Help upgrading small form factor PC for gaming.

[ViSiON2099]

Hi, I could really use some advice on what I should do about upgrading my small form factor PC for medium-high gaming. I am interested in playing high settings at 1080p, nothing too special like 4k or VR. I recently purchased a Dell Optiplex 790 with some decent specs for relatively cheap in the hopes of upgrading it to a decent gaming PC, although at the time I did not realize it was a small form factor PC but after recieving it I really like the size and portability. It is about half the width of a standard PC case so the problem I believe I am going to encounter is the size of the GPU. I managed to find a 420 watt PSU that fits perfect and I am going to upgrade to 32 GB RAM. It is running an i7 processor on a Dell Mobo (I believe these cannot be over clocked?) I have never overclocked anything so I am not too worried about that. I am looking at prices of sff GPU or half height GPUs and they seem to cost about double the price of a regular GPU. for instance a 4 GB ddr5 sff is about 260 and an 8 GB ddr5 regular size is about 260. Is there any way around this or are there any gpus that will fit that are not the expensive sff? Also if I get the 4 GB I'm not sure if I can add another 4 GB card at a later time for 8gb total? One option I was thinking was just buying a different PC case that can fit a wider GPU and just transfer all the parts over. Does anyone have any auggestions?

 

[Hellfire13]

though ur account of the issue is all over the place...i think, somewhere during the analysis, u have answered ur own question...
just get a bigger case mate...it will be much more conveneinet instead of adjusting with so many limitations...


this...only 20 bucks...and shd fit everything...
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/28h9TW/azza-case-csaz206s

 

[ViSiON2099]

I guess i should have said I'd rather not change the case I really like the sff case that it's in now. So any ideas from anyone else? Is there a GPU that will fit in a sff case that isn't really expensive? Or is the expensive GPU just the price you pay for having the small form factor?

 

[jsmithepa]

There is no magic, a more powerful GPU will require room (physical) and heat dissipation (bigger fan(s), bigger heatsink).

 

[ViSiON2099]

There is a lot of room to work with just not width. I saw a setup where a case would actually set the GPU vertically to fit so there are workarounds and they do have half height cards like I said so they can fit it's just the price. Looking at dimensions it looks like many cards have different dimensions was just wondering if anyone had any knowledge of a smaller width GPU that is still decent. I have seen builds on YouTube with my exact case fitting some Nvidia GT 7 something gpus and I'm not sure if those were sff GPU or not. If I have to get a new case does anyone have any suggestions of a small case that can fit a full size GPU that is better than the recommendation above. If I have to get a new case I'd rather go all out and get a really nice one that costs more than $20. Thanks

 

[ViSiON2099]

This PC can fit an Nvidia GTx 750 ti, so if anyone knows a similar sized card that is more powerful that would work? Also I'm comming across some hybrid cards that actually have the fan or water cooling system detached from the actual GPU so there is some type of "magic" to the size and heat dissipation issue.

 

[MasterMace]

what price range?

 

[ViSiON2099]

I'm aiming for around $300 for a GPU maybe $150 for a case.

 

[Hellfire13]

this is a mini card and almost twice as powerful as the 750ti, if u wanna keep the case...
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Ft7CmG/zotac-geforce-gtx-1060-6gb-mini-video-card-zt-p10600a-10l

i wud say, if u decide to change the case anyway, lower the budget a bit from $150 and invest the same in a better gpu like these...these are even more powerful cards...the rx480 is not as much though as the 1070...
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/c6rcCJ/sapphire-radeon-rx-480-8gb-video-card-21260-00-20g
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/9TYWGX/evga-geforce-gtx-1070-8gb-acx-30-video-card-08g-p4-6171-kr



for the case...u can take a look into these...lots of room with pretty gud cable management...
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/cTQypg/corsair-case-200r
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/ms6BD3/nzxt-case-cas340wb1

 

[ViSiON2099]

Thank you very much thats the type of stuff I am looking for! So the gtx 1060 mini card should fit in my case right? If it does that's the one for me! All I need is that card and some memory and I'm good to go! Is it necessary to have 32 GB or ram or should I just stick with 16 GB do you think? I'll either get 4x 8gb or 2x 8 GB. Unless a 4x4 GB would work better? Is it the less slots used up the more efficient or does that not matter? Right now I'm running 4 x 2 GB RAM. Thanks again.

 

[Hellfire13]

that card is the smallest i guess right now in the 1000 series...u still need to match the dimensions with ur case before purchase...

32gb is overkill, specially for gaming...16gb is more than enuf as even not all of that is used by the rig while gaming, unless u r streaming or modding/rendering/lan hosting simultaneously...

for optimal ram configuration...this shd be helpful...
http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2413176/fill-ram-slots.html

 

[ViSiON2099]

How would I find the GPU dimensions to find out if it will fit? It is the Optiplex 790 sff. Also it looks like that mini 1060 requires a power connection straight from the power supply? I don't believe my PSU has an additional power connection for a graphics card. Is this necessary or is there a work around? My Mobo requires a 24 pin connection and there's another smaller one that connects to the Mobo also but I don't think there is one for the GPU. Edit: here is my PSU. Is it compatible? https://m.newegg.com/Product/Feedback?itemnumber=9SIA85V3GC9087

 

[ViSiON2099]

Bump. Any help with question please?

 

[Hellfire13]

Card Length
174mm x 111.15mm
https://www.zotac.com/us/product/graphics_card/zotac-geforce-gtx-1060-mini#spec

every powerful gpu needs a power connector these days...ur psu should have an additional 6/8 pin power connector other than the 20/24 pin connector and heatsink connector to support the card...i believe u can still connect through a 6pin to molex adapter, if ur psu can handle that...
by the way, ur psu link takes to a generic newegg page...

 

[ViSiON2099]

Thank you for your reply. Here is a hofully better link: https://m.newegg.com/Product/index?itemnumber=9SIA85V3GC9087

 

[ViSiON2099]

So a molex to six pin adapter should work? awesome, now I just need to figure out if the GPU will fit in my case. Is there any way u could help me figure out if it would fit? I'm a total noob to this type of thing and I'd really appreciate it. Again its the Optiplex 790 sff. Thanks again!

 

[Hellfire13]

1 x 12V P4 connector, 3 x 4-pin Molex Connector, 2 x
above is a part of ur unit...so u can use a molex adapter with that connector...but the quality of ur psu is not very gud...its a cheap unit which i wud certainly refrain from using with a gud graphics card like the 1060...
this luks like a gud small form factor psu with 6pin connector...however, u need to match the dimensions with ur case, should u decide to make the purchase...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256084&cm_re=small_form_factor_power_supply-_-17-256-084-_-Product

 

[ViSiON2099]

Thanks for your reply. Just by looking at it I can tell you it won't fit. I know my power supply is not a good quality but it is the only option I could find that would fit in my case. You can see by the pictures that the one i have is about half the width of the one suggested. I'm either looking at getting the molex adapter and graphics card or buying a case, power supply, and graphics card. The power supply I got is a 420 watt so it should be able to power the GPU. I am considering just buying the 750 ti since I know it will fit and requires no extra power and just selling that PC as a sff low power gaming PC and starting again from scratch with a different case. Or getting a different case and just transferring all my stuff over. If I knew if the 1060 would fit that would be awesome cause that would save me lots of time and money but I dont want to buy it just to find out it does not fit.

 

[Hellfire13]

so i did some research on the zotac website...and this is what it generated in terms of dimension comparison between the 750ti and the 1060...the first dimension is for 1060 and the second is 750ti...i think the 1060 is slightly bigger in length, if i am not wrong...u need to check whether ur case has the additional headroom...

Card Length 174mm x 111.15mm 144.78mm x 111.15mm