I recently bought a custom-built PC from someone on Facebook Marketplace for $300, intending it for my brother. It's a pre-owned device, and it currently doesn't have a dedicated GPU, plus it has a pretty bad HDD. I was thinking of upgrading to an NVMe drive and getting a decent graphics card to make it capable of playing most games. My main question is whether I can install a 3060 or 3070 on its 500W PSU. Also, I'm curious about the reliability of the PSU brand since I've never heard of it before.
3 Answers
This isn't the best build overall. I’d recommend upgrading the PSU and SSD like you're planning. But keep in mind, the motherboard only supports PCIe Gen 3, and the CPU has a low cache which might bottleneck performance. Those might need upgrades down the line too, especially if you’re looking at future-proofing.
A 3060 typically requires a 600W PSU, so trying to run it on a 500W doesn’t sound safe. I'd suggest looking for a more powerful PSU. Also, snag yourself a 256GB NVMe SSD off eBay for under $20 and keep the HDD for storing games.
Do you think 500W would be enough for a 2080 Super? I have an old one lying around.
Honestly, the bigger issue is that there don't seem to be any 8-pin cables with that PSU. Are you sure that's the right model? You should double-check it! If it turns out to be wrong, then it could be around a $60 fix for a new one.
Yeah, I confirmed it's the exact model after checking again.
Where did you see that it supports PCIe Gen 3? I've looked through the specs and didn't find that listed anywhere.