I've just completed the gathering of equipment I need do start my 4K Virtual Pinball build. Would like to use this thread to bring you guys along on the build and hopefully get some valuable advice along the way - this is my first VP build and I've been fortunate (i.e. LUCKY) to assemble an impressive set of components without breaking the bank.

1) The cabinet ($50) - I obtained a Bally cabinet from the late 70's (1979 Bally Supersonic). The cabinet insides were mostly gutted but for the flipper buttons and switches are still intact as well as the tilt mechanics (possible to reuse these switches for VP and somehow connect them into the VP USB breakout box? I like the idea of original leaf switches to give that authentic feel). The Bally Supersonic is a 22" wide standard size cabinet and backbox. There is no glass and part of the outer trim is missing from the back box. The vital lockdown bar is intact and has a working latch and the metal/aluminum side rails are also intact. Alas, there are no legs and no glass and its missing the coin slot door.

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2) The Playfield TV ($70) - I obtained a Vizio M43-C1 4K TV from a local thrift store for $20. It was not functioning. I ordered a replacement control board on Ebay for $50 and the TV now works beautifully in glorious 4K.

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3) The backglass monitor ($15) - I obtained an HP 27" Monitor (HP 2710m) from the weekly Salvation Army auction. The monitor works great and the 1080p picture is sharp and crisp.

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4) The PC ($80) - I obtained a used Dell 7020 from a local thrift store that specializes in refurbishing donated PCs with fresh copies of Windows 10. The PC came with a 19" monitor, keyboard and optical mouse. More importantly, it was equipped with an i7 processor running at 3.6ghz, 16MB of ram, and a dual hard drive setup with a 180 GB SSD

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5) The graphics card ($190) - I got a used MSI GTX 980 ti with 6B ram from an Ebay seller who had just been gifted a brand new GTX 2070. This is the heart of the system so I wanted the most bang for my buck here.

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6) The power supply ($30) - I got an EVGA 750W G+ Power supply like-new in box from my local Facebook Marketplace. The guy was selling because the fan was louder than he wanted - virtual pinball is kinda loud already so I'm not concerned with a little extra fan noise. The PSU looks brand new!

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Couple of complications on the build:

1) The power supply is about 2 inches longer than the stock unit and required removal of the case latch bar mechanism in order to allow the PSU to slide into the case. And the fan on this EVGA 750 G+ is FREAKING LOUD. The original owner is not overstating on that point one bit.

2) The drive cage at the front bottom of the Dell Optiplex 7020 case is preventing the GTX 980 ti card from fitting (by about 1/2 inch). The cage will have to be removed and the SSD and HDD will have to be relocated

3) The SATA cable connectors are directly under the location where the 980 ti will be located on the top PCI rail. I will have to replace the existing SATA cables with a variant with "L" shaped end connectors in order to be able to allow the card to ride above them.

Time to get some new drill bits...

Thanks for the info on de-casing the PC, MB & PSU. That's very helpful. The only complication I have left at the moment prior to testing the basic system (PF monitor + backglass monitor + DMD monitor + PC) is the power supply fan issue. From the looks of it, this EVGA 750 G+ is brand new. However, the guy who sold it to me was upfront about the fact he was selling it cheap because the fan was wide open constant from power on to power off with no throttling, and loud. He could not get EVGA to replace it, they told him it was normal operation.

By comparison, when I swap out the EVGA with a no-name Ebay 950w PSU, the sound level is like night and day, the Ebay PSU is virtually silent.

So, I'm trying to figure out what to do about the EVGA PSU. My options, I suppose are:

1) Live with it as is. The cabinet should muffle the fan, especially if its in the back of the cabinet. Only issue with this is there could be something wrong with the PSU that's causing the fan to run at max speed constantly. Worst case it could end up damaging components in the PC

2) Disable or replace the PSU fan. Not sure about this, any thoughts? If I have the PSU contained in a cabinet that is itself well ventilated, does that negate or mitigate the need for the PSU to have a fan?

I definitely think I may have got a good deal on a fully modular "name brand" PSU. However...

My main concern with the "live with it" option is that there is something wrong with the PSU that could put the rest of the PC at risk of electrical damage. Its not only loud but it appears to have no variation based on temperature. When the PC is turned on, it goes to what I can only assume is 100% full blast and does not stop until the PC is turned off. The CPU is just hovering around 1-3% usage the whole time sitting at Windows desktop.

Good suggestion on the meter test. I'll have to research where to probe there with the DMM. I called EVGA and they informed me that this is a single speed fan, so it has no variable speed throttling in the circuit. I can't imagine that speed is this wide open however.