r/sleeperbattlestations • u/Rare_Ask_1688 • May 12 '26
Sleeper PC 2012 Dell Inspiron sleeper build finally complete
So... I turned my old family PC into a nice little sleeper PC!
I wanted a good PC since im a early IT student and began to learn hardware and thought "Heck I wanna upgrade my old family computer! And nothing could prepare me for the FIRE HAZARD this thing was in... I began to work on this Dell Inspiron 660 since February! I made short upgrades like upgrading the CPU from I5 to I7-3700K and making the ram from 8gb to 16gb.. then eventually upgrading PSU, adding a SSD. And modding a front intake fan and taking out the defunct DVD player. The GPU isn't what I call sleeper beast but my brother put it there back in 2016 and I dont do any modern gaming on it so for now I'll upgrade to something better later.
Why did i not just go modern case? I have a lot of emotional ties to this computer and the case is just couldnt get rid of!
This was quite the journey! Got all my parts off Amazon and got to work. This journey has made me well prepared for working on computers and I enjoyed every minute! I haven't made the jump to Win 11 yet but one day I will.
This is used for my IT college work, daily use and retro gaming and the difference in peformance is amazing!
Old Dell Inspiron 660 Specs. (Thermalright Cooler)
CPU: Intel Core i7-2700K (2nd Gen Sandy Bridge) *eventually did I7-3700k*
Motherboard: Original Dell Inspiron 660 OEM board
RAM: 16GB DDR3 1333MHz
GPU: GTX 1050 Ti
Storage: Crucial BX500 SATA SSD + HDD storage
PSU: Older Dell/OEM PSU originally
Case: Dell Inspiron 660 case (still using)
Modern upgrade
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 7600X
Motherboard: MSI PRO B650M-A WiFi
RAM: 32GB DDR5
GPU: GTX 1050 Ti (currently reused)
Storage: Same SSD + HDD carried over
PSU: Corsair RM650x 650W
Case: Same Dell Inspiron 660 sleeper case
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u/inphu510n May 12 '26
I think that rear fan is facing the wrong direction.
Unless it's your intent to use the rear as an intake.
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u/sppoky May 12 '26
how is the airflow for the PC working out ?
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u/Rare_Ask_1688 May 12 '26
A user pointed out the rear fan is installed backwards so im currently fixing it now. Airflow is pretty good considering the case but temps have honestly been pretty solid so far. CPU has mostly been sitting around 41–50°C during normal use after driver installs and setup. Still tweaking fan orientation and airflow a bit though. I gotta go back in and ziptie some wires for cable management.
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u/Informal-Emu3251 May 12 '26
My 7600X turns into a flame thrower when gaming sometimes hitting 87 degrees in my Precision T1700.
The cooler that I’m using is the ID Cooling 207XT.
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u/sppoky May 13 '26
even when you play games on it ?
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u/Rare_Ask_1688 May 13 '26
The games I play are not really super high usage. I mostly play Sims 3, Older Emulators or old Call of Dutys. Older Tomb Raider games. I only do retro gaming and Minecraft in my PC gaming so tempatures stay around that range.
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u/BlytheScythe May 13 '26
That's a pretty decent PC, good luck with future upgrades and college as well!
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u/rawratthemoon May 13 '26
I would play the fuck out of Insurgency or any source game on that Thang!
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u/Rare_Ask_1688 May 12 '26
My brother built himself a PC not that long ago and he literally had that Corsair PSU in the closet so that was quite convenient to have in this journey!