First PC upgrade/build - 390 Optiplex SFF - questions

Question

Hello everyone,

-After watching countless youtube videos about refurbishing decommissioned office computers into budget gaming systems or a sleeper PC I got the urge to try myself..My experience with anything computer related is from messing around with Raspberry Pi boards and mostly learned from following write up guides etc. So I wouldn't say I am completely clueless - but close...without much research prior I grabbed the first optiplex from Facebook market for $50

Dell Optiplex 390 SFF Intel i5-2400 @3.1ghz

4GB ddr3 ram (2x 2gb)

250gb HDD

cd/dvd drive

windows 7 home

immediately I learned the SFF case basically limited what I can initially do. I set my goal or target goal was a budget gaming PC and the game of choice is Grand theft auto online. I will be satisfied if it would handle that game as well as my Xbox one even..It's not an all or nothing project either. I'll be content with a speedy daily user that I can say I did etc...

Upgraded

i5 chip to the i7-2600 @3.4ghz with new thermal paste and updated bios to A14 ($15 - Ebay)

Nvidia GTX 1050 ti ($50-Ebay) Found out the hard way I needed a low profile card but it technically fits

Next will be a 1Tb SSD and 16GB of ddr3 ram (2x 8gb) and windows 11 or keep the current linux mint

2 questions are What case if any, could I swap everything over to the easiest? Would a regular sized Dell 390 or 3020 optiplex case work? A regular ATX case? I just need to fit the GPU in there nicely and maybe add some RGB fans etc

Also, Is it possible to upgrade the power supply if I swapped cases? Or would I have to keep the 240w SFF case specific psu?

Anything else I missed or any suggestions? Like I said, It's mostly a personal goal/interest to max out this optiplex for the least amount of $$..the link to some images https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1FobIrflrKXpvyNYKk1R2GocPMhU3-iGO?usp=sharing

Thanks for reading through all of that - i apologize it's all over the place haha

redxps630 · Answer

Re: could I swap everything over to the easiest? Would a regular sized Dell 390 or 3020 optiplex case work? A regular ATX case? I just need to fit the GPU in there nicely and maybe add some RGB fans etc

Also, Is it possible to upgrade the power supply if I swapped cases?

yes it is possible to swap 390 sff motherboard into Dell optiplex mt case of 390, 790, 3010/3020 etc. you would need to change cpu heatsink too. the sff cooler is designed for the sff case only. 390 sff motherboard does not have a heatsink backplate and can use aftermarket lga1155/1151 heatsink.

the mt case front panel power switch cable of those dell models use same 5 pin connector as 390 sff. it is plug and play when you swap into those cases.

one small downside is you would not have a back IO shield after case swap. 390sff IOshield is permitted built into sff case and cannot be removed. 390mt IO shield is not compatible w sff motherboard.

you cannot use 390 sff psu in mt case due to different form factor. it is better to use after market ATX psu if you want to add fans because dell mt psu has no power connector for extra fan. the dell mt psu has only 24/4 pin.

this video shows 390 sff tear down https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=I6BikwVbxD0

this link shows a dell mt case mod https://linustechtips.com/topic/1017823-dell-3010-mt-build-with-water-cooling-and-all-120mm-fans/

bradthetechnut · Answer

Optiplex 390 Tech Guide

Also, in other words, rear port layout on an SFF is different from an MT. Rear ports are attached to the MB. So holes in case for the ports won't line up with different MB's.

Optiplex 390 Documentation

Optiplex Desktops

First PC upgrade/build - 390 Optiplex SFF - questions

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