What graphics card should I get for a Dell Optiplex 7020

[outpt]

Pulse,Sapphire,XFX and others the box will say 14GB/s. The Pulse and Sapphire are top end gpus for AMD

 

[joemama]

I think you should first make sure what PSU can fit in that case, these computers often use PSUs in specialized form factors

 

[Lew Zealand]

Mine looks like this on the rear, but with a single-slot R7 450 GPU as well - I swear Dell was just trying to make in as much of a PITA to work in as possible. Note the almost square and tiny PSU in a space that could have taken so much more. I really want a GTX 1630 Low Profile by Gigabyte to put into it (so I can drive all three screens off of dGPU), but it is a work computer and I am not sure how quick that will happen.

View attachment 257495

I'm pretty sure my Skylake Precision has the PSU at the top, similar to the older 9020s. That setup is more typical Dell BS. Prior to the xx20 series, Dell even used a standard PSU connector to the MoBo. Imagine that-- standards! I'm not surprised to see they continued to cut corners on future revisions of the Optiplex.

OP's computer should look like the one below; it looks to me like a full-sized ATX PSU. If not, it should be easy to adapt a SFX PSU into it without much difficulty - given that the OP is willing to do that sort of thing. That being the case a more powerful GPU is in order. @patrickfeeneytamayo what games do you play? It will be easier to recommend a GPU with the specific games.

That being said, I play AC: Origins on a GPU below minimum spec* and the framerates are not an issue to me.
View attachment 257496

*Quadro M620 Mobile

Actually AC:Odyssey plays just fine on the RX 6400, it's the i7-4790 CPU which holds it back. Pegged above 90% most of the time while the GPU is at 75-85%. I have AC:Or and it also seemed to be very heavy on the CPU while the RX 6400 was taking it easy. But AC: Unity is much lighter on the CPU and is a good match for these older 4C8T parts and lower end GPUs.

I play on Iris Pro 5200 Mobile on occasion so yeah, running under recommended settings is something of a pastime!

 

[patrickfeeneytamayo]

Pulse,Sapphire,XFX and others the box will say 14GB/s. The Pulse and Sapphire are top end gpus for AMD

Ok thanks a mill!

I think you should first make sure what PSU can fit in that case, these computers often use PSUs in specialized form factors

Ok I'll measure it.

 

[theFOoL]

From just Googling.... Looking at image's... The form factor seems to be ssf which is a form a lot of companies don't tend to make. That is my 2¢

 

[joemama]

From just Googling.... Looking at image's... The form factor seems to be ssf which is a form a lot of companies don't tend to make. That is my 2¢

I've also looked it up, it says that it comes in 4 form factors, I hope the OP has the MT one

 

[theFOoL]

Yes he states that but he hasn't gotten it I think he mentioned. We'll see though. If so then disregard my other post lol

 

[eidairaman1]

There are two different models one having 12gbs and the other having 14gbs.

A bios update for the 5600xt made them 14Gbps or 1750MHz (Octal Pumped GDDR6)

 

[GhostRyder]

I think the first question you need to make sure of is the PSU, because Dell has a reputation of using custom PSU's with funky cables for CPU power that make it near impossible to upgrade/replace.
Second, which form factor you have

After that you can be recommended a card.

 

[eidairaman1]

I think the first question you need to make sure of is the PSU, because Dell has a reputation of using custom PSU's with funky cables for CPU power that make it near impossible to upgrade/replace.
Second, which form factor you have

After that you can be recommended a card.

He said MT which is a MiniATX/BTX system

 

[Count von Schwalbe]

He said MT which is a MiniATX/BTX system

Sadly, that doesn't always follow. The motherboard in my Optiplex MT is a MicroATX as near as I can figure, but with an extra bump off of the side for the front panel connectors, and uses the tiny PSU shown above. That being said, he should be alright with an ATX PSU. We will have to wait to measure.

 

[budget_Optiplex]

As I recall the 7020 was one of the first Dell Optiplex systems to get an 8-pin power connector on the motherboard. If you put an aftermarket PSU in, you need an adapter! I have used these adapters and they work well!

24-Pin to 8-Pin ATX Power Supply Adapter Cable for Dell Optiplex 3020 7020 9020 | eBay

For Dell Optiplex 3020 7020 9020 and Precision T1700. Our warehouses Covering East and West of the States, for your convinence. You may also like.

www.ebay.com

If you want to run the stock PSU, there are a few Geforce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB cards out there (such as the Gigabyte GV-N105TOC-4GD) that run off PCI-E slot power and don't need a 6-pin PSU power connection......

EDIT: Saw Lew Zealand posted about this same adapter earlier in the thread!

 

[patrickfeeneytamayo]

I've also looked it up, it says that it comes in 4 form factors, I hope the OP has the MT one
View attachment 257497

Yes I have the MT one. I wrote that on the first line of the post by the way.

I think the first question you need to make sure of is the PSU, because Dell has a reputation of using custom PSU's with funky cables for CPU power that make it near impossible to upgrade/replace.
Second, which form factor you have

After that you can be recommended a card.

Im going to measure the case now but I think it's a normal psu. If I buy another one I would need to get a 24pin to 8pin adapter. But I've seen a couple of videos in which people say that the 290 watt is enough for some cards. What do you think?

As I recall the 7020 was one of the first Dell Optiplex systems to get an 8-pin power connector on the motherboard. If you put an aftermarket PSU in, you need an adapter! I have used these adapters and they work well!

24-Pin to 8-Pin ATX Power Supply Adapter Cable for Dell Optiplex 3020 7020 9020 | eBay

For Dell Optiplex 3020 7020 9020 and Precision T1700. Our warehouses Covering East and West of the States, for your convinence. You may also like.

www.ebay.com

If you want to run the stock PSU, there are a few Geforce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB cards out there (such as the Gigabyte GV-N105TOC-4GD) that run off PCI-E slot power and don't need a 6-pin PSU power connection......

EDIT: Saw Lew Zealand posted about this same adapter earlier in the thread!

Thanks for your reply. I've seen that there are some Sata to 6pin. What do you think about those.

 

[joemama]

But I've seen a couple of videos in which people say that the 290 watt is enough for some cards. What do you think?

Is that 290w all 12V? Also does the PSU have a 6pin VGA cable?
The 4790 takes up about 110w at max, I would expect a maximum of 100w power draw for the GPU if the PSU has 290w output on the 12V rail

 

[patrickfeeneytamayo]

Is that 290w all 12V? Also does the PSU have a 6pin VGA cable?
The 4790 takes up about 110w at max, I would expect a maximum of 100w power draw for the GPU if the PSU has 290w output on the 12V rail

idk if its all 12v and it doesn't have a 6 pin. I could get an adapter tho.
So you think it would be possible or would I 100% need to change the psu?

@joemama @outpt @theFOoL @GhostRyder @eidairaman1 @Count von Schwalbe @budget_Optiplex @Lew Zealand
Here is a picture with the sizes. Hope it's enough.

There are only 2 cables coming out of the PSU. One that is an 8pin that power the motherboard I think and the other one is a 4 pin that powers the CPU I think. It's a 290watt power supply.
Here is a picture with it's specs.

I know that if I change the psu with a 'normal' one I would need to buy an adapter.
If it's possible, I would prefer to not change the PSU and just buy a gpu and a sata to 6 pin adapter to spend the least amount of money.
But if it's not possible I'm fine with buying a psu too.

 

[64K]

This is not what you are going to want to hear but these types of PCs aren't intended to have a powerful dedicated graphics card. I certainly wouldn't try a 1070. As suggested before a 1050 Ti might be the best you can do. I would look at getting one that doesn't need a power plug and draws all of it's power from the PCIe slot.

Edit: You have a 2 rail +12V PSU with 14 amps on one rail (168 watts) and one rail that is 16 amps (192 watts). My concern would be that you might overload one rail even with a 1050 Ti if the CPU and GPU ended up on the same rail.

 

[patrickfeeneytamayo]

This is not what you are going to want to hear but these types of PCs aren't intended to have a powerful dedicated graphics card. I certainly wouldn't try a 1070. As suggested before a 1050 Ti might be the best you can do. I would look at getting one that doesn't need a power plug and draws all of it's power from the PCIe slot.

Hello thanks for your reply. What about getting a new psu.
Also, do you mean that this pc is not intended to have a powerful gpu because of air circulation?

 

[64K]

Heat shouldn't be a problem even if you only have 1 fan slot. You can get a GPU with a blower fan which blows all of the heat out of the back or you could just take the side panel off. I'm not sure what your budget is but if you want a 1070 then I would recommend this PSU at Amazon that is 50% off and has a 10 year warranty and Japanese capacitors. It's more than you really need but it allows room to upgrade your GPU in the future if you want to. Make sure it will fit in your case first. Dimensions are given in the description.

https://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Supernova-Modular-Warranty-220-GA-0550-X1/dp/B07WNXY6T5/ref=sr_1_3?crid=13CVXAKKKM5YR&keywords=550+watt+psu&qid=1660133386&sprefix=550+watt+psu%2Caps%2C139&sr=8-3

 

[patrickfeeneytamayo]

Heat shouldn't be a problem even if you only have 1 fan slot. You can get a GPU with a blower fan which blows all of the heat out of the back or you could just take the side panel off. I'm not sure what your budget is but if you want a 1070 then I would recommend this PSU at Amazon that is 50% off and has a 10 year warranty and Japanese capacitors. It's more than you really need but it allows room to upgrade your GPU in the future if you want to. Make sure it will fit in your case first. Dimensions are given in the description.

https://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Supernova-Modular-Warranty-220-GA-0550-X1/dp/B07WNXY6T5/ref=sr_1_3?crid=13CVXAKKKM5YR&keywords=550+watt+psu&qid=1660133386&sprefix=550+watt+psu%2Caps%2C139&sr=8-3

Thanks for your psu recommendation.
So you wouldn't recommend buying a used psu then.
Cheers

 

[64K]

Thanks for your psu recommendation.
So you wouldn't recommend buying a used psu then.
Cheers

I can't recommend used hardware unless you're pretty sure that you can trust the seller. There is a risk involved and it's not my place to recommend that you gamble your money. Also I'm not sure if the warranties are transferable.

 

[theFOoL]

I normally don't buy used psu. That's a no no. Hard drives, blu-ray drives, USB HDDs, CPUs, heatsink.... Yes

 

[AleXXX666]

RX 6500XT or RX 6600

6600 for old i7 is too much lol

For streaming, you'll want to start at an RX 6600 as the 6500XT doesn't have an encoder. FYI I use an RX6400 for light gaming only (no streaming) in almost the exact same system as yours but a 9020, with the original power supply.

For a second Dell 9020, I picked up an EVGA BQ 500 and this cable to adapt the PSU to the Dell proprietary power connector:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XGWRTHC

But I have yet to put an actually good GPU in it, with just a GTX 1050Ti and GTX 745 in there, neither require a PSU connector. I have a 5600XT which will soon make it's way in but not yet.

The Dell PSU is a standard shape, the EVGA slotted right in and the screw holes were compatible.

6600 is too much for old cpus.

 

[patrickfeeneytamayo]

I can't recommend used hardware unless you're pretty sure that you can trust the seller. There is a risk involved and it's not my place to recommend that you gamble your money. Also I'm not sure if the warranties are transferable.

Ok makes sense thanks.

6600 for old i7 is too much lol


6600 is too much for old cpus.

Any suggestion?

 

[AleXXX666]

GTX 1650 is perfect fit as there are tiny low profile ones and even without additional power connectors. amd counterparts are crap BS with pcie 4.0, so using 3.0 x8 or even x4 will result in a performance of 1050ti or even 1030 lmfao. then it's better to find 1050ti too, if it will be significally cheaper than 1650 which i suppose could be.

 

[eidairaman1]

Ok read this, to use a better gpu the power supply must be swapped, if you want to swap it, you may need to first compare the power connector to a Standard ATX 20+4 connector online and see if the wire colors match up, if not you might as well build a new system