OptiPlex 7070 mini tower & dedicated GPUs

Question

So I may have jumped the gun a little on my latest system: the standard config fitted on the Dell website fitted our needs except for dedicated GPU which I planned on adding after the system arrived.

Problem is the mini tower (micro ATX?) has restricted space and only comes with a 260w PSU.

Initially I had my eye on the Gigabyte RX580 8GB card but that's clearly not going to work.

After plenty of research, I can find smaller cards that will physically fit (I think 8" is the max length I can accommodate) but I'm concerned about PSU sizing: most of the GPUs I'm looking at now have PSU ratings of 300W and above. Is this an unbreakable rule or will the 260w PSU be ok for a 300w rated card?

Also, the PSU is classed as: 85% (Bronze) - can anyone shed any light on what that means?

For reference: we're going to run a lightweight engineering CAD-CAM package on this machine so while a dedicated GPU is necessary it doesn't have to high-end.

System specs:

Core i7-9700

16GB DDR4 RAM (1x16GB DIMM)

512GB SSD

speedstep · Accepted Answer

Non Dell cards will require SECURE BOOT OFF.

https://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3156/

Specifc models from Gigabyte, PNY, MSI work fine in ALL MODELS except USFF and Micro because they do not have physical slots. These retail packages include both the full size and the low profile bracket. One should also AVOID like the plague DDR4 GT1030 cards which are Junk. ONLY USE GDDR5 video cards for GT1030.

https://www.gigabyte.com/Graphics-Card/GV-N1030D5-2GL#kf

https://www.dell.com/en-us/work/shop/pny-geforce-gt-1030-graphics-card-2-gb-gddr5-low-profile/apd/a9763687/graphic-video-cards

https://www.dell.com/en-us/work/shop/msi-gt-1030-2g-lp-oc-graphic-card-2-gb-gddr5-pcie-30-x16-low-profile-hdmi-displayport/apd/aa362018/graphic-video-cards

The OEM version from Dell is 8CCF1 Nvidia GeForce GT 1030, 30w

36V90 Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060, 3GB, 120w requires MODDIY Adapter and EXTERNAL power Supply and MINI TOWER because smaller size case do not fit this card.

DDR4 versions should be avioded.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CazEXejPCU

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

JOcean · Answer

For the 7070 tower Dell has a number of compatible cards including the GTX 1050. Just be sure to purchase the mini version which should fit without a problem.

https://www.dellemc.com/resources/en-us/asset/data-sheets/products/desktops-all-in-ones/optiplex_7070_spec_sheet.pdf?newtab=true

As for the various PSU ratings.

https://www.tomshardware.com/news/what-80-plus-levels-mean,36721.html

https://appuals.com/gold-vs-bronze-psu/

speedstep · Answer

75w cards require TOWER AND the OPTIONAL 360W POWER SUPPLY.   Power supplies for these models are not standard.

techman2383 · Answer

Thanks, I guess with the 260W PSU I'm restricted to <50W TPD cards. Therefore that leaves only the GT730, R5 430 & RX 550 as options? Or in future, I could think about upgrading the PSU

bradthetechnut · Answer

Hi @speedstep, Does the 30w GT1030 also fit the smaller MT's?

Optiplex Desktops

OptiPlex 7070 mini tower & dedicated GPUs

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