Upgrade Dell XPS 8300 video card worth it?

[purecomedy]

I've got a friend trying to do some moderate gaming on a Dell XPS 8300 and the base video card won't really do anything now. I think the CPU is good enough. I've google searched with some conflicting results whether I could get something like a GTX 1050 Ti video card working in this rig easily (I know there's some slightly new cards I could try also but I figure the newer the card the lower the likelihood of compatibility). Just curious if anyone has an opinion. Main considerations are I believe: 1) Is there physical space to fit the video card. 2) Does the power supply need to be upgraded. 3) Since the system is old will the new video card be compatible.

I don't play around with building computers like I used to so I forget all the rules of the thumb for power supplies...I actually think people go hog-wild over upgrading them sometimes for little reason. My intent will not be overclocking and maxing out all the settings.

Any thoughts?


Brand Name Dell
Model Xps 8300
Part Number Dell XPS 8300
Memory Size 16 GB
Memory Type DDR3 SDRAM
Hard Disk Size 1 TB
Number of Processors 4
Hardware Interface Ethernet, eSATA, USB, SATA 3.0 Gb/s, USB 2.0, SATA 6.0 Gb/s
Graphics Card Interface Integrated
Display Size 24 inches
Colour Screen No
Wattage 460 watts
Are Batteries Included No
Batteries Required No
Wireless Standard 802.11bgn

[Philip]

Most likely that PC will have room for a couple of PCIe expansion cards, and the PSU at 460w should be able to support anything up to probably GTX1050 ti.
The PCIe slots should support most PCIe video cards. Compatibility would depend on power draw, and version of PCIe slots. Based on the Mobo diagram/chipset it has PCIe version 2 slots:
https://www.dell.com/community/Desktops-General-Read-Only/XPS-8300-PCIe-question/td-p/4040381

The GTX 1050 TI draws only about 75W at full blast, this can even be lowered with tuning (MSI Afterburner software).

Any PCI Express slot on the motherboard can provide "up to" 75 watts, total draw for all PCIe slots (v2 or v3) is like 300w. I would still try to look if the particular card you choose requires an extra 4/6 PIN PCIe power connector, in addition to the PCIe bus. This may not be provided by the PSU, so you may need an adapter cable if the card requires it.

I wouldn't go any bigger than 1050 ti (or GTX 1650), that's about the limit as bigger models are more power-hungry.
By the way, the GTX 1650 is newer generation/faster than 1050 ti with the same power requirements and in the same price range I believe.

I would stay away from any "OC" / Overclocked version of those graphics cards, as they run hot and are more power-hungry.

[purecomedy]

Interesting thanks for the info!

I’ve got another Dell XPS 435T/9000 I wonder if I could upgrade it with the same card as well.

I figure this one seems explicit for trying to maximize compatibility.
ZOTAC Gaming GeForce GTX 1650 OC 4GB GDDR5 128-Bit Gaming Graphics Card, Super Compact, ZT-T16500F-10L https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07QF1H9YR/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_7Gi8DbN1KG6ZS

[Philip]

Look fine, I like Zotac cards actually.

[purecomedy]

Based on the Mobo diagram/chipset it has PCIe version 2 slots:
https://www.dell.com/community/Desktops-General-Read-Only/XPS-8300-PCIe-question/td-p/4040381


By the way, you must have some advanced level of access on Dell as when I created a standard login to try and view that picture I was told that I had insufficient access to that link.

[Philip]

Hmm, seems they have purged old posts or something like that, I can no longer see that link either. Anyway, it should work IMHO. If it doesn't, I'd do a BIOS upgrade, but you shouldn't have to.