Fastest video card for Dell XPS 9100

[FFM]

My wife have a Dell XPS 9100 with I7 960 (3.2 GHz) CPU. I recently upgraded the HD to a Samsung 1 TB 840 EVO SSD drive. Also upgraded Windows 8.1 pro to Windows 10 Pro.
Computer has 12 GB RAM and a Radeon HD 5800 series card.

What is the best and fastest video graphics card that I can install in this system for an upgrade?

 

[fourdegrees11]

You need to take a look at the power supply and see how much power it is rated for on the 12V rail(s). There should be something like the image below on the power supply

You'll also need to tell us how many pins the connector has that is plugged into your current graphics card. The image below is a 6 pin and a 6+2 pin (6 or 8 pin)

 

[Spanners]

Seems like this is the PSU for that sytem. 525W with 2x6 pin connectors.

Found an image here of the specs and it looks like it has 3x 18A 12v lines (which combined can deliver 500W), you'd assume the 2x 6 pins are on separate lines.

Budget? Resolution? A GTX 970 would be a huge upgrade even assuming the PSU is a bit old and may be of dubious provenance. I wouldn't go past upper-mid-range with that system because you may become somewhat CPU limited. A R9 380 might be worth a look also.

 

[FFM]

Thanks for the feedback.
I opened the computer case and the power supply is DP/N 07JVXX with 525 watts rating. I could not see the sticker on the power supply as I have to disassemble it to get to it (it is on the back side of the computer).

The current AMD card is supplies by 2 6-pin connectors but there is a free 2 pin connector next to the 2 6-pin connectors that is not used. So basically there is a 6 and a 6+2 pins available.

Budget is no issue. I want the best/fastest graphics card that is at the limit of what the CPU can handle. I think this is the last major upgrade for this computer short of a new one.

The resolution is 1920x1200 on a Dell U2410 Ultrasharp monitor. The kids may play some games on it (Minecraft etc) but the PC is not meant for gaming.

 

[Leyawiin]

You could handle a GTX 970 with no issue either from a bottlenecking perspective or your OEM power supply. It would of course be like night and day compared to your current card. Its about the highest I'd personally go.

 

[FFM]

Thanks for the suggestions.
Now which GTX 970 to get. It seems there are many variations of it.

 

[nsafreak]

I would probably recommend either the Gigabyte GTX 970 G1 Gaming or an eVGA GTX 970 SSC.

 

[frozentundra123456]

For gaming, I would agree, the 970 is a good choice. But if you only plan to play minecraft or other non-demanding games, why upgrade at all, or just go with something like a GT750/750Ti for decent performance and low power use?

Edit: and save a couple hundred bucks of course.

 

[RussianSensation]

The resolution is 1920x1200 on a Dell U2410 Ultrasharp monitor. The kids may play some games on it (Minecraft etc) but the PC is not meant for gaming.

Before you even upgrade, what is the problem with the HD5800? Is it broken or the kids have complained that it doesn't perform to their liking? I mean do you want to spend $ for no reason? With that out of the way, before going all the way up to a $300 videocard consider some other options:

#1 GTX950/960/R9 380 are a very solid upgrade and could be enough for your kids. By the sound of it if your kids were OK with a 5800 series card for so long (that series came out in 2009), they probably don't need the fastest $300 card like a GTX970/390.

#2 When considering $300+ card, always look in the price range to see if something is almost as fast for way less. Right now we have such a case = an after-market R9 290 for $240 with lifetime warranty is a solid choice too. Based on your non-overclocked CPU and based on what you described that the PC won't be used for hardcore gaming, I don't see the justification of spending around $300 for an R9 390 or GTX970. With your stock CPU, you will not get any more FPS from a 390/970 over a 290 on that system, so why spend the extra $?

Also, even with a very fast CPU, after the $240 R9 290, there are seriously diminishing returns for performance per each extra $ spent. Keep in mind that an after-market 290 ~ reference R9 290 on this chart:

Budget is no issue. I want the best/fastest graphics card that is at the limit of what the CPU can handle. I think this is the last major upgrade for this computer short of a new one.

Right but is the upgrade even needed or you just want to buy a graphics card to treat your kids/self?

With all of that taken into account, based on what you have described I think even a 960 4GB or R9 380 4GB is probably overkill as is for games like Minecraft. You might not even need an upgrade until your kids start complaining and the longer you wait, the cheaper GPUs will get for a given level of performance.

 

[FFM]

RussianSensation

It is not my kids who are complaining (they have their own Xbox 1 for gaming). It is my wife. She feels the computer is slowing down and taking longer to load videos or browse the internet. That's the rationale. The HD5800 is not broken. Just need to speed things up and don't mind paying some dollars to make it an enjoyable experience for the coming years that this computer will be in service.

 

[Mondozei]

The HD5800 is more than enough for that PC. CPU is also fine. SSD is in. I'd venture there could be software problems/bloat.

Honestly, don't see a reason to upgrade. If you absolutely have to, take something in the sub-150 category. Perhaps a used 280X.

 

[FFM]

It is a possibility that something else is slowing the computer. In Windows 7 there used to be Performance Index test with a score. What can I run in Windows 10 Pro to tell me if the graphics card is the bottleneck?

 

[happy medium]

I think if you don't overclock you cpu you will have a large bottleneck for a gtx970.
To even start to push a gtx970 you need a q9550 @ 4.0 and the i7 960 @ 3.2 is not as fast as a q9550 @ 4.0 I think there was a member named pslord who did this testing.
I also have a q9550 @ 4.0 and I decided that a gtx970 was too much for the q9550, it would be a waste of power for most games. Considering you cpu is even slower than that, I suggest not going to a gtx970.

I'd say best case get a gtx960 (overclock it) for about 150$, it should be more than enough for your cpu and will easily run on your psu.

Oh and use the feature in windows 10 that can refresh your windows install.
It might solve some of your computers sluggish problems for your wife.

 

[Spanners]

RussianSensation

It is not my kids who are complaining (they have their own Xbox 1 for gaming). It is my wife. She feels the computer is slowing down and taking longer to load videos or browse the internet. That's the rationale. The HD5800 is not broken. Just need to speed things up and don't mind paying some dollars to make it an enjoyable experience for the coming years that this computer will be in service.

Well, OK probably no need to touch the graphics card at all then. I noticed you had an EVO 840 SSD, they had some issues with performance degrading over time (I'm not sure it would be enough for your wife to notice but it's worth getting it out of the way) it would be worth updating the firmware on that SSD. I think you can do that all through Samsung's Magician Software link.

It is a possibility that something else is slowing the computer. In Windows 7 there used to be Performance Index test with a score. What can I run in Windows 10 Pro to tell me if the graphics card is the bottleneck?

It won't be the graphics card slowing down the loading of videos or browsing the internet. I would definitely check for spyware and malware after you have updated the SSD. This is some good free somftware to install and scan with.

 

[FFM]

The EVO 840 SSD has the latest firmware and working fine.
I have the latest Norton 360 antivirus and Malwarebytes running constantly and there are no viruses or malware detected.