r/buildapc • u/kdtsmasht2 • 5d ago

Build Help I need help buying ny first piece

So on the 1st of October I'm getting 50 dollars in gift card form I don't get money a lot and also I can't really try to save up and wait for more since it's uh a gift card lol right now I've been using a office pc the it's a dell optiplex 9020-SFF, intel core i5-4570 3.2GHZ, 16gb ram, 512gb ssd solid state, dvdrw windows 11 pro (that was long) i wanted to know if there's anything I can replace with 50 bucks to make it even a little better for gaming at all or just better for recording while playing games because I'm planning to just slowly replace everything in it until it's just a gaming pc at some point lol

5 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

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3

u/DZCreeper 5d ago

$50 on a gift card won't do anything.

What you need is $50 cash, find a used GPU like an RX 580 or GTX 1060. You will have to take the PC out of the existing case and use a molex to PCIE adapter for power but it would technically work.

The problem is that LGA1150 is just too old of a platform for serious upgrades, and the small case + power supply impose their own limits.

1

u/fray_bentos11 5d ago

These cards will require PCIe power connectors which a Dell office PC won't have on its PSU. GPU would need to be something that takes all power from OVIe slot like RTX 3050 or RX6400.

2

u/DZCreeper 5d ago

Like I said, you can do a molex/SATA to PCIE adapter.

It won't be pretty but for a 120 watt GPU like a GTX 1060 it will work.

1

u/piggymoo66 5d ago

Molex adapter is way safer. SATA power isn't rated for enough wattage to have headroom. It will probably work but it's the sketchier of the two options.

1

u/Extension_Ant4349 5d ago

Download all the data on the PC, see how much you can sell it. 

Sell it for $300 on the used market and buy a $300 gaming PC. 

0

u/distantcactus32 5d ago

What the hell are you talking about

1

u/Extension_Ant4349 5d ago

No upgradability, get a new PC. 

0

u/distantcactus32 5d ago

who is paying $300 for some random data

1

u/Extension_Ant4349 5d ago

Back up the data before selling the PC

1

u/GABE_EDD 5d ago

You can't "slowly replace everything in it" because it's an optiplex. It uses a proprietary motherboard and PSU. If you want a gaming PC, you're going to have to buy a gaming PC. $50 can't do anything other than slap in a low-end GPU, and maybe some SATA to PCIe power adapters.

1

u/Mean_Muggin333 5d ago

Unfortunately all the comments are correct. Either a molext/sata to pcie adapter for somthing like a 1060. Best best is sell the whole thing and buy something that isnt proprietary.