# Want to game on PC? Got a 4-6 year old-ish desktop lying around? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [February 20, 2014, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-to-game-on-pc-got-a-4-6-year-old-ish-desktop-lying-around/681760 "2014-02-20T01:33:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2014, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-to-game-on-pc-got-a-4-6-year-old-ish-desktop-lying-around/681760/1 "2014-02-20T01:33:07Z")
The main qualifier here is a PCIe slot. No need to upgrade you power supply at all. Just plop down a new $140 Nvidia GTX 750 ti and away you go. Next gen console like experience for pennies on the dollar 😉 These new cards have some AMAZING performance per watt. The 750 is something like 2-5 times more efficient than a lot of other GPU’s out there, and this model cna run PURELY on PCIE power. And this little guy runs Titanfall at better settings and performance than an Xbox one! That’s crazy performance for something being powered by a PCIe slot alone (no extra connectors to your PSU required). So, if you’ve ever though about having unfettered access to decades worth of games, crazy cheap games overall, plus mods and all the other things that make PC gaming fun, and if you’ve got an old desktop lying around somewhere, you might wanna give this baby a look! ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2014, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-to-game-on-pc-got-a-4-6-year-old-ish-desktop-lying-around/681760/2 "2014-02-20T02:31:34Z")
I almost reported this as spam until I recognised the username. I got a PCIe slot-only card a year or so ago (I think it was a 7770 but can’t be sure) and was very happy with the results. I figure I can get another 3-4 years out of my 3 year old desktop with it. ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2014, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-to-game-on-pc-got-a-4-6-year-old-ish-desktop-lying-around/681760/3 "2014-02-20T12:49:05Z")
Hehehe, Hopefully I’ll get an Nvidia paycheck int he mail 🙂 [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/A_Pnte_niJE/maxresdefault.jpg "Turn Your Crappy Desktop into a Gaming PC for $150") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_Pnte_niJE) This is PC per talking about the new low power GPU. I know a lot of people who would jump into PC gaming but they don’t want to upgrade their mobo + PSU + CPU +RAM, etc. This is makes it super simple in case you ever wanted to try it. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2014, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-to-game-on-pc-got-a-4-6-year-old-ish-desktop-lying-around/681760/4 "2014-02-20T15:03:24Z")
If they really want to work for everyone, they need half-height cards, to fit the smaller budget PCs I see people getting so often. I know my dad’s computer would be fast enough if not for that limitation… ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2014, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-to-game-on-pc-got-a-4-6-year-old-ish-desktop-lying-around/681760/5 "2014-02-20T20:52:27Z")
They’re coming. These are just the first batch of reference cards but low profile cards are on their way too. Perfect for little home theater PC’s or Steam boxes! ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2014, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-to-game-on-pc-got-a-4-6-year-old-ish-desktop-lying-around/681760/6 "2014-02-21T02:49:38Z")
> [@Kinthalis](#): > > They’re coming. These are just the first batch of reference cards but low profile cards are on their way too. > > Perfect for little home theater PC’s or Steam boxes! That’s good. I’ve found it’s hard to find a decent low-cost half height card. I’d even have room for one that was double width, if that’s how they’d have to pull it off.