Upgrading my sons PC for gaming

it really depends on the games he wants to play. this PC really is not build to game or upgrade. the processor is just not going to cut it. you want a min of 16 gigs of ram and a nvidia GTX or RTX series card. thats just to start. your just better of build one or buying and upgrade Gaming pc. sorry to disappoint

thank you! What do you mean by “FULL Tower”

would I need a whole new motherboard etc? 

@hekela1206 

The 3020 like many of the optiplex Line comes in many sizes including Micro.  Only Tower Models have 365W Dell power supply option that 225W gpus require.  GT1030 GPU does not need a PSU upgrade.

ZOTAC ZT-P10300A-10L 

There are Various Sizes

MT (Mini Tower)
DT (Desktop)
MFF (Micro Form Factor)
SFF (Small Form Factor)
USFF (Ultra Small Form Factor)

AIO (All in one)

Fortunately there is a solution that works with ALL  models EXCEPT Micro and USFF.

GT1030 card works but its not really good enough for VR.  It too is wayy overpriced due to GPU shortage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2y32mBdZHJY

Re: He currently has the i5-4570 processor, 8 gb of ram and the NVIDIA Quadro600 graphics card

Without replacing much, what are my upgrade options

your cpu is close to recommendation.  you can upgrade video card to GTX 1060 or RX480.  this would require an upgrade of Dell stock psu too to a 400W psu with a 6 pin.  you also need a 24 to 8 pin adapter for the Dell motherboard.

Recommended PSU Wattage:371 W (GTX1060)

Recommended PSU Wattage:402 W (RX480)

Amazon.com: Fuente de alimentación 400W 100 N1 0400 L1, de EVGA : Electrónica

Amazon.com: COMeap Cable adaptador de alimentación ATX de 24 pines a 8 pines compatible con Dell Optiplex 3020 7020 9020 Precision T1700 11.8 in : Electrónica

Guide: Check if Your PC is VR Ready (Specs for Oculus, Valve, HTC) (roadtovr.com)

Oculus Rift S Recommended VR Specifications:

• Video Card: NVIDIA GTX 1060 / AMD Radeon RX 480 or greater
• CPU: Intel i5-4590 / AMD Ryzen 5 1500X or greater
• Memory: 8GB RAM or greater
• Video Output: DisplayPort
• USB Ports: 1x USB 3.0 port
• OS: Windows 10

Oculus Rift CV1 Recommended VR Specifications:

• Video Card: NVIDIA GTX 1060 / AMD Radeon RX 480 or greater
• CPU: Intel i5-4590 / AMD Ryzen 5 1500X or greater
• Memory: 8GB RAM or greater
• Video Output: Compatible HDMI 1.3 video output
• USB Ports: 3x USB 3.0 ports plus 1x USB 2.0 port
• OS: Windows 10 (Windows 7/8.1 no longer recommended)

thank you!!! We have the oculus quest 2 but I’m assuming the cost would be just as much. I may wait for those prices to go down on the better graphics card as to not upgrade twice. 

Would this Graphics card work with this Pc ?

EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB SC GAMING ACX 2.0 (04G-P4-2974-KR) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NSXYEQW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_MEPP0V0V2G987Z9S1GVY

Re: Would this Graphics card work with this Pc ?

EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB SC GAMING ACX 2.0 (04G-P4-2974-KR)

You got lucky. this card will fit 3020MT.  It has 

• Length: 9.5in - 241.3mm

Out of the box 3020, 7020, and 9020 have no more than 10 inches (25.5 cm) of free space for dedicated graphics cards. To be on the safe side the maximum GPU length you can use on OptiPlex 3020, 7020, and 9020 is between 9.5 and 10.0 inches.

Re: GTX 970 for Oculus VR.  One user reports

"I have a GTX 970 and have had my Rift for about a year. You won't be playing games on the highest settings, but I enjoy playing RoboRecall, Beat Saber, H3VR, and Elite: Dangerous VR as my go-to VR titles. 

If you are looking to get started and not wait for your PC upgrades, you can absolutely find games that you will enjoy playing on the GTX 970."

https://www.hardware-corner.net/guides/best-dedicated-gpu-for-dell-optiplex/