Hello everyone,
Seen a lot of posts selling refurbished workstation computers and comments about putting in a GPU and SSDs.
I've got a Lenovo m73 thinkcentre at home not really doing much. Its got an i5-4430 CPU and (I think) 4gb of RAM. Just wondering what are everyone's thoughts on adding a GPU to this set-up. Obviously read about potentially putting in GTX 1030/1050/1050ti but wondering if anyone's had experience in dealing with Lenovo workstation PCs.
Also considering adding in a new SSD..
Its the SFF. I think it has a 240W PSU (which is similar to the PCs from the deals I've seen?)
First I'd be checking if it even has a PSU connector for a GPU. Then I'd be looking at the dimensions to see what would fit. And check what the PSU can put out on its 12v rail.
PSU shouldn't be an issue with GT1050. But you need to confirm if the motherboard will support the newer GPU. The websites only offer GT730, and it could be because they can't be bothered updating the BIOS.
Is there a way to check if the mobo will support the GPU?
Did a bit of research and there is support for the m73 with nvidia GPUs using their discrete VGA driver on their website.
Bought a GTX 1050 LP from the current eBay sale and plugged it in. Fits perfectly into the space available. Was a bit worried about bios issues but PC booted up.
Tried to use the Lenovo driver from their support page but that didn't work so just downloaded GeForce Experience and updated to the latest driver through that and it works perfectly.
Haven't had any issues with bios or PSU issues due to excessive voltage although I have only played CSGO on low settings so not overworking the GPU too much at this stage.
Waiting for SSD prices to go down before purchasing one..
Thinkcentres come in 3 different sizes. Tower
SFF
and Tiny
Which one is yours? With Tiny upgrades are not possible at all.
You are also limited by PSU wattage. With these machines, you might only have 280w PSU installed, so that means you can only get GTX 1050 with no 6-pin power connector required.