A video card that fits inside my XPS 8500?

coffeebeans,

Below are some video cards that will work in your computer. Any newer cards will more than likely require a power supply upgrade.

GeForce GT 545
GeForce GTX 555
AMD Radeon HD7570
AMD Radeon HD7770
AMD Radeon HD7870

I've not heard of others having challengs putting in a fullsize / double width card in an xps 8500.

en.community.dell.com/.../19984493

the thread above has some links, and others are getting GTX 1070 cards to fit.

looking at the card on the table it looks like it was removed from the PCI blank.

If you remove two of the PCI card blanks it should fit.

Maybe a closeup picture of your case would help.

so, to answer your question. Assuming you can fit a double width card ( I think you can) the GTX 1060 is a pretty awesome card for the price and it should work if you are on the latest BIOS.

I believe the 8500 PSU is the same as the 8700 and has two six pin PCIe power connectors so it will run the GTX 1060.

A lot of us XPS 8500 users had that same EVGA 660ti card in our machines and it will fit fine.

However the OEM power supply is marginal but it should work fine.

Just follow DanH's recommendations and remove two of the metal blanks in the back of the machine.

Thread here will show the XPS 8500 with several cards installed.

http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/desktop/f/3515/t/19474677

If you get a different card just try to get a card that is 4.3" high, the only cards that won't fit in the XPS 8500 are cards that are too high.....such as the FTW versions of the current Pascal cards.  There won't be enough room for the power connectors to plug in under the metal side panel.

@DanH

Gonna hijack this thread.......you NEED to get the 1080ti boss.   I know you were holding out on the 1080 but the new card is really sick.   Go for it once the overclocked versions come out.!!

my reply got moderated due to links to the cards with dimensions.

10.91" x 5.51" card fits fine in an 8700. snug fit but fits fine and I'm fairly sure the 8500 and the 8700s are the same case and layout.

by tomorrow there will be links to the cards and a picture.

You referring to the MSI 970 Twin Frozer from your picture on the Nivida thread?  

That  5.5" measurement includes the fancy pipes but the actual power connectors sit on the edge of the PCB which is about 4.5" high and gives you enough clearance under the side panel.   

EVGA FTW 1080 card below won't fit in a XPS 8500 or 8700 case because the PCB and connector height is too tall at just over 5" and there isn't any room under the side panel for the connectors.

Most cards based on the Founders specs are 4.38" and would work fine.   This custom EVGA FTW PCB didn't.   The MSI Twin Frozer fortunately does because of the connector placement.  

Thank you, all, for your responses!

Here are a couple of pictures of the inside of my Dell.

Please note that I'm a total noob about hardware, and wasn't familiar with all the terms you mentioned (I tried googling, but couldn't correlate it to what I'm actually seeing).

The basic problem I have is that the space between the green board at the bottom and the card slot is minimal, and doesn't leave enough space for the protruding bit that most video cards I've seen have.

Most other pictures I've seen of the inside of XPS 8500s didn't have the green board at the bottom. Can it be moved or repositioned? (It didn't look like it). If that's not necessary, would you mind giving more detail as to how I can make the card fit?

Thanks a bunch!

@DanH Gonna hijack this thread.......you NEED to get the 1080ti boss.   I know you were holding out on the 1080 but the new card is really sick.   Go for it once the overclocked versions come out.!!

I've been trying to find a video card that fits my XPS 8500, but to no avail. I recently bought a GTX 660Ti, but that didn't fit because of the little protruding bit (marked below with red).  The problem is that all the video cards I've seen seem to have this bit! For reference, here's my current video card (a Radeon 7500, I think): My current video card is about 2.5 inches high, and it only fits because it doesn't have that protruding bit. In general, my Dell seems very cramped on the inside. Can anyone recommend a card that's small enough to fit inside my Dell (and ideally doesn't require a new power supply)? Thanks! Isaac

On the picture of the video card looks like you removed the card and left the metal connector in place in the case.   You must of yanked pretty hard to do that.........wow. 

Follow DanH's lead and unscrew the piece on the OUTSIDE of the case that holds the metal blanks in place and remove the ones you need to install the 660ti.   That metal piece slides in and out of a slot and holds the blanks in place.

There is a little plastic lever on that green motherboard under the old card you need to push to lift the old card out...but have a feeling that might be broken too.

You are doing fine... it will still work okay.

HanoverB @DanH Gonna hijack this thread.......you NEED to get the 1080ti boss.   I know you were holding out on the 1080 but the new card is really sick.   Go for it once the overclocked versions come out.!! I was waiting for the 1080, but when the 1070s came out It wasn't worth the price premium and wasn't willing to make the jump to 4K as this really bumped up the cost. Since the resolution was still 1080p,  I went with MSI Gaming GTX 1070s in two recent (non dell ) builds and they are amazing. These are in a skylake 6700K system and the system is amazingly fast. here's my teaser pic :D

Very nice!!!!!     It's been a while since I built a computer for myself.   What kind of case is that?   I would like to take a closer look at the airflow.  

I didn't think a CPU upgrade from my i7 3770 would of had as big an impact on my gaming as the 34" wide monitor and the 1080, so that's why I went that way.    But from what I had to do to make it work properly I should of built a machine after having to install fans and a CPU cooler.

Next upgrade in a couple of years would require a higher end CPU so that's when I would need to build a new machine.   I can see how the airflow in these XPS cases are an issue for any higher end gaming.  So unless they make some changes there a new machine sounds more likely.

Thanks guys! (I wanted to respond earlier but the site was locked). Your help is very much appreciated!!

I successfully installed a GTX 760 in my 8500. It fits very well and the card's power requirements are adequately supplied by title stock PSU.

Also: I installed A GTX 1080 IN THE same machine.  A NEW PSU was required and everything was as snug fit. Subsequent overheating convinced me to to build a whole new system.  I swear.... Every new XPS has shrunk 10% per year!

I look on my old XPS Gen 3 (still chugging away after the recent Windows 7 upgrade) and marvel at its space surplus, opening the side port reminded me of opening the hood of my 1976 Buick LE Sabre! !