hi guys, 1st post in here - damn near 100% pc noob, console gamer looking to switch over
this is what i have got at the moment, purchased for non gaming stuff but recently decided that i want a gaming pc, wondering how i can convert my set up to play battlefield 4 and upcoming titles nicely
Dell Vostro 270MT Desktop (i5)
PROCESSOR: 3rd Generation Intel® Core i5-3470 processor (6M Cache, 3.20GHz)
OPERATING SYSTEM: Windows 8 Pro 64bit, ENG, FR, DUT, ITL, PL
SECURITY SOFTWARE: McAfee® SecurityCenter, 12-Months Subscription
MEMORY: 6GB (1X2GB/1X4GB) 1600 MHz DDR3 Non-ECC
HARD DRIVE: 1TB 3.5inch Serial ATA III (7.200 Rpm) Hard Drive
GRAPHICS CARD: Intel® HD Integrated Graphics
OPTICAL DRIVE: 16X DVD+/-RW Drive
MEDIA CARD READER: 19-in-1 Media Card Reader
SOUND SOFTWARE: Integrated 5.1 High Definition Audio
WIRELESS NETWORKING: Dell Wireless DW1506 Card
other bits of info:
Spare caddy for an extra Hard Drive
3 PCI card slots
1 blue sata and 3 normal sata ports
Spare caddy for another DVD drive or Blu-Ray drive
the problem i have is that its a mini tower and space is tight apparently, i read that someone has fit a 560gtx ti into it (It has a 9" PCB and the fan overhangs that so the total length is 10")... and someone else states the 5770 is 220mm and fits. i will be upgrading early next yr so hopefully amd will have something for me by then or in the pipeline... maybe wait for 20nm?
there is a pic that shows the offending mobo connector that gets in the way of longer gpu cards here (click through pics)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883155565
in the meantime, should i upgrade my ram? if so, by how much and what type?
will buying a ssd be a good choice too?
there is no optical output for audio, just standard analogue jacks. how can i incorporate this and is it really needed with the new sound stuff amd are doing in their upcoming cards?
the psu is only 300watts, will need an upgrade. which type and size?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
other posts by people upgrading this pc:
I now have my Vostro 270 upgraded with a 500W PSU, 8GB RAM and a Palit GTX660 GFX card (this card is 7.5in long - 8in is the max as I mentioned in an earlier post), so far the machine is running well, temps are ok for a small case and fans are not too noisy. The machine so far has been rock solid even Windows 8 is proving to be ok so for the moment I will hold off downgrading to Win 7 and give it a chance.
Just a note for anyone installing a PCI-E GFX card, you may need to disable Secure Boot otherwise the machine will not see your GFX card and you will not get a display from the PCI-E card, only from the onboard VGA, this is because secure boot disables any device that it does not recognize or does not have an UEFI compatible ROM.
To disable secure boot I did the following (I am not recommending you do this, but I did it to get my PCI-E card working, don't PM me if something goes wrong
)
Press F12 repeatedly on startup
Choose 'Change Boot Mode Setting'
Choose 'UEFI Boot Mode: Secure boot: OFF'
This will disable secure boot and set the boot mode to 'UEFI with Legacy OPROM; Secure boot: OFF' this should allow the PCI-E card to work.
NOTE: DO NOT CHOOSE 'Legacy Boot Mode, Secure Boot Off' as this will stop Windows 8 from booting, if this happens don't worry just go back to the menu and choose the UEFI Boot option
Incase anyone is interested in the performance on the Vostro 270 with the GTX660, I have run a 3DMark (2013) Basic Edition benchmark and here are the best results from 2 runs;
Ice Storm : 132052
Cloud Gate : 13444
Fire Strike : 4085
See full results here;
http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/675977
http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/676030
Seems to be about normal for this CPU/GPU combo as it's not overclocked at all.
I had two 4GB PC3-12800 modules already in another PC so I used these in the Vostro, they are Hyundai but the original Dell memory was Kingston and Hynix so it looks like any PC3-12800 will work though. There is no setting in the BIOS to disable the onboard graphics it does this automatically when it detects a card in the PCI-E slot.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I received mine yesterday and it worked well out of the box. I was planning to use it as a second gaming machine so I have added some new bits. When I opened it up it was very neat and tidy and looked well put together.
I have added an SSD, a new power supply and a Geforce GTX 560 Ti. The 560 Ti fits in with not much room to spare, but it does fit. The new power supply has lots more cables than the original so I have had to cable tie them and tuck them under the optical drive. The SSD I had was an old OCZ that was 3½ inches, so that fitted in the spare hard drive bay nicely.
I have also reinstalled Windows 8 and all is looking good at the moment. So far I am very impressed for the money.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
My GTX 460 is 210 mm and fits. I guess it depends on the shape of the card. Mine is rounded towards the end so it easily avoids the cable on the mobo.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
With regards to the graphics cards. I managed to fit the below card in:
http://www.asus.com/Graphics_Cards/ENGTX560_Ti_DCII_TOP2DI1GD5/
It has a 9" PCB and the fan overhangs that so the total length is 10"
^^^^^^^ reply:
How did you manage to fit that in, I thought the capacitor on the motherboard, would be in your way for such a big dual slot card, ( as in takes up the space of two back plates).
And does it need extra power from the PSU, as there isnt one spare.
I was going to install a new GFX card next week, an amd hd7750 like this one:
http://www.ebuyer.com/483275-his-7750-icooler-2gb-ddr3-pci-e-dvi-hdmi-vga-h775fs2g which is shorter and thinner and is powered by the PCI-E slot.
^^^^^^ no reply back
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------