Budget (~$500) Gaming SSF Build - Dell?!

I'm primarily a Mac guy and have gone through a bunch of different machines to try and find something that suits my quirky use cases (multiple screens, multiple concurrent running machines across different OS's, 1.5 keyboards, 1 mouse, etc) and have been pulling my hair out trying to settle on a good setup.

In the end, I decided to take two of the requirements away from Mac OS and leave them as a standalone low power windows PC. So behold, my Rocket League playing Plex Server!

Dell Optiplex 9020 SFF

i7-4770
Q87 based motherboard
16GB RAM
1TB Samsung SSD
Gigabyte 1050ti OC 4GB (Low Profile)
Dell 255w PSU

After reading online about some people having success putting a 1050 in these SFF machines I thought I would grab a refurb off eBay and give it a go. So far it seems to have turned out OK. I'll update this thread once the SSD arrives so I can re-install windows and get some real benchmarking/information. It's worth noting that only the PCI-e 4x slot can be used in this case due to the case/psu layout... but that shouldn't be too much of an issue according to some strangers on the internet.

Link to a photo of how it fits in: https://imgur.com/a/K36msIr

Actual cost breakdown is:

Dell Optiplex 9020 w/ 1TB 7200 HDD - $302
Gigabyte 1050ti OC - $229

Throw another $180 on top for a 1TB SSD. I'll be removing the 1TB clunker it came with.

You can also save some another $100 by going for an i5 with lower ram. There are plenty of refurbs of these Dells around so it might make a nice Fortnite machine for your kids for $400.

 

I actually have a modified side panel for an Optiplex 990 SFF, I think it also fits the 9010 and 9020, with a Coolermaster Vertical GPU stand attached to it, and also have the parts to add a second PSU and have it automatically start at the same time as the primary, to power full size GPU's

Had a 300W SFX connected to an R9-290, and a GTX980 without issue for a few months.

 

I had one of these for a while with a similar setup. Worked well for most of the games I played.
The one thing I did find was the fans could get pretty loud when running some of the more intensive games. I don't think I ever did work out whether it was the cpu or gpu fan.

But yeah, these are good machines for the costs.

 

I've helped a few workmates build similar systems.

Protip: The 9020 SFF can hold a 3.5" HDD and a 2.5" SSD....without removing the CD-ROM drive. Just double sided tape the SSD between the side panel and PSU. Or if the SSD is thin you can slot it above/below the HDD.

 

Had a lenovo m58p sff with a q9450, 8gb, 2x 256gb ssd, hd7750LP, used for a few years when we moved house.
Was able to play BF1 on ultra low 720p lol (had to oc the 7750 lol)

Built one of my nephews a "school pc" late last yr, hp prodesk 400g1 sff with a i7 3770s, 8gb, 240gb ssd + 500gb hhd, gtx1050 gigabyte lp model
$150 for the desktop off gumtree
$120 gfx from ebay
$50 ssd from msy

Was going to get a gtx750ti lp but seems overpriced at around $100+ at the time