March 29th - It's time for our Friday Highlights! You can check them out here!
Forum Announcement, Click Here to Read More From EA_Cade.

Recommended Graphics Card for Optiplex 7010

Right now I have only a dedicated graphics card that is 64 mb. This doesn't even meet the minimum requirements, but the game runs okay. It's kind of ugly but it runs. I wish I could have a graphics card that shows all the beauty of the game. I only have $50 dollars so I would be fine with one that just puts it up to spec. So I have three questions what's the best card I can get for $50, in an ideal world what would be the best card, and what do I look for when shopping for graphics cards?

Comments

  • igazorigazor Posts: 19,330 Member
    Part of this is going to depend on which model/form factor of the 7010 series you have. The compact small form factor ones will not be able to take a graphics card upgrade. The regular desktop and mini-tower ones can, with limitations. You will likely have to upgrade the power supply unit to handle a stronger dedicated card, even then you would be limited to cards that will physically fit into the required location, and there must be sufficient cooling for a more powerful card to function without damaging itself or the rest of the system.

    I wouldn't attempt such an upgrade on my own personally, but then we also have the question as to whether investing much more than you wanted to in new hardware and labor (if someone else does the upgrade) is really worth it for a desktop that must be around six years old by now.
    o550pjoa47rpxo63g.jpg
    NRaas has moved!
    Our new site is at http://nraas.net
  • AthenaOnyxAthenaOnyx Posts: 3,921 Member
    Sigh... Well, the game is older than a six year old. Everything else surpasses the specs. I have found graphics cards for under $50 which is a lot cheaper than buying a whole new machine especially when most machines come with outdated graphics cards. How can I find out if I have the compact or mini-tower? Considering how small the computer is I doubt I have the regular desktop.
  • AthenaOnyxAthenaOnyx Posts: 3,921 Member
    edited December 2019
    Nevermind I have the dang compact tower.

    Seriously, I can't upgrade at all?
  • AthenaOnyxAthenaOnyx Posts: 3,921 Member
    Why is it when they put together computer models the only thing they are cheap on is graphics? I mean, what am I supposed to do with 16 gigs of ram if I don't have a decent graphics card?
  • igazorigazor Posts: 19,330 Member
    edited December 2019
    I didn't mean that a computer made six years ago would be too light on specs. I meant that unless it was not in use for most of that time, it would be expected to be showing signs of age by now. Computers do not improve with age, their performance begins to degrade from the day you first drive it off the lot (to use an admittedly silly car analogy).

    A tower is oriented vertically, like a stack, with access provided on the side. A desktop is oriented horizontally (you could put a monitor on top of it or turn it on its side and put it under a desk if there is sufficient airflow) with access provided on the top. Compact and Small Form Factor (SFF) mean things are crammed together to save space and there may not be a slot for a dedicated GPU present at all or the one it comes with may be attached permanently. And again, there could be cooling system issues if the rest of the hardware beyond the hard drives can even be upgraded, they are almost like laptops in this regard.

    Can we get the exact model number? I mean any digits/letters that come after the 7010 part?

    Optiplex computers are designed for business/office use, not for playing games. The models that do come with medium to higher end graphics cards, or at least more than integrated, are really meant for lightweight graphics design work and complicated presentations. That doesn't mean we can't play games on them, but their model lines do not follow the same "logic" as gaming computers or even those for general home usage.
    o550pjoa47rpxo63g.jpg
    NRaas has moved!
    Our new site is at http://nraas.net
  • AthenaOnyxAthenaOnyx Posts: 3,921 Member
    edited December 2019
    I'm trying to find the model number. What I meant say is that on the site CanIRunIt the only thing below specs was the graphics card. Everything else was like 5x more than what was needed. All I have is $50, it will probably be years before I can afford a gaming computer.

    Dell Optiplex 7010 / Core i7-3770 3.40 GHz / 16 gigs of RAM / 64 bit OS / I couldn't find anything else regarding the model.

    And, Thank you, for helping me.
  • igazorigazor Posts: 19,330 Member
    Do you get the full system model number if you run a dxdiag report on it?
    o550pjoa47rpxo63g.jpg
    NRaas has moved!
    Our new site is at http://nraas.net
Sign In or Register to comment.
Return to top