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I have Dell optiplex 745 mini tower with Intel core 2 duo(2.40 GHz 2.39 GHz), 2GB RAM, 500GB HDD SATA 7200RPM.
Could any one tell me which graphics card will be suitable for it so that I can play CS:GO smoothly. I would really appreciate if you can send me the link.
I would also like to upgrade RAM. It came with 2X2GB and one of them is not working now. I am not sure what is the maximum memory it can hold.
I am looking for cheapest solution. So if upgrading graphics card and RAM is not an option then Which parts can I use to rebuild it.
Thanks very much in advance.
Mehul Kandiya
Posted 2016-04-25T09:30:58.650
Reputation: 1
It would actually be cheaper to buy a budget rig. Say spending about $600USD.You can keep the monitor, keyboard, and speakers and just get another tower.The reason for this is that since the Core2Duo days many improvements have taken place in PC architecture and it can actually be more expensive to find older parts as they are no longer commonly available.Your performance starting from a crappy base would never be as good as just getting a new budget tower. This may not be the answer you want to hear but it is the truth.See: Build Me a PC for advice.
– headkase – 2016-04-25T09:37:33.523Also: do not buy a pre-built computer. They are almost always too expensive and too puny in capability. Make a post on the Build Me a PC with your budget and then go to a computer store, not a retail store that sells computers, a computer store, and give them the list of parts from BMaPC. To clarify what I said about older parts being more expensive: all your parts have to work together so if you keep the Core2Duo you have to get parts that are compatible with it - which are older and harder to find. – headkase – 2016-04-25T09:41:30.220
Thanks for your answer. I don't really have that much budge so I was hoping to upgrade it first if possible. I will have to wait for few few months to build the budget you said. – Mehul Kandiya – 2016-04-25T09:47:23.810
See: Here, you don't have to spend a lot of money to match a console. You just have to have good advice for the parts you get. And if you assemble it yourself that's $100 you can save instead of having a shop assemble it. If you've never assembled a computer then a friend who has would be invaluable.
– headkase – 2016-04-25T09:51:43.463Which Core2Duo are you using? The max the 745 probably can take is E6700 or Q6600 (FSB 1066). RAM is possible to go up to 16 GB, but 4 GB DDR2-Modules are not economic at all (would be like 100-200 just for 1(!) module, 2 GB DDR2-Modules however come at ~15-20 $ a piece, look for Low-Density though, others won't work). Graphics card is really difficult. You need to buy Single-Slot, because the case is BTX and Double-Slot cards cannot fit! Get a used HD7750 SingleSlot. It's the best budget option without upgading PSU. – TJJ – 2016-04-25T10:23:02.733
Thanks, Don't know which core2duo is in my PC. Some people say you have to consider the power supply for graphics card as well. How do I know which one I need – Mehul Kandiya – 2016-04-25T10:28:53.247
Here's the upgrade strategy I use: every 4 years buy mid-range PC. As much RAM as I can afford and keeping any parts that are still good from the previous PC. 2 years later upgrade the graphics card, again mid-range, and then 2 years after that back to the beginning of the 4 year cycle. You have to be flexible with it though and not afraid to keep parts that are still good. For example, on my last cycle I kept my Radeon 6870 from 2010 - 2015 which is ages but it still worked well enough that I skipped the mid-cycle GPU upgrade. The 4 years for the rest of the system is more than adequate. – headkase – 2016-04-25T10:32:40.113
For the graphics card power: different cards obviously have different requirements. The best thing to do is decide on a model you want and then go to the manufacturers web-site and see what they recommend for your system power supply. Then get a bit better than that.
Also, do not buy expensive parts. Parts have "diminishing returns" and that means that the more you spend the less you get back for that money. A high-end part might only offer 30% more performance than a mid-range part but cost twice as much. The mid-range for prices is the sweet spot: get those. – headkase – 2016-04-25T10:37:44.363
With the exception of one part: the power supply. Never cheap out on a power supply. Because if it fails, and cheaper ones have a higher chance to fail, then it can damage the rest of the computer while it's at it. With "cheap" being the quality of the parts in the power supply, not its output wattage. – headkase – 2016-04-25T10:39:50.483
That's why I said with the HD7750 you won't have to upgrade the power supply (=PSU). However, if you do, I agree to get a quality model and a bit bigger. In my Optiplex 755 the one from DELL died, but I had a spare from another PC, and that has been working for ages (annoyingly it doesn't have too many SATA-power-cords yet :) ). But with new CPU+HD7750+4GB you should be fine to play CS:GO and not spend more then 100 $. – TJJ – 2016-04-25T10:55:29.710
That 500GB hard drive is a good candidate to keep whatever you decide too, it's not too shabby and can save you $50 for a better time. – headkase – 2016-04-25T10:57:22.453
Also, for the graphics card: if you save for a few months then BOTH AMD and Nvidia are about to roll out their next generation of cards. And both of them are supposed to be amazing. Like a mid-range from them - with mid-range prices - will outperform the current high-end now. – headkase – 2016-04-25T10:59:07.417
Thanks very much for you help headkase and TJJ. This was very helpful. I really appreciate this. – Mehul Kandiya – 2016-04-25T11:04:39.990
All new generations of graphics card WILL be a PROBLEM for THIS rig. Dell uses BTX-style case for the Optiplex 745, where the graphics card is upside-down. So there is simply no place for the second slot on dual-slot graphics cards. The only new single-slot cards will be from the very low range and possibly OEM cards. Yes ok, also an OEM card will play CS:GO nicely (I have a gtx745 in my other PC). – TJJ – 2016-04-25T11:37:06.153
I'm assuming a new build, with saving for a few months to finance it. Keep what's still good and go with a standard ATX case and mainboard as a base. – headkase – 2016-04-25T11:38:07.187
For a new build, the only thing he could take is the HDD+DVD. Being BTX case, the mainboard is BTX as well, and won't fit in an ATX case. Power-supply could possibly transferred as well (it's only a 305W model though). For the next 2 years of very casual gaming, I'd upgrade to the HD7750+max CPU possible+little RAM. – TJJ – 2016-04-25T11:41:59.280
If you don't play any games newer than today then it might be a good course. However, if you want to play current games and next years at medium/low at least then a 7750 might just be outclassed. As in it might not even have enough VRAM depending on the game to even try to run it. Fallout 4 for example has a minimum of 2GB VRAM. The game itself isn't that demanding, I played it for a while on my 6870 with 1GB VRAM and a low-resolution texture mod, it's just the VRAM minimum to play it stock is a higher class. – headkase – 2016-04-25T11:45:56.733
And a 305W power supply is barely enough to power a toaster. Something like a GTX 750 might work there because it runs on slot power only. Does the 7750 need any external power or is it all slot too?
Edit: Looked it up, a GTX 750 minimum PSU is 300 Watts. So that would just scrape by. – headkase – 2016-04-25T11:49:22.610
Yes. But for anything better than the 7750, the CPU will be the bottleneck. Also, the board has only PCIe 1.0a. The power-supply doesn't have 12V-rail for graphics card neither. Also, it is difficult finding a better single-slot graphics card. The 7750 single slot model runs only off the PCIe-slot. Other option would be GTX750Ti single-slot, which also needs no extra power cord. But I consider it overkill and this card is relatively expensive (120 $ new, used seldomly available). And, CS:GO will run off the HD7750 just perfect. – TJJ – 2016-04-25T11:52:42.323
PS: It depends of course which part of the world he lives in and what is available there! – TJJ – 2016-04-25T11:53:35.117
That's the one I was thinking of: 750 Ti. Naming schemes can get complicated. Overall, if the system is already obsolete by any measure, is it even worth it to keep throwing (albeit smaller amounts) money at it? Or just bite the bullet and save for a few months and get something decent - like DOOM at medium settings and such? – headkase – 2016-04-25T11:55:11.443
And maybe the DOOM reboot at high settings if the next generation of mid-range cards deliver on their promise. :) – headkase – 2016-04-25T12:00:13.720
I don't know. If you factor in research for the right components, it is definitely not worth it. But me for example would rather have an OK casual gaming rick, even if I have to play on low settings, and instead spend the money saved on other things. But the Optiplex 745 is REALLY at the very low end of this. E.g., in 6 months I wouldn't put money in it anymore. Maybe just spend a few bucks on CPU to use it as Web/Office-computer. – TJJ – 2016-04-25T12:04:42.310
Right on. I think both of our viewpoints have helped all the consideration for the OP. :) – headkase – 2016-04-25T12:11:57.287
I saw a youtube video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P97dAn45BCE) guy upgrading his optiplex 745 with Nvidia GeForce GT730 2GB. He Demonstrated CS 1.6 which seemed fine. So I am thinking of either GT730 or HD7750 or GTX750Ti.
– Mehul Kandiya – 2016-04-25T12:18:40.343CS1.6 has nothing to do with CS:GO. I played CS1.6 on a 12 year old computer that was even only mid-range back then. And it performed flawless. I can even play it on my 8 year old notebook with integrated Intel graphics. – TJJ – 2016-04-25T12:32:17.857
This is not a Question and Answer forum, What has your research effort shown using Google? Questions on SU are expected to show some research effort on your part and should be included in your question. – Moab – 2016-04-25T22:46:01.157