Need help with upgrading old Dell Optiplex 745 MT

[jc5311379]

Hello,
today I have found an old Dell Optiplex 745 MT without any RAM, CPU or GPU and not really great PSU. I would like to make it into an low budget gaming PC for some indie games and stuff like CS:GO or maybe even GTA V. The main problem is that it has 305W PSU which is not even 80+ certified.

Thus, I have several questions:
- Is it possible to cheaply upgrade PSU (I am talking like under 20$). How are things around PSU compatibity? Is it even worth it?
- I was wondering if I could fit in there Intel Xeon X5450 modified for LGA775. I think quad core CPU would be a huge help (also by coincidence I have already ordered this one a week ago).
- Can I overclock? I mean does the MoBo support it? Will the PSU handle it?
- What GPU wouldn't be bottlenecked by the CPU (4/8-C/T@3.0GHz or more) and would also run without the PSU exploding (preferably without the PSU upgrade). Also I would like to not invest more than 30$ (I am more than totally okay with used components).
- Given the CPU and GPU, how much RAM would be enough?
- Do you think it is worth investing 50$ into an SSD with this kind of build (as it would cost probably the same as the rest of the components)?

I know it's lot of questions at once but I am missing lots of parts :/

(Also, if I have done something wrong, please let me know - first time asking question and still learning english)

Thanks.

 

[Kasper Jorgensen]

There is no way to cheaply upgrade the PSU. If you even find a PSU for below $20 it would both crappy and very dangerous to your system as well as you. Always buy a quality PSU else you WILL having a risk that it will explode.
If you can overclock depends on the mobo.
Seeing that you are not willing to invest anything you will have a hard time. You need a proper quality PSU for overclocking, if you do so you will be heavily bottlenecked if you only wanna invest $30 in a GPU. Also max $50 for SSD will give you no more than 64 GB unless you are lucky to find a real bargain that could give you a 120GB. 64GB is hardly enough for anything these days.

I don't really get you as to why you wanna go with this 10year old CPU instead of building a more modern Kaby Lake or Ryzen build, which would perform 100 times better.

To say it in another way. With what you are trying to build and with the few $ you wanna invest, there is no way that you are going to play GTA-V.

 

[jc5311379]

Thank you for your response, I really apperaciate it and I also strongly agree. I think I wasn't completely clear about my intentions, so allow me to correct myself.
- I found Seasonic 500W 80+ brozne for 30$. Would it be compatible?
- I want to go with such an old CPU because I found free MoBo, it's just old. The CPU cost me 15$. I just thought that it would be pretty hard to beat MoBo+CPU combo for 15$.
- I have found several 120GB SSDs for 50$ (mostly Sandisk and Kingston, but few were HyperX and Samsung), I am just asking if it's even slightly worth it to spend half of my budget on fast storage.
- Also I am not talking about GTA V at 1080p 60fps but rather 900p 30fps at medium settings or so (I just saw the minimum requirements and thought it would be good enough).
- And still, what about the RAM?

Once more, thank you for your fast response.

 

[Kasper Jorgensen]

Would PSU be compatible, should be, but still a low quality crap PSU.
For storage, better save money for now and get a HDD and spend those money for a better PSU, specially if you wanna overclock.
For RAM, as you are on budget stick with 8 GB.
Not sure what GPU $30 can buy you, but only playing 900p obviously lower the requirements.

 

[jc5311379]

Yes, thank you. So, what GPU would you recommend as the bottom line?

 

[Kasper Jorgensen]

For $30 You will need to look at the second hand market.

 

[jc5311379]

I definitely will, but apart from price, what do you think is the cheapest gpu that can run games at decent quality?

 

[ohiou_grad_2006]

Wow. Look at Craigslist, maybe you can score an old gtx 750ti 2gb. In my area one guy was advertising one for 60. Probably the lowest you would want to bother looking at.

 

[jc5311379]

I have found:

30$ - GTX 470
50$ - HD 6970, R7 260X, HD 7790
60$ - HD 7850, GTX 750ti
70$ - GTX 950

Which one do you think is the best deal?

 

[ohiou_grad_2006]

750ti or gtx 950 e probably best in your case as they should both be direct x 12, and I think they are both relatively low power consumption cards.

The 950 would be preferable, but the 750ti would do as well. Since you are on such a budget I would not bother with a higher power consumption card, as one of those could trash your power supply. If your power supply goes out, cheap ones can potentially take a system with them.

 

[jc5311379]

So if I buy the gtx 950 I could keep the old PSU? Isn't 950 overkill for X5450? If that's the case, wouldn't it be better to split money into PSU and GPU so I would have GPU that's on par with the CPU and a good PSU without worries about shortage?
Also, I found 560ti for 40$

 

[ohiou_grad_2006]

I would still get the psu. Even though the 750 ti and 950 are low power draw cards, I think they recommend a 450 watt PSU.

I also would not go for a 560ti. The lowest card I would say is the 750ti. But if you can stretch the budget get the 950. A lot of new games want dx 12, and the cheapest one you listed that I know can do it is the 7790, but I think that card would be to slow now. The 560ti is only dx 11, so you might get limited and not be able to play some newer titles.