Question Upgrading Dell 7010 SFF

[ethanebs10]

Hey everyone,

I know I'm going to catch some heat for attempting this config at all but bear with me, I think there is a solution here that makes sense.

I have:
a Dell Optiplex SFF 7010 3rd Gen Core i5 - 8GB RAM / 1TB Hard Drive
a GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost 1GB GDDR5

The problem:
a 240W stock PSU with no free molex or other power out connectors, and an older graphics card which 1. draws 110W and 2. needs a 6 pin PCI-E power in

Options:

1. Switch cases and PSUs, bleh bc the Dell Mobo is so unique
2. Find a 750 Ti LP (I would do this but I can't find one anywhere online, like at all. Perhaps someone has a lead on one?)
3. Upgrade the PSU to a 400W unit and run it externally, with a PCI riser to the GPU (also externally mounted?)

I like option 3 but I am trying to do this as cheaply as possible so I'd like input from the community, especially anyone who's battled this before, thanks!

One note: I need to be able to run 3 monitors with this setup so the GPU, whatever it ends up being, must have output for 3 displays. The 650 ti boost has support for 4.

 

[USAFRet]

#4. Start over, with a non crippled PC.

 

[tennis2]

Agreed. 3rd gen i3 isn't worth this much hassle and expensive specialty parts.

The power supply for that case is "TFX" form factor.

 

[ethanebs10]

I don't disagree that starting over would be the right way to do it, but in fairness it's a decent machine running 310+ cinebench single core scores and I'm more interested in the challenge of making this work than having a pretty rig. Its quad i5 not i3 btw

 

[tennis2]

GTX1050Ti 4GB = $150 after MIR and promo code VGASAV33N. That's actually not a terrible price considering it's a GTX1050Ti AND low profile. (MSI and Zotac have announced low profile GTX1650 cards, but I can't find them at retail yet)
Silverstone SST-TX300 = $40. (has a 6 pin PCIe connector)

 

[maxamillionfeettall]

I have the 7010sff, it has a 50w pci-e limit. My r7 360 never went past 45w despite being a 100w card, was crashy as well as one would imagine. So no card over 50w unfortunately.

 

[ethanebs10]

SATA power to 6 pin adapter + PCI-E Riser, stock power supply. Done.

132 FPS on rocket league, 1920x1080, high everything

 

[maxamillionfeettall]

Wow, really? Dang, there is a definite 50w pci-e limit with my slot powered r7 360, and it never worked with other cards with pins either(hd 7770, gtx 560ti, gtx1060). TBH, I'm kinda jelly.

 

[ethanebs10]

Yeah I'm surprised and pleased with how well it's working. It's stable too (so far) haha. I did have to crank up the fan speed curve in Afterburner because the GPU was running a little hot. Thats under control now. Ill post a picture of what the setup looks like in a bit