A gamer wants to inexpensively upgrade a PC he received as a gift. Since there isn’t much space in the compact housing, he comes up with a brilliant idea. In this way, he can use a graphics card that is actually far too large and thus saves money.
It often happens that companies sort out their old PC systems and replace them with newer models. Reddit user DntPMme also found himself in such a situation and received a mini PC from his company for free.
However, he received the device without a hard drive and a graphics card suitable for gaming. In order to keep the financial outlay as low as possible, the gamer opted for a standard graphics card that would not easily fit into the compact housing. But there are also cases where the newly purchased graphics card is unknowingly too big for your own case.
As the owner of a 3D printer, he had the idea of attaching 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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Gamer shows how a normal-sized graphics card “fits” into a mini PC
What is it 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 format (Small Form Factor). His employer had decommissioned several such systems and gave him one of them. For data protection reasons, the hard drive was previously removed and disposed of properly.
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 former 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 low-profile graphics cards with a low overall height were too expensive for him on the used market with prices between 85 and 140 euros.
So the gamer decided to buy a normal-sized model and mount the graphics card on the outside of the case. Because of the small power supply, he chose an Nvidia 1050 TI from Esports Extrasbyte for around 50 euros. He installed a 1 TB 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. Within 10 minutes, he used a CAD program to desEsports Extrasa suitable fixture to mount the 1050 TI into. He then produced the finished desEsports Extraswith his 3D printer and attached the bracket to the PC case. A hobbyist had to invest significantly more work in completely converting his old Xbox console.
Using a small saw, he removed a piece from the top of the case so that he could connect the graphics card to the rest of the computer. He uses a newly purchased PCIe riser cable for around 15 euros between the slot on the mainboard and the external Esports Extrasbyte 1050 TI.
Normally, such expansion cards/cables are used to be able to install large graphics cards vertically in a space-saving manner. The gamer was able to do without an additional cable for the power supply because the card draws its power solely via the PCIe port.
Was DntPMme successful in its plan? According to the comments in his post, yes. He has now done some tests and put the system to the test with less graphics-intensive games. He says that older titles are playable at medium graphics settings and newer games are playable 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 graphics card on the outside.
If you are currently looking for a new power supply, we can recommend a model that will save you time and nerves.
