Need a small desktop pc

Hello,

I used to have a dell optilex 7010 sff machine running here for some photoshop and whatnot to do on it. I upgrade it with a low profile gtx 750 and it was an amazing machine to work not to mention how small it was. However some idiot decided that it would be a good idea to but his glass of cola on the computer and knocked it over. Then he tried to hide it from me but once I opended it up to see what was going on I found out what happend and who did it.

So now I'm looking to replace it. I would love for it to be as small as the 7010 again since it has to fit into a small slot in the rack where it used to be and it would also be handy when it gets used in another room to just take it and hook it up there.

Old ones specs:
i5 3470
8gb of ram
250gb ssd
gtx 750 (low profile)

What still works:

250gb ssd

If you could help me find an alternative to the old one with the same or better specs I would be very thankfull for it and if you can keep the cost as low as possible. I also do not mind going used.

I've already looked into the brix, zotacs mini pc's,... but they end up being rather pricey once you want a bit better graphical performance from them.
 

JoeMomma

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Nov 17, 2010
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Used is probably your best budget option.
There are some nice refurbished off corporate lease deals all the time.
Dell and Lenovo have worked out for me in the past.

The big problem is most of the SFF power supplies are barely adequate as is and adding a graphics card might be a problem.

Have you considered building a mini-ITX system? There are many flat cases where the graphics card has a ribbon cable and lays flat next to the motherboard. That will give you the best performance. I think it would be better to have the option of cramming maximum power into minimum space and not using that option until you can afford to max out your specs, than to be limited from the get go.

PCPartPicker part list: Intel

CPU: Intel - Core i5-7500 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($186.49 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! - SHADOW ROCK LP 51.4 CFM CPU Cooler ($29.90 @ Newegg Marketplace)
Motherboard: MSI - B250I GAMING PRO AC Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard ($94.88 @ OutletPC)
Storage: SK hynix - SL308 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($154.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital - Black 1TB 2.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($63.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI - GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB Low Profile Video Card ($167.88 @ OutletPC)
Case: Silverstone - ML03B HTPC Case ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: EVGA - 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($45.77 @ OutletPC)
Total: $803.69


PCPartPicker part list: AMD

CPU: AMD - A10-7860k 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor ($84.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI - A68HM-E33 V2 Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($46.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Patriot - Signature 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($58.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: PNY - CS1311 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($62.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital - Blue 1TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($46.26 @ Amazon)
Case: Rosewill - R379-M MicroATX Slim Case w/300W Power Supply ($54.99 @ Amazon)
Optical Drive: Lite-On - iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer ($10.99 @ Newegg Marketplace)
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($30.00)
Wireless Network Adapter: Rosewill - RNX-N250PCe PCI-Express x1 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi Adapter ($14.79 @ OutletPC)
Total: $410.88
 


The silverstone case seems nice. I think I might wait for coffee lake first or go for a deal one of my buddy's found out. He got a bunch of optiplex 7020's with pentiums-i5's in them for cheap from an office that went out of bussiness. Foor about 250$ I can get an older dell ultrasharp 21.5 inch 1080p ips panel (model numbers have been marked over woth a sharpie for some reason so we still need to figure that out) + a 7020 with an i5 4460. Or I could just go help him set up the 50+ ones he got and get it for free.

Thanks for the help I'll see what I get in a week or so.