$250 Budget Gaming PC That Plays ANYTHING... what's the catch?!

If you're shopping for anything on Amazon or Newegg you can use these links to support my channel, it costs nothing extra to you and a tiny bit of help from a lot of people goes a long way:

Follow me on Twitter and Instagram!

Channel Music by ManKarate:

Mailing Address:
NEW (starting Dec. 2022):
Danny Le
12918 Mukilteo Speedway
Suite C-23 #235
Lynnwood, WA 98087

OLD (Don't send to this one anymore):
Danny Le
P.O. Box 2385
Lynnwood, WA 98036

Try Amazon Prime Free for 30 days:

Try Audible FREE for 30 days:

[mastersingleton]

This is a great budget build whereby the pros and cons of a build like this is clearly articulated. Keep up the great work.

[DJ.]

I've sold a few builds on jawa based on the dell 3040. I too used a 1650 super. However there are a few upgrades you missed. First the power supply can be upgraded, there is a Dell PSU part #D315ES. It is 315w and includes a single 6 pin pci-e. It has all the same connectors as the original PSU as well. It fits in the case other than the need to drill 2 holes and add 2 screws in the rear due to the different bolt pattern. Once installed it is secure and fit without any issues. The other upgrade in the memory. You can use faster memory but it needs to have a JDEC profile for the higher speed. Generic Crucial green pcb memory has always worked for me.

[JasonWitmerYT]

Thanks for educating people on that Sata adaptor. I hate that everyone assumes every PSU and adaptor are going to explode at every opportunity.

[aaronhess]

There is some models of the non-super 1650 that don't need any external power from a pci power cable. Perfect for this build.

[Nick_R_]

Outstanding video. And I learned something new regarding presets that use resolution scaling by default. The current draw data split between your sources was fascinating too.

[ThailandDantotherescue]

There really is no downside as far as I am concerned. Great video, I know there are thousands of these, but we need a thousand more.

I was doing this when the best gpu you could add in was a gtx 750ti. My current system is a HP with a 1st get Ryzen 7 and 16g ram. I got it for 100$ with no video card. The computer had never been turned on. It was bought as a black friday special in bulk by someone who removed the GPUs for bitcoin mining. Due to its even jankier PSU I opted for a gtx 1650 non super, but it was at least the DDR5 model. I get very close to the same gaming performance. All I added was the GPU and a 120g ssd boot drive I got used on ebay for under 20 dollars shipped.

I have owned computers since before the commodore 64. 4k gaming or even 1080p gaming means nothing to me. 720p medium settings is way better than an old guy like me needs or deserves. I have a Acer swift x with an rtx 3050 but honestly I prefer being at home with my cheap system hooked up to my 65 inch TV.

You just can not beat these deals! Its great to see a young generation spending wisely instead of some 4000 dollar water cooled LED covered monstrosity that ends up being more trouble than its worth.

[boballmendinger]

This is a very interesting video, but what stands out to me is the excellent production quality. The audio is clear, non fatiguing, and intelligible, with the PERFECT level of background music.

[Dingbat]

During the GPUpocalypse, a build like this I feel would've been a good workaround (albeit you'd probably throw in a GTX 1650 non super due to pricing being so out of whack). Nowadays with the prices back to Normal, I think you're better off building an AM4-based build ... for maybe 150$ extra, you would have a modernish build with expandability. You can get motherboard/cpu combos pretty cheap these days (think Ryzen 3 3100) with a B450 from say, amazon warehouse deals and a conventional PSU, would give you overall better results.

[AndrewsVideoTips]

Dude you got an amazing deal on that thing.
My 2 year old laptop has a i7 9750h, 16 gb of ddr4 ram, 500 gb nvme ssd, and a 1660ti (max q version), and that costed $1200 2 years ago. You scored a pc that's just as fast as mine for under $300. That's insane.

[JamesSmith-swnk]

Good video. For around the same money, maybe a little more, I would get a HP Z440 PC instead. It has a LOT of upgrade potential. The compatible cpu list goes from a 4c/8t cpu to a 22c/44t cpu. It comes with more powerful psu's too.

[Duncan-Donuts]

You can put a sfx psi into a mini tower optioned and get a 6 pin to 24 pin from mod diy

[tyronewilliams]

I would by no means use these 7040 builds as my main gaming setup even for mid-range gaming because I would feel like i was missing out on 1440p and avg fps above 140.. but for those who are fine with 1080p mid-range 75-80 frames per sec or lower on most modern newer games then this is a fantastic setup and CANNOT be beaten for the price even 3 months later after this video was made. I have purchased 3 of these Optiplex 7040 builds and upgraded to the 1650Super and they are all primarily used as emulation and arcade machines that I place inside my larger arcade cabinet builds.. the performance eats and spits out everything from WiiU to PS3 and destroys it.. perfect for all emulation needs. Great information for anyone on a budget. Thanks!

[Muuchi]

By far the best explained video of optiplex's and the problems that they can have with the PSU and having to power the GPU with SATA adapters.

[pwngrapher]

These are great budget builds to get someone by in a tight spot or someone who just doesn't use their PC for anything much more than standard 1080p games. I actually prefer the Dell Precision 3620 because they essentially have all the same internals with more space for a bigger card, vent holes on the side to help with thermal throttling and a bigger 365W PSU with a PCI-e slot for about the same price if you look long enough. The two problems I have found with these are the graphics cards not being secured enough by the plastic tab can cause flickering if you push in your HDMI cable hard or the card jiggles loose. The second being the market for "ugly duckling" Dell cases is very specific and you can sit on that hardware for months if you don't put some blingy RGB to grab someone's attention.

[elemkay]

Nice one. Worth pointing out that the i5 6500 or 6600 are also pretty much as capable, but also, if you find a i3-8100 or i3-9100, you get similar Quad Core performance AND an upgrade path to the 6 core i5s (8400, 8500, 9400, 9500) in the future. Just seen an i3 8100 PC for £100 on ebay, so not too much more money.

[radionos]

I Actually found a 360w PSU that dell sold with a 6 pin PCIE that was plug and play. Under $60 used if you look around. I used the extra headroom with an 8 pin adapter to install a 1660ti without issue.

[rmgaminguk]

Really good overview showing the pros and cons.

I prefer the hp Prodesk mid towers because you can swap the PSU so you don't need a pcie adapter. However they tend to have slimline dvd drives so you need an adapter for the dvd drive which tends to have a smaller sata power connector.

I think for under $400 / £400 you have to consider the prebuilt upgrade route.

Regarding reliability they CPU have probably been under less stress as they tend to only do light office work, but you make an excellent point about getting replacement parts.

[njsurf]

It's nice to see someone talk about the fact that just because you can do something doesn't mean you should. You're right it is an inexpensive entry level build... But a year and a half from now it may not be able to run what you want. Thanks for the insight.

[patrickmcgovern]

I always use pcs that can take a standard power supply when I build flip systems, and I always use brand new psus to make sure they'll last. Also always include monitor, speakers, keyboard, mouse and cables. I think it's a lot more worthwhile then.

[NiGhtPiSH]

OEM systems up to 4th Gen Core used more standard components including PSUs and only needed an adapter from 24-pin to whatever Lenovo, HP or Dell put on their boards (10-pin or 14-pin). Now OEM systems are worth it only in Tiny/Mini/Micro form factors to get you up and running for basic local tasks, emulation or local streaming from a beefier rig.
I still use the case of a Lenovo ThinkStation E31 for the card reader and optical drive, but I sold it's original motherboard, upgraded Xeon 1270v2, 16GB DDR3 I got it with, broke even and went 12th Gen. The difference is night and day between Ivy Bridge and Alder Lake.