want to dive a little bit into the pc gaming world, i have a HP Prodesk that has an i5 4th gen and this is perfect for me to start comparing and looking; I am not so smart guy, but DUDE The info, and the quality, you make things look like very clear and kinda easy, man keep it up with the content is just amazing. Thabk you. By the way, are you the same guy of Nick930 channel? 🤔 the voice... 🤔

[@TheGameBench]

Hmmm... similar, but nope. Not me.

[@jameswubbolt7787]

Your explanations are clear and detailed. GOOD JOB. Thx.

[@abdaimegaming2679]

i totaly enjoyed your video, thank you for the good content

[@TheGameBench]

Thanks, I appreciate that.

[@davidkennedy832]

Man, did my day start out great. The GeForce GTX 1060 Gaming x 6g that I thought was lost in shipping magically appeared today. The fit into the Optiplex 9020 was really easily and the graphics were marvelous ... until I realized I had no sound. Not the connector to the speakers since it was still in place. I quickly plugged it into my phone and verified that part was still functioning. I removed the card and closely examined it for damage, found none. Same with the computer. So I tried it again. Same thing, worse yet when I remove the 1060, and put it back the way it was when I started this morning. Since it looks like the 1060 has killed something on my motherboard I just relaxed with my last half bottle of Jack. Dang, that video was nice. Any positive (since I am out of Jack) (matter of fact, this only proves I don't know Jack) comments would be appreciated.

[@TheGameBench]

First thing I would do is check the BIOS and make sure the audio is enabled. Then I would try re-installing the drivers from Dell's website. Check the motherboard closely where the GPU slots in. I've see instances where the I/O plate has caused some very slight damage to the motherboard and there are traces there that have to do with the audio. You can always try plugging the speakers into the port on the front to see if it works there.

[@davidkennedy832]

​@@TheGameBench I have no sound from any port. I have examined the MOBO and card for any sign of damage but then again how many times have I been ready to swear to something that on 2nd look found it bad. Next question, should it come to it, what is your suggestion if I am left with changing the mobo. New other brand or is there a good source for stock mobo replacement?

[@TheGameBench]

@@davidkennedy832 I really doubt the board is dead and I would hate to tell you to replace it and have it not resolve the issue. Still, it's hard for me to say without being able to look at the system. If you've checked the BIOS to make sure it's enabled, and you've re-installed the drivers, the only other thing I can really suggest you do is reset the BIOS. If you're set on replacing the motherboard, they're pretty cheap on eBay and I've bought a couple. One was only $15 and the other was $25. Should be able to get one for less that $30.

[@user-nv4mj5rb4n]

One gotcha I experienced when upgrading the CPU. The cpu cooler fan assembly was basically glued to the dern CPU. I guess the thermal compound dried over the years and acted like cement. I literally could not pull the cooler assembly straight up off the CPU. The mboard was flexing way too far. So I decided to try and twist the cooler loose. With enough twisting pressure, it finally jumped off the CPU. But in the event, it wacked off (no pun intended) one of the capacitors on the board that are very closely positioned to the cooler. Goodbye mboard...

[@dennisdales7504]

I bought a GTX 1650 OC along with an Optiplex 7020 with the i5-4590 thanks in no small part to your videos and advice. I wanted to build a low cost PC for 1080p/60 fps gaming. It's been years since I've done PC gaming since I use a PS4 Pro. I'm just waiting on Newegg to ship. Should be an interesting experience!

[@martkolokoy3089]

Best videos i ever watch about optiplex.. Explained perfectly

[@TheGameBench]

Thanks!

[@raquél72-72]

I got a 3010 with an i3 for 70 bucks with shipping. Plan to upgrade the psu and add a video card. I also have a compatible i7 from an old optiplex I tore apart. Already checked and it’s all compatible. Also gonna flag the bios to the latest version so I can have 16gb of ram

[@anassharif1081]

love your channel u really deserve a sub

[@TheGameBench]

Thanks! Also, I saw you left a comment about your 4770k... but it's gone for some reason. Anyways, I'm actually working on the video now, but I'll tell you that I would recommend a 1070 or 1080. But you'll have to change out the power supply. The 1660 Super is close to the 1070, but will run off the stock 290 watt PSU, but if you have a 4770K, that might be more power draw than I would recommend.

[@threeballedtomcat9380]

I am using a Dell Optiplex 9010 with the Win 10 OS, an SSD and 2 Tb HDD , I7 3770 , 16 Gb DDDR3 ram , the BIOS is changed from Legacy to UEFI and has a RX 560 4gb Video card. Other than optimization for gaming there is nothing "special" about it and it has no other hardware changes. I do intend to upgrade the PSU to a 500 watt unit so I can install a RX 580 8Gb card, but for now this PC does just great for the games I want to use it for. I have a total of less than $200.00 in this PC. My last build (died last October with 26,000 hours on it over 8 years) cost well over $1400.00, so this PC is the ultimate bargain.

[@mayanking213]

Thank you for this video, you did a lot of footwork for us budget Bums, I don't know why some folks would even want to criticize you in a negative way, but I AM NOT ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE! LOL thanks again!

[@TheGameBench]

You're welcome! Honestly, I'm not. You just have to look at dislikes on videos. People will hate on anything. But I appreciate the support, like this, and that keeps me wanting to make videos. Besides, I want to help people... I don't care if people who don't have any idea what they're talking about come out of the woodwork.

[@goodlookinghonkey8382]

People will go to strange lengths to find something wrong. Lol, It's life to some people.

[@imec00]

Great content. It looks like you are testing these graphic cards on the system you removed the hard drive cage. If that is the case you may want to make it clear at the beginning of the video and/or description in case people jump to this video without seeing your previous ones. They may think any video card would fit. I know I had a hard time finding out what length card would fit on a base model Optiplex. Which card would you recommend for a case that has not been modded? Apologies if I am wrong.

[@TheGameBench]

Nope, that wasn't the system I used in the video to remove the HDD cage. That system is still in parts in my workroom for the build video. I do have a card right at the beginning to the GPU modification video, but that's a fair point. I probably should have mentioned that this is provided you did the mod.

[@welleducatedman1388]

I have optiplex 7040 I7 6700 8 gb of ddr4 ram 1 TB hdd 240 psu What graphics card should I use Without upgrading the psu

[@TheGameBench]

Being a 240 watt PSU, I'd stick a 1650. Go for one with GDDR6. You might be able to get away with a 1650 Super.

[@moleyboy9650]

Great video man!! very useful indeed. Keep it up :)

[@TheGameBench]

Thanks! Will do.

[@robertravena]

Nice video and informative except I had to repeatedly pause the video to catch what GPU's you were talking about as they are not listed below in the info panel

[@pccoldwar9160]

Just gonna say very nice valuable information and that nice though and first hand experience whit the system was very interesting

[@TheGameBench]

Thanks! I really appreciate it.

[@ammontuttle9435]

Great video!

[@Ehliax]

this is a really good video. congrats

[@TheGameBench]

Thanks! Appreciate it.

[@traphouseroomba1398]

I have a gtx 970 in mine, with a thermaltake 500w psu and 16gb of viper ram, works great.

[@afmggamez8193]

The Optiplex video you did is the reason why i got my Dell Optiplex 9020. These are my specs: CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-4590 CPU @ 3.30GHz Memory: 16.0 GB DDR3 SSD: BTO-240 GB HDD: 2TB GPU: Intel(R) HD GRAPHICS 4600 (So obviously I do not have a graphics card) Based on your video and some research I did, I will need to upgrade my PSU. I am still confused on what graphics card I should purchase. Thanks for the information, I appreciate it. ALSO I SUBBED TO YOUR CHANNEL!

[@TheGameBench]

Thanks! I appreciate it. You don't need to upgrade the power supply depending on the GPU you're going to go with. On the nVidia side, you can go with the 1050, 1050 Ti, 1650, 1650 Super, 1060 3GB/6GB, 1660, 1660 Super and the 1660 Ti. The AMD side is a bit more limiting as Polaris is pretty power hungry. So, you're really looking at the 460/560. There are some 470s and 570s that will work that are closer to the reference clocks, but the only one I've tested that I can absolutely suggest, is the Asus Strix RX 470 non-OC. The 5500XT might be an option as well, but I've not been able to get one in for power testing. You'll just need a SATA to PCIe 8-pin adapter for the RX460/560 and all the nVidia cards up to the 1060 3GB, which I've linked in the description. If you want to go with the RX470 Strix or 1060 6GB and up, on the nVidia side, you'll want to use a dual SATA to PCIe 8-pin adapter as those cards will potentially use more than the 54 watt limit from a single SATA power connection. If you really want to, you can replace the power supply, but I really only suggest it if you're going with a higher end 470/570 or an RX 480/580. If you're gaming at 1080p, the 580, 1060 6GB, 5500XT and 1660 are pretty much the best cards I'd pair with the 4th gen i5. If you're gaming at 1440p, the 1070 and the 1080 makes sense, but I would suggest the 1660 Super or 1660 Ti over the 1070 as you're getting similar, or better, performance, but it can run on the stock power supply. Sorry for the long response... but as you can tell, I need to make an updated video.

[@afmggamez8193]

@@TheGameBench thank you for that valuable information I truly do appreciate it. Ill continue to do research on what I should do.

[@TheGameBench]

@@afmggamez8193 Happy to help.

[@afmggamez8193]

@@TheGameBench could you narrow it down on what's the best options? I want to upgrade my power supply too.

[@TheGameBench]

@@afmggamez8193 What's your budget?

[@flashesbuck]

I have been going back and forth as to what to order, This video has been alot of help, but it looks like prices have shifted. I would really like to cap the cost of a card to $120 and right now the GTX 1060 all look like they are north of $150. I believe I read at one point (from a comment here, made by you) I could run the RX 480 on the stock power supply, But in the video you state its really a bad idea. Buying a new power supply isn't out of the question either, but would rather allocate that additional funds to a new monitor.

[@TheGameBench]

If I said 480, then it was a typo. You definitely shouldn't off the stock PSU. The 570 might be fine, but it's really cutting it close. I've been seeing that with the 1060 as well. It's been that way for a while and you really have to be patient to get one closer to $120. People are nuts to spend $150 on one. At that price, a brand new 1650 Super makes more sense. If you can find an ex-miner 480 or 570 for around $60, that will give $60, give or take, for a good PSU and the adapter.

[@MrBuildmeup]

very detailed ! thumbs Up!!!

[@TheGameBench]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@php4u]

Mentioning Dunn-Kruger, nice!

[@digitaldeltablues]

Excellent video, super informative. Would I run into any issues with space upgrading a 7020 MT, or is it just the 3020 that you run into issues with the power to the SATA?

[@TheGameBench]

Yeah, the 3020 is the only one that has the SATA power in the way. The 7020 is effectively the same as the 9020 in the video so you won't have any issues.

[@mikemurley8656]

Great channel and a great guide. I am curious as to where you put the drives after you cut-out the 3.5" cage?

[@TheGameBench]

Thanks! I just put the HDD in the bay right under the optical drive. There are brackets that will adapt a 3.5" drive to a 5 1/4" bay, and there should be extra screws in the front panel that you can use so it will work with the latch. For the SSD, I just use some 3M Command strips to hold it to the side panel right next to the fan. If you want more specifics, that video should be up on Thursday.

[@drizz9567]

been following your advice so far and its been going great with my dell optiplex 7020.i wanted to ask if you still recommend the 1060 6gb till today? thanks for all the help so far

[@Genuflect84]

Very solid advice, thank you for your thorough testing and price to performance graphs. 1060 6gb is a solid choice.

[@TheGameBench]

Thanks for watching. I appreciate it.

[@tonymartinez4552]

i absolutely love this channel

[@copperbackpack2025]

Just put in a RX 6600 with the i5. I capped at 60 FPS and runs everything on Medium/High with no problems. At these current market prices, a used 1650-1660 isn’t worth it. Might swap the card for a RX 6400 when they hit the market but if the price is more than $250, I will just leave it alone.

[@TheGameBench]

The only problem I see with the 6400 is the 4GB of VRAM. But I imagine you've got a pretty healthy bottleneck with that i5 at 1080p. So, probably a good call on the FPS cap. A jump to 1440p could make that bottleneck disappear.

[@Patrick-dx2hx]

Hey sorry for bothering you @The Game Bench but would my dell optiplex 3020 work with a gtx 1650 super? I just wanted to know because you didn't put the card in your video. Love the video tho

[@TheGameBench]

You're not bothering me. I'm happy to help. I didn't have a 1650 Super for this video, but it consumes less power than the 1060 6GB, so it's completely fine on the stock power supply, and you could get away with up to a 1660 Ti on the stock power supply. If you're curious how it performs, I tested the 1650 Super in my 2nd, 3rd and 4th comparison video.

[@TheGameBench]

But in terms of bottlenecking, as long as you have an i5, or better, you should be fine. You'll only run into problems with games that have trouble with quad cores, but they would be a problem regardless of what GPU would used. Assassin's Creed Odyssey would be an example.

[@rdooski]

Thanks for the great in depth video on the exact subject I needed. Is the serial ata to pci express adapter needed for all the cards? Or the 1050ti and 1060's in particular? I will be going with one of those.

[@TheGameBench]

You're welcome, and thanks! There are 1050 Ti's that don't require external power and some that do. The cable I have linked in the description will work for both 6-pin and 8-pin connectors. However, all 1060's will either be a 6-pin or 8-pin and will need the adapter.

[@rdooski]

@@TheGameBench Awesome thanks for the reply! When looking at adapters I noticed one that had 2 sata's bridged into one 6+2pin. Does the power supply in one of these opti's have 2 sata's available. If so I think using one of these adapters would help distribute the amperage. Here is a pic of one i.ebayimg.com/images/g/UFgAAOSwjGpZ209P/s-l1600.jpg

[@TheGameBench]

@@rdooski Sorry. I thought I had responded to you. You're on the right track that it would help distribute the amperage. I would say that really only will matter if you're dealing with really thin conductors on the adapter. Stock you have four SATA connectors in these, so you'd have to add one, or not connect the optical drive. Really though, as long as you have a decent one, you should need that much amperage. If you're GPU is pulling enough current to worry about that, you probably want to considering just moving up to a PSU.

[@rdooski]

@@TheGameBench No problem. Ive had everything running for a couple weeks and it turned out to be a great setup. I did the 7020 with a 1050ti, 14gb ram, and a ssd. Im using it as a htpc and needed something to play high bandwidth 4k movies and it does it without breaking a sweat. Thanks for all the videos, they really helped out with the build.

[@TheGameBench]

@@rdooski Awesome! Thanks, I really appreciate that. Glad it all worked out for you.

[@infinity2z3r07]

Appreciate the thorough breakdown! Agree 1060 6gb is probably best choice, but I wouldn't feel bad about an under-volted rx 570 either, especially w a freesync monitor.

[@TheGameBench]

Yeah, that's not a bad Idea. I really I had thought to mention that in the video.

[@rodbar9267]

Thank you really really helpful and detailed 🙏

[@TheGameBench]

Glad I could be helpful.

[@NeonFluXz]

i have an optiplex 7010 with a i5 3470 with a 1050ti on the new modern warfare. it lags in the beginning of the intro. mutliplayer plays with some jitters. but single player campaign crashes the game. spex legends play good. and battlefield 4 plays good. is this a psu problem? on battlefield V. it 100% cpu then drops to 16% then back to 100% lagging at the same time

[@TheGameBench]

Well, the 3470 should have no problem with the 1050 Ti. The 265 watt power supply should also be perfectly fine with that hardware. Some of your lagging at intros and when you first start playing could be related to the hard drive if that's what you're running on. Running Windows and programs off an SSD would help if that's the issue. However, it wouldn't explain all your issues. A dying drive, HDD or SSD, could be why it's crashing and account for all the other issues as well. So could bad memory. If you're running DDR3 @ 1333MHz that could cause some stuttering as well. It could all be related to a software issue. I really doubt your power supply has anything to do with it, though it's not impossible. If it's not supplying enough power, it could cause issues. If you're running on a HDD, I suggest getting the trial of HD Tune Pro and check the SMART reporting, run the becnhmarks to make sure it's performing, and run a surface scan. If you have an SSD run Crystal Disk Info and Crystal Disk Mark to make sure it hasn't degraded and check it's performance. You can test the memory with memtest. Lastly, running Intel's processor diagnostic tool isn't a terrible idea. CPU's rarely just fail... but it's not impossible. You could also run Heaven, or some other GPU benchmark, and watch the GPU clocks and voltages while it's running using GPU-Z to see if it's having an issue. If all that checks out, I would try doing a clean install. If you're not booting off an SSD, that would be an excellent upgrade for around $30 that would make it seem like a new computer.

[@NeonFluXz]

@@TheGameBench k thanks

[@TheGameBench]

@@NeonFluXz No problem.

[@printoul]

I found this channel too late! Been modding my old business systems for a few months now and 5700xt's are super affordable on the secondary market. Pretty sure they start baking my ram after a few hours though.

[@printoul]

Think I could run a 580 if I limit the power in Adrenaline? I intend to test with a larger PSU what meter should I buy?

[@cm6gaming259]

Liked and sub’d. Perfect video. No BS. All info.

[@IqbalAhmadNazrawi321]

can u suggest whether I can go with 1070 in 2020......as I have an i7-4770....would it bottleneck the 1070....and also can you suggest as to where I can buy used GPUs...like 1070 or 1060 6gb variant online........also I have a 320-watt power supply..........honestly your video is amazing...hope u make it to the top......i really love your work Will be waiting for your reply😊😊👍😁

[@TheGameBench]

I just built a system for someone with a 4770 and a 1070. Works great. If you really want to see this in video form, I have a 2nd, 3rd, and 4th gen CPU comparison video and I go over bottlenecking and performance with a 4790, which will be pretty close.

[@IqbalAhmadNazrawi321]

Thanks mate for the reply....teally appreciate your help But will 320 watts be enough for 1070....and also where can i buy used graphics cards in todays situation?

[@TheGameBench]

@@IqbalAhmadNazrawi321 Ah, I guess I missed that. No, a 320 watt isn't enough for a 1070. If you want to go with the 1070, I'd consider going with around 400 watt minimum. It'd be fine for a 1060 6GB... if that is a continuous rating and depending on how much wattage it provides on the 12v rails. Either way, I don't know if you're in the U.S. but I get them off eBay and I'm paying around $220 for a 1070. 1060 6GB models are all over the place. Sometimes you can get them for a reasonable price, around $120, but those are few and far between. I don't suggest paying more than about $140 for one.

[@davidkennedy832]

I tried an AMD xfx Radeon rx 580 after I went from a 450 wt Insignia power supply to an EVGA 550 B5 modular power supply. When I first fired up the system it was beautiful. Then I got the gift of no pointer and Everything in the taskbar just left of the time and date disappeared. The cursor came back but it had a little blue blinking wait circle tagging along with it. If I clicked to open anything it appeared on the taskbar but never ran. I finally ran it past support and they pronounced it DOA. I returned it today. MEH ! Now I have to start GPU shopping again. I just thought this would sort of complete your GPU comparison. Thanks again for all of your great tips.

[@ThEuNbEaTeN1994]

Just got an 9020 with an i7 4790, 8gb of ram and a 1tb hdd for £170, added my gt 640 and it ran games pretty well compared to my old pc (amd athlon 4400+ or something) decided to look for a gpu and managed to find a gtx 1050 ti for only £75, hopefully it works with my stock psu

[@ig33ku]

Alt R allows you to bring up the AMD Metrics Meter and see the watts used by their cards.

[@TheGameBench]

Yep, I know. You can see that in GPU-Z as well.

[@pccoldwar9160]

main issu is that via the software you only see on amd power draw gpu silicon and that drr5 bank are not display can how ever give nice indication if your underclock is effective ;) normally you can shave about 10 watts whit any significant lost in performance annd clock that drr5 that alone wooping 3-5 in some case scenario quite fun to play around whit those.;)

[@TheGameBench]

@@pccoldwar9160 Hmm... I'll have to look at GPU-Z again, I thought it gave you everything, just that it split it up. Anyways, that's exactly why I prefer the watt meter. The results are undeniable and accurate.

[@pccoldwar9160]

​@@TheGameBench i was taling about radeon software i should have mention it i do not know about gpu-z value if those show all sorry can't help you about that.i think over here at pcperspective did try to debunk a bit about power draw of rx 480 should be some what related whit strange home made test kzbin.info/www/bejne/kJuknaV9r610oas

[@earthenergyhex]

Great video, very helpful

[@TheGameBench]

You're welcome! I'm glad you found these useful.

[@radiantansel202]

Thank you very much for this videos! Really loving these, here in Mexico, is quite hard to get a PC nowadays, Covid and a lot of factors really affected the prices, so a couple of friends want to get into PC gaming, mostly eSports titles, hell, one of them only wants to play League of Legends, so him was a very easy scenario (i5-2400 and a RX 560 pretty much). However, in my case, I really do need a PC, but buying new doesn't convice me a lot because again... Price, Ryzen 7's, no matter the generation, are getting as high as 250 to 300 dollars, when they used to run at 100 before... Fool me, oh well, still, I was able to get a full i7 3770 with 8gb RAM 1600 kit for 150, which seems good for a newbie in content creation. However, I do quite some more heavy tasks as mentiones before, but I also want to play a couple of games that tend to be only in emulation, do you know if the GTX 1660 would be a bottleneck? Or should I get a bit lower? Still, thank you very much for these videos, I totally appreciate them, regards from Mexico!

[@TheGameBench]

Actually, the 1660 would be fine on an i5. I would say you should go with a 1070/1660 Super/Ti, or a 1080, 2060, 2060 Super or a 2070 and be fine at 1080p. Much higher than that, I'd suggest jumping up to 1440p.