by A gamer wants to cheaply upgrade a PC he received as a gift. Since there isn’t much space in the compact box, he had a brilliant idea. This way, he can use a graphics card that is very large and thus save money.
It often happens that companies resolve their old PC systems and replace them with newer models. Reddit user DntPMme also found himself in this situation and received a free mini PC from his company.
However, he received the device without a hard drive and graphics card suitable for gaming. To keep the financial expense as low as possible, the player opted for a standard graphics card that would not easily fit into the compact case. But there are also cases where the newly purchased graphics card is unknowingly too big for your case.
As the owner of a 3D printer, he had the idea of fixing the graphics card to the outside of the computer using a self-printed bracket. You can find out how he proceeded in detail here on MeinMMO.
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What is this about? A Reddit user received a mini PC as a gift. This is a Lenovo ThinCentre M720s in a compact design, the so-called SFF (Small Form Factor) format. Your employer deactivated several of these systems and gave you one of them. For data protection reasons, the hard drive was previously removed and properly disposed of.
Sometimes lucky people find fully functional gaming PCs, including data storage, in the trash.
He gave the following specifications:
- Processor: Intel Core i7-8700, base clock 3.20 GHz
- RAM: 16GB DDR4
- Power supply: 180 watts
DntPMme’s plan was to turn the old office computer into a gaming system for less demanding games for little money. To do this, he needed a new data storage medium and a suitable graphics card. Suitable graphics cards with a low profile and low overall height were too expensive for him on the used market, priced between 85 and 140 euros.
So the gamer decided to buy a full-size model and mount the video card on the outside of the case. Because of the small power supply, he chose an Nvidia 1050 TI from Gigabyte for around 50 euros. He installed a 1TB NVMe SSD from Cruical as new data storage. The SSD also cost him 50 euros.
How did DntPme proceed? According to him, the amount of craftsmanship required was quite manageable. In 10 minutes, he used a CAD program to design a suitable accessory to mount the 1050 TI. He then produced the finished design with his 3D printer and attached the bracket to the PC case. A hobbyist had to invest significantly more work into completely converting his old Xbox console.
Using a small saw, he removed a piece of the top of the case so he could connect the graphics card to the rest of the computer. It uses a newly purchased PCIe riser cable for around 15 euros between the motherboard slot and the external Gigabyte 1050 TI.
These expansion cards/cables are typically used to install large graphics cards vertically, saving space. The player was able to do without an additional cable for the power supply because the card consumes power exclusively through the PCIe port.
Did DntPMme succeed in its plan? According to the comments on your post, yes. He has already done some testing and put the system to the test with less graphics-intensive games. It says that older titles can be played at medium graphics settings and newer games can be played at low settings.
The gamer is satisfied with his project and is already thinking about whether he could install a stronger and, therefore, larger power supply. However, he leaves it open whether he wants to mount a power supply with larger dimensions inside or like the video card outside.
If you are looking for a new power supply, we can recommend a model that will save you time and nerves.
