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PSU+Video Card Dilema

L

Lonid

Junior Member
DEll says i can only get the 425 Watt upgrade from them, which only has one 6 pin pcie connector like the 375 watt i have now. I have been looking at ATI 3870 X2 cards but they require 2 pcie 6 pin connectors. most of the cards i have seen worthwhile online also require a 500 watt power supply.

I need help finding out what exactly i need to be able to upgrade my graphics on this Dell so that i have no trouble picking out a new video card. Some sites say the power supply i have now is underrated and that i need a converter being i have 1 pcie 6 pin already.

Will upgrading damage my computer? Will the new power supply cause lots of heat issues?

Im intrested in these Video cards (but willing to take any reccomendations)
ATI radeons 3870 x2 512-1gb / Radeon 4870 512-1gb

Motherboard: Dell 0TP406 1 PCI-E x16 slot
X38 Chipset, Wolfdale Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 @ 3000 MHz Processor
Video Card :ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT 256mb
3.50GB Ram
DirectX : Version 10.00

Power Supply: My power supply does not have a switch either, i dont believe its a standard size PSU either.

Dell L375P-00
DC output: 375W
+5V--22A MAX
+5V(FP)--2A MAX
+12VA-- 18A MAX
-12V--1A MAX
+3.3V--17A MAX
+12VB2--18A MAX

Combined power on +3.3V and +5V Rails not exceed 150W
Combined power on +12VA and -12VB Rails not exceed 360W
Max continuous total DC power shall not exceed 375W

This site says they make compatible power supplys for Dell systems




 
So you've got 30A on the 12V rails which means a 4870 (or almost any single card) should be just fine.
I'd recommend the gtx260 216 (or the old version). The 216 is significantly better than the 4870 with the new drivers. I'd assume that the new drivers would also help the old gtx260 to pull closer to the 4870.
According to wiki, gtx260 peaks at 136.1W and 216 peaks at 182W so the most either would draw is about 15A, which leaves 15A for the rest of your hardware. If you want to be careful, I'd say get the old gtx260 since it draws less than 12A at load.

Edit:It also helps that the gtx260 has 896mb memory because at times, the 512mb on 4870 is insufficient. The price of the old gtx260 has also been seen at $170 after rebate, which is $100 cheaper than the 4870 1gb.
 
Originally posted by: ther00kie16
So you've got 30A on the 12V rails which means a 4870 (or almost any single card) should be just fine.
I'd recommend the gtx260 216 (or the old version). The 216 is significantly better than the 4870 with the new drivers. I'd assume that the new drivers would also help the old gtx260 to pull closer to the 4870.
According to wiki, gtx260 peaks at 136.1W and 216 peaks at 182W so the most either would draw is about 15A, which leaves 15A for the rest of your hardware. If you want to be careful, I'd say get the old gtx260 since it draws less than 12A at load.

Edit:It also helps that the gtx260 has 896mb memory because at times, the 512mb on 4870 is insufficient. The price of the old gtx260 has also been seen at $170 after rebate, which is $100 cheaper than the 4870 1gb.
Click to expand...

Problem is my current card only has 1 pcie express 6 pin connector. Supposedly all dells made from 5 years and on ago no longer use proprietary connections. Hard to tell if my pc is or isnt but i still need another pcie 6 pin.

Hmm ill have to check those gtx cards, but i do run windows vista which Nvidia is having drivers issues with atm, thats why i plan to stick to a ati for now.

I just ordered a new 500 watt PSU with 1 Pcie 6 pin and a 8 pin that has a detatchable 2 pin section so hopefully i can just grab any card now. Everything i have on my comuter is the same as when i got it except for the extra gb of ram i put in it.

Now my concern is going to be will my xps overheat, Its very spacy inside and where my current card is there is nothign around it but 1 cable and a big fan near the front of the tower diagonal from it upwards.
 
:beer:So, who's actually modified their XPS 410 with a new video card or aftermarked power supply?


I'm in the same boat, more or less. I want to update the old 7900 GS card that came with the XPS 410.

I can't find anyone on the 'net that has put a Radeon 4850 into the xps 410 but it seems the best fit because it's a single slot card like the original 7900 and it only requires one 6 pin connector which is what the stock 370 W power supply has. If fact, I still haven't seen the 475 power supply on Dells site but did find someone who said it only had one pcie power connector anyway.

I can't find a PSU with the fan in the right configuration to replace the one that's in there now and along the way of researching I read where people just stuck newer cards like the 8800 series in using the existing power suppply with no problem anyway. Further, even on the DELL forums, you get conflicting opinions instead of facts about whether or not DELLS PSU is custom sized so that an aftermarket would fit or not anyway without cutting up your case and customizing it...frustrating.


I'd really to upgrade to the GTX 260 but 2 issues there. One, the PSU doesn't have enough of the right connectors so can you really get a new PSU that has enough power and connectors to fit in the 410 case and 2) the power connectors are on the side of the card instead of in the "back" and the card is just so much bigger than the 7900 so it's only a guess at this point that it will fit and this can all be done because despite investing a weekend I still don't see anyone I trust that's actually done any of this on a XPS 410. That's how I stumbled on this thread! 🙂 Hadn't even heard of Anandtech prior.
 
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