Upgrading an office pc to a gaming pc

[thkim750]

Hi all! I have received an office PC from my company and trying to upgrade it to a gaming one if possible.

Here are the specs:
Product Name: Lenovo Thinkcentre M83 SFF
Product Model: 10AN001KAU
CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.20GHz
Chipset Model: Q85 Express
Memory: 8GB DDR3-1600
GPU: Intel HD Graphics 4600 (Integrated)
PCIe : This, I'm not quite sure but there are 3 slots (It's written x16, x1, x4)
Power Supply: LITEON PS-4241-01 (AC 100-127/200-240V, 240W)
Power Supply Dimensions: 101.1mm x 400mm x 66mm

What components would I need to upgrade to play most games (PUBG, Overwatch,etc) at high settings?
I have a budget around $400, and hope to upgrade this PC for gaming instead of having to buy a new one.

Anyways, thank you for reading and please leave a comment!!

 

[Eximo]

1) New case
2) New Power Supply
2b) Power supply adapter
3) GPU

Everything else is pretty much good to go.

So a new case, this motherboard is MicroATX. But we can put it in a larger chassis. Mid-Tower cases are desirable, they give you a little extra room, and if you ever decide to replace the motherboard and CPU you have more options:

SFF PSUs are not designed for gaming. They were intended to run that CPU with its integrated graphics. There are a few GPU options, like the GT1030 that are very low power and would work okay, but wouldn't get you your high settings. You could risk something like a GTX1050 or GTX1050ti, but that would require adapters and the PSU might not last very long.

Annoyingly, Lenovo is using a proprietary power standard here. So we can't just swap it out. Luckily, Moddiy sells adapter cables: https://www.moddiy.com/products/IBM-Lenovo-PSU-Main-Power-24%252dPin-to-14%252dPin-Adapter-Cable-%2830cm%29.html

Then you just pick out something like a 500W PSU from Corsair or something. (I'll list a decent deal below)

As for GPU, your budget leaves quite a few options, but to avoid overspending the GTX 1060 6G is probably your best bet.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6GB D5 6G Video Card ($284.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Cougar - MX330-X ATX Mid Tower Case ($31.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA G3 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $376.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-07-30 15:20 EDT-0400

You can shop around for cases as you choose. I picked that one out since I have seen it reviewed and it got high praise for its price/features. For a lower power system it makes sense. But you may also want to look for cases that have more included fans or offer even greater expansion options for the future.

The power supply may seem expensive, but they can last for many years. It will be enough for all consumer CPU and single GPU systems up to an i7/GTX1080Ti or what have you.

 

[thkim750]

1) New case
2) New Power Supply
2b) Power supply adapter
3) GPU

Everything else is pretty much good to go.

So a new case, this motherboard is MicroATX. But we can put it in a larger chassis. Mid-Tower cases are desirable, they give you a little extra room, and if you ever decide to replace the motherboard and CPU you have more options:

SFF PSUs are not designed for gaming. They were intended to run that CPU with its integrated graphics. There are a few GPU options, like the GT1030 that are very low power and would work okay, but wouldn't get you your high settings. You could risk something like a GTX1050 or GTX1050ti, but that would require adapters and the PSU might not last very long.

Annoyingly, Lenovo is using a proprietary power standard here. So we can't just swap it out. Luckily, Moddiy sells adapter cables: https://www.moddiy.com/products/IBM-Lenovo-PSU-Main-Power-24%252dPin-to-14%252dPin-Adapter-Cable-%2830cm%29.html

Then you just pick out something like a 500W PSU from Corsair or something. (I'll list a decent deal below)

As for GPU, your budget leaves quite a few options, but to avoid overspending the GTX 1060 6G is probably your best bet.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6GB D5 6G Video Card ($284.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Cougar - MX330-X ATX Mid Tower Case ($31.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA G3 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($59.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $376.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-07-30 15:20 EDT-0400

You can shop around for cases as you choose. I picked that one out since I have seen it reviewed and it got high praise for its price/features. For a lower power system it makes sense. But you may also want to look for cases that have more included fans or offer even greater expansion options for the future.

The power supply may seem expensive, but they can last for many years. It will be enough for all consumer CPU and single GPU systems up to an i7/GTX1080Ti or what have you.

Thank you Eximo! Although I will have to go with gtx1060 3gb and cheaper power supply and case as the shipping cost is too expensive 🙁
About the adapter cable, it looks like moddyi isn’t accepting orders due to ’system update’. Is there any other websites where I could get them? I found a few from eBay but I’m a little reluctant as they are being sold at $2.
Thanks in advance!

 

[Eximo]

Post the links and I will take a look. 2$ is probably about the parts cost in reality, but then you wouldn't have the assurance of a retailer to fall back on if something went wrong.

I've done a Dell by hand once, but I also have a lot of spare parts and Dell used an 8-pin connector, not the 14-pin that Lenovo likes.

Let me see if any other etailers carry them.

https://www.amazon.com/Power-Supply-Adapter-Lenovo-Motherboards/dp/B01D77ND7Y

 

[Eximo]

An alternative to the GTX1060 3GB is the RX580 8GB. That extra video memory might come in handy in the future. Uses a bit more power though.
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/QvGj4D/gigabyte-radeon-rx-580-8gb-aorus-8g-video-card-gv-rx580aorus-8gd
Also tends to do better in DX12 and Vulcan capable games. Nvidia cards are the kings of DX11 titles, which is still the majority of games.

PSU
Still fully modular, and a decent size, great brand: https://pcpartpicker.com/product/TgW9TW/seasonic-power-supply-m12ii520bronze
Non modular version: https://pcpartpicker.com/product/fZyFf7/seasonic-power-supply-s12ii520bronze

Still fully modular, quite the bargain at the moment, but a little on the small side:
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/XxvZxr/evga-b3-450w-80-bronze-certified-fully-modular-atx-power-supply-220-b3-0450-v1
More reasonable size:
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/hWs8TW/evga-b3-550w-80-bronze-certified-fully-modular-atx-power-supply-220-b3-0550-v1

 

[Eximo]

Not much luck on places other than Moddiy. They are my go to for those adapters. Performance-PCs has a few options, but not the Lenovo 14-pin ones.

That Amazon link seems to represent a fairly large company, Eyeboot. Looks like they deal in crypto currency mining accoutrements. And getting larger power supplies into cheap PCs would be a useful thing for them. (Lots of GPUs, but you don't need a fast computer to manage them)

 

[Eximo]

Oh, I almost forgot. You may have difficulty wiring up the front panel connectors. USB should be fine, but the power and reset switch or audio may be a challenge. If so, post again here or a new thread and send me a PM. I'm usually on daily.

 

[geofelt]

I might suggest you first try a low profile GTX1050..
The specs are for 75w which will be the max a pcie X16 slot can deliver.
The 460 has a dtp of 65w.

No telling if the included 240w psu is of quality or not, but I think I would try it.