Dell optiplex 9010 MT budget upgrade - Advice please

[aymanfarshid94]

Hey guys, hope you're doing well. I would really appreciate your expert suggestions. I am looking to upgrade my desktop to a more gaming-friendly system. My major concerns are about the PSU and GPU compatibility with the motherboard since it is an OEM PC but if there are other issues, please give me your views.

The current specs are,

Dell OptiPlex 9010 MT (the wider one)
Dell default PSU 275W
Intel core i7-3770 3.40Ghz Ivy-Bridge,
Dell OM9KCM Motherboard,
BIOS/UEFI boot capable as per Dell support,
16GB DDR3 RAM,
Standard SATA 2 TB HDD
PCI-E 2.0 x 16,
Intel HD 4000/ATI Radeon 5400 series 1GB,
Win10 x 64.

Monitors -
1. Dell P2210 22" 1680 x 1050 DP+DVI+VGA
2. Two Acer 19" 1440 x 900 VGA

I'd like a budget card AMD/Nvidia at the moment and don't mind a slight drop in quality as long I
can get the FPS (or even drop the additional 19" monitors).
I believe I will need to change the PSU first as well to a higher unit in order to support a new GPU. Additionally what should I be looking for in the new PSU, a local gaming PC shop told me it is a standard ATX so any replacement will be fine as long it fits physically.

Let me know if you need additional details.
Looking forward to your responses.
Thank you.

 

[Techron]

Hey guys, hope you're doing well. I would really appreciate your expert suggestions. I am looking to upgrade my desktop to a more gaming-friendly system. My major concerns are about the PSU and GPU compatibility with the motherboard since it is an OEM PC but if there are other issues, please give me your views.

The current specs are,

Dell OptiPlex 9010 MT (the wider one)
Dell default PSU 275W
Intel core i7-3770 3.40Ghz Ivy-Bridge,
Dell OM9KCM Motherboard,
BIOS/UEFI boot capable as per Dell support,
16GB DDR3 RAM,
Standard SATA 2 TB HDD
PCI-E 2.0 x 16,
Intel HD 4000/ATI Radeon 5400 series 1GB,
Win10 x 64.

Monitors -
1. Dell P2210 22" 1680 x 1050 DP+DVI+VGA
2. Two Acer 19" 1440 x 900 VGA

I'd like a budget card AMD/Nvidia at the moment and don't mind a slight drop in quality as long I
can get the FPS (or even drop the additional 19" monitors).
I believe I will need to change the PSU first as well to a higher unit in order to support a new GPU. Additionally what should I be looking for in the new PSU, a local gaming PC shop told me it is a standard ATX so any replacement will be fine as long it fits physically.

Let me know if you need additional details.
Looking forward to your responses.
Thank you.

Get a budget PSU like the Cosair VS450 and for the GPU get a GTX 1050 Ti. All 1050 Ti models should fit inside your case comfortably.

 

[Techron]

Hey guys, hope you're doing well. I would really appreciate your expert suggestions. I am looking to upgrade my desktop to a more gaming-friendly system. My major concerns are about the PSU and GPU compatibility with the motherboard since it is an OEM PC but if there are other issues, please give me your views.

The current specs are,

Dell OptiPlex 9010 MT (the wider one)
Dell default PSU 275W
Intel core i7-3770 3.40Ghz Ivy-Bridge,
Dell OM9KCM Motherboard,
BIOS/UEFI boot capable as per Dell support,
16GB DDR3 RAM,
Standard SATA 2 TB HDD
PCI-E 2.0 x 16,
Intel HD 4000/ATI Radeon 5400 series 1GB,
Win10 x 64.

Monitors -
1. Dell P2210 22" 1680 x 1050 DP+DVI+VGA
2. Two Acer 19" 1440 x 900 VGA

I'd like a budget card AMD/Nvidia at the moment and don't mind a slight drop in quality as long I
can get the FPS (or even drop the additional 19" monitors).
I believe I will need to change the PSU first as well to a higher unit in order to support a new GPU. Additionally what should I be looking for in the new PSU, a local gaming PC shop told me it is a standard ATX so any replacement will be fine as long it fits physically.

Let me know if you need additional details.
Looking forward to your responses.
Thank you.

Get a budget PSU like the Cosair VS450 and for the GPU get a GTX 1050 Ti. All 1050 Ti models should fit inside your case comfortably. With the monitors you have you will be able run almost any game at ULTRA@60 FPS.

 

[n0ns3ns3]

depends on what you mean by "budget" GPU.
If it's something like GTX 1030 - GTX 1050 or RX 550 - RX 560, you don't need to change the PSU.
The replacement of PSU will work. things you need to look for are the quality of the PSU and connectors.

 

[zoltan.boese]

Please read the psu recommendation: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/nvidia-geforce-gtx-1050-ti,4787-6.html
Depending on you choice of graphics card, you might want to upgrade your power supply https://uk.hardware.info/reviews/6981/corsair-cx450m-review-decent-budget-power-supply
For the 1050 your present PSU should suffice.
I do not know what your budget on the monitor is, but I would prefer a 23-24" 1920x1080 display, such as BenQ GW2470HE, 23.8" ; iiyama ProLite X2474HS-B1, 23.6" or ASUS VP247HA, 23.6"

 

[william p]

GTX1050Ti will run 1080P just fine and save buying a bigger PSU.
Here are some builds for that system.
http://www.userbenchmark.com/System/Dell-OptiPlex-9010/829
A lot of people think the GTX1060 is a better deal than the 1050 (when prices were normal) but will require a PSU with 6 or 8 pin PCIe cable depending on the card. So 2 blows against the budget concept there. But a good head start on a later build.

 

[aymanfarshid94]

Thanks a lot for your suggestions. So just to clarify, I DON'T need to upgrade my PSU if I'm considering going for the GTX 1050/1050ti? Forgive me for asking this, all I notice are Nvidia suggestions, how about considering an AMD radeon? Your opinions about R5/R7 series, and of course what about the RX 550 which looks like a reasonable price, no additional cables and only 50W on the board. AMD eyefinity is a plus but like you've suggested, gaming on a single display with good resolution and fps wins over a three display span.

 

[n0ns3ns3]

Here is how average (across large numbert of games) performance chart would look like:
RX550 << GTX 1030 <- RX 560 << GTX 1050 <- GTX 1050Ti
There are games where cards with << can swap their places.
R5 and R7 cards are too old and too power hungry to offer decent performance in 75w TDP. Of course if you are willing to change the PSU, you can get many older cards with that worth to look at.

 

[aymanfarshid94]

Here is how average (across large numbert of games) performance chart would look like:
RX550 << GTX 1030 <- RX 560 << GTX 1050 <- GTX 1050Ti
There are games where cards with << can swap their places.
R5 and R7 cards are too old and too power hungry to offer decent performance in 75w TDP. Of course if you are willing to change the PSU, you can get many older cards with that worth to look at.

Thank you, so your're saying if I am to go with these above cards, I don't need a PSU changeover and it's safe from frying my system?

 

[n0ns3ns3]

Yes, it's relatively safe.

 

[aymanfarshid94]

Hey again guys, thanks for all your input. Randomly, I got hold of a Aopen 500W 20+4 pin PSU and a XFX Radeon R7 250X 2 GB with a 6-pin PCI-E power GPU. But when we did an upgrade after fitting in all the parts with the respective connectors, we encountered an amber blinking light on the power button while booting and I did not see the PSU fan also powering up. Any suggestions on what could be the issue?

 

[n0ns3ns3]

read this on pg #50
http://downloads.dell.com/manuals/all-products/esuprt_desktop/esuprt_optiplex_desktop/optiplex-9010_owner%27s%20manual2_en-us.pdf
there is a description of power led blinking patterns and their cause.

Check that you have properly connected all the cables (24pin and EPS 4pin).
Connect the old PSU and check if it works - you don't have to install it in the case, just connect the cables. maybe the new PSU is faulty in some way.

 

[aymanfarshid94]

Yes, that was the first go to source where I checked out what could the blink be denoting and as it says its possible to be a PSU failure. Now I cant say for sure, since the guy who handed it over to be said its working fine 100% but I would maybe start to think its a compatibility issue? Or not? Because using a Youtube video to test out the PSU by connecting the terminals of the 24 pin together (green and black) and powering it on still did not give any indication of it turning on, no sound no lights no fan spinning etc. Connected back the old PSU and everythings fine as normal.

 

[william p]

AMD GPUs with GCN3 and up won't display the Dell BIOS screen, and often won't even boot. Nvidia doesn't have this problem. You have to go all the way back to HD, R7, or R9-2xx (except 285/380) to get one that runs. GTX1050/Ti is the way to go.
As far as the PSU problem. I've never heard of Aspen. Many off brand PSUs are ripoffs. Look at the power on the 5V rail. Sometimes Dell uses more than cheaper PSUs can provide. There are many PSU ranking websites. You should only buy PSUs that are rated by people who actually test them, not by customer reviews. Tomshardware, Johhnyguru, and OCN all have PSU lists.