What PSU requirements for this system

So thanks to a long history in the PC world, I usually have a lot of components I can use but for once I don’t really have a PSU with the wattage I would feel comfortable using. Currently the system is crammed into an old IBM case (Woo retro) and the plan was to turn it into either yet another server (Didn’t do yet due to time constraints and power cost) or a streaming system for Netflix and games on the TV in the lounge. For those, the current PSU is fine.

Components:
IBM half height case

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350Watt PSU
Some Sandybridge i5/i7 (Unsure but doesn’t matter too much)
Some motherboard (Again unknown but does the job)
No GPU
8GB’s of memory I believe
1TB HDD

For now, the PSU is fine but I also happen to have a spare GPU that sits on the shelf collecting dust,
An EVGA GTX 780 ti FTW Classified.
Now this is where things get interesting.
My partner games now and then on her laptop, decent but still low performing GTX 950m. For some games, it runs fine, others, not so much. And the thought came into my head of strapping the 780 ti to this rig and turning it into a light gaming system.
Now obviously, strapping a 780 ti Classified into such a small case designed for half height cards is not the easiest thing to do and I’m well aware of that though modifying the inside to allow for space to add the gpu is something I can do. The part that I need to work out is PSU.
I understand I might end up having to get a mid tower and just transferring the contents to it and buying a standard but for the time being, I’m aiming for staying with the current case.

So the questions are,
What Wattage should I be looking at. It’s not to be overclocked or anything but needs to supply enough power for all the internal components.
Are there any recommendations for PSU’s that fit the slim form factor of this case.
Think old half height business computers. An SFX PSU is too big though I haven’t found the name for the form factor used in this case sadly, partially due tot he age of the case (Hosted a Pentium between 3 or 4 I think).
I’m thinking 600W would be enough but finding one small enough to fit is the question.

Cheers
DeltaTech

550W to 650W should be plenty.
But yeah finding one that would fit the ibm case is a challenge.

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It’s likely a small proprietary unit. Highly doubtful you’ll find one more than 350W.

This is the closes thing I have found but wattage isn’t where I need it then

Yeah prob best you can do.

Little more work but you can get an acceptable case for like $25-$40. Get that and a normal PSU. Unless you just want to have it running next to the system not in a case lol

Check to make sure that motherboard doesn’t use any proprietary connectors as well

Or you could buy a 1050 Ti. Wouldn’t need a power connector and is faster than the 780 Ti or close enough. That’s a lot more cost tho

Yea the point was to keep cost as low as possible and keeping the current case.
The motherboard isn’t proprietary. The PSU already in it is actually smaller than what the case was originally designed for as the original PSU was proprietary. Standard third party PSU’s will work fine and yea, keeping the psu outside of the case is another option. I guess I’m looking for a 600W TFX PSU or similar.

If it’s a TFX power supply the highest wattage one that I’ve seen that won’t burn your house down is 350 watts.

You’re going to need a different case if you want to use that parts combination.

Any pics of the current power supply or at least the back of the current case? it might be some weird form factor rather than TFX which is just going to make it worse.

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It would prob be cheaper to get a new case and a regular PSU lol

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Yea, just issues with space constraints. Don’t really have the space for a mid tower. This case however can sit under a monitor. Plus I recon it’s good looking for a 90’s case.



Having opener it for the first time in a year, it does have a lot more room in it than I thought. Still can’t fit an sfx PSU but maybe a server PSU? Maybe 8mm space either side, 20mm top and a solid 100mm length, more if I remove the card reader of which isn’t very usable anyway.

As you can see, my guestimate of PSU wattage was wrong, 240W in 12v rail.
Also memory is 16GB’s, not 8

As above i’d be looking for a 650 watt PSU, as that seems to be the turning point for price rising strongly beyond that point, and running within 80% of rated output will be a lot more efficient and less borderline than trying to run something like a 500-550.

Will may even run fanless a lot of the time at the desktop.

I suspect you may have physical clearance issues fitting a high end GPU in that case (card length), possibly width (and height? looks like those are low profile slots??).

Cooling on 80s/90s cases is also really crap. Don’t forget that if you’re going to dump 250w of heat into the case from the video card - it has to go somewhere. And even if you have a blower style card - you need an intake to get the air into it…

I’m guessing maybe you plan to run without the lid on it to fit the 780ti? But then you can’t use it as a monitor stand…

For the time and effort you’re going to spend hacking things up, buying obscure/expensive high output small form factor PSUs and maybe adding fans, etc. to cool the thing…

I’d seriously suggest a new case to be honest. Yes it will be an expense, but you can actually find a reasonable case for under a hundred dollars now.

New cheap case, new 650 watt PSU, enjoy. You may even get the case and PSU for not much more than you’d spend on a small form 650 watt PSU. The included fans, much better ventilation in a reasonable case, etc. will be gravy.