Buying a (refurbished) Optiplex 9010

Dimensions: Height-14.200 Length-16.400 Width-6.900

From the website im buying it from, if that helps. 

well it is my birthday wish me luck on this build

its gonna be light load gaming pc build

just needed something to base off of

well, the cpu could be better, its like a i5 quad core gen 3 

graphics card is still decent by today's standards (gtx 970)

ram i have is some corsair ddr3 ram the refurbished 9010 has 8gb and idk what speed 

but i know my ram i got here is fast and i will be swapping it

storage is 500gb sata hard drive that i might swap out for a ssd but i am kinda broke lol

Thanks for including the dimensions.  From that, I can tell you have the MT.

Optiplex 9010 Tech Guide 

The GTX 970 is a no go without upgrading the PSU.  A 275w PSU can't also power a 148w GPU.  I do have another suggestion, a 75w GTX 1050 ti.

Please see screengrabs below.  The 1050 ti is a great fit to go with an I5-3570.  As for the 30w GT 1030, "too weak for this processor" means you would still get max performance out of a GT 1030, but will get more out of a 1050 ti.

You'll see in the Tech Guide that RAM speed for the 9010 is 1600MHz.  If your Corsair RAM is compatible, but faster, in a 9010 it will still be down-clocked to 1600MHz.  Mixing RAM speeds is not recommended and can cause PC to not work and give an error code.

I have 2 brands in my 7010, but all other specs are the same.  Though not recommended, I have heard of sizes (GB) being mixed as long as other specs are the same.  It seems to be ok in the same generation as the 9010 and the one before it.

@Smotoe  Please press the blue Accept as Solution button below if this post answers your question.

Can I add a GTX 970?

You can use Short GTX 970 but all 970 cards are specifically flawed.

Nvidia admits GTX 970 is flawed ALL VERSIONS

Can I add more storage? (HDD, SSD)

There is no limit to the amount of storage but as SSD drives get larger the price goes up accordingly.

You would be much happier with a Precision T1700 that has TPM 1.2 so you can install windows 11 in unsupported mode.  Windows 10 works fine on the T1700 and is good till 2025.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/133913878116

If you insist on using GTX970 it must be a short card like GV-N970IXOC-4GD to fit into 9010 or Precision T1700 etc.

And you must use a larger power supply.

The T1700 requires Moddiy  T1700 24 to 8 Adapter to do this.

"storage is 500gb sata hard drive that i might swap out for a ssd but i am kinda broke lol"

@Smotoe 

You said you're kinda broke so I didn't get to answering the above question.  First, speedstep is right about storage limits.  Second, my preference is OS on an SSD and most storage on an HDD.  Works quite nicely.  Of course, do what works for you.  Be sure to keep important files and etc. backed up outside of the PC.  That way, if anything happens, you're still good to go in that area.

@Smotoe 

You probably already ordered your 9010.  A couple of pointers if you get a T1700.  The T1700 comes with 365w PSU vs. 275w for the 9010.  If you did insist upon a GTX 970, PSU would still have to be upgraded.

Ok, 1st thank you everyone for the advice. I already got a PSU. I saw a reply saying that GTX 970's are flawed, I know, but I already have one on hand, just don't have the pc to put it in. It would've gone to my Dimension 2350, but its just too old, doesn't have a PCIe port anyway.

2nd: Haven't bought it yet, still looking at what I can do to make it better.

For anyone wondering, PSU is a Corsair 600W

And the 970 is a  MSI GTX 970 100ME

id do that once i get a ssd but i dont know how'd you bring everyhthing and the os onto a seprate drive

its 2000 something. 2666 or like that. does this motherboard under clock that speed? not trying to blow it up lol. i've moved when i get it to chrismas so i can make a bit of a blueprint as how im gonna build this thing

From the Optiplex 9010 Tech Guide: 

MEMORY NOTE: Memory modules should be installed in pairs of matched memory size, speed, and technology. If the memory modules are not installed in matched pairs, the computer will continue to operate, but with a slight reduction in performance. The entire memory range is available to 64-bit operating systems. MT DT SFF USFF Type: DDR3 Synch DRAM Non-ECC Memory 1600MHz

And yes, faster RAM would be down-clocked to 1600MHz.