This post is more than 5 years old
5 Posts
0
53909
Dell XPS 9100 compatible with Nvidia GTX 980/970?
Has anybody installed either of these new 980/970 series video cards in a dell xps 9100? Or know for sure if they will work with the 9100, especially the original motherboard/bios?
I plan to upgrade my Dell xps studio 9100 (2010 I7 930 12 GB ram, Dell 05DN3X Intel X58 Intel ICH10R motherboard) with a new video card to replace the HD Radeon 5870. My choice of card is the new Nvidia GTX 970.
The GTX 970 and GTX 980 are the new Maxwell based Nvidia cards with top specs and good pricing. While they are suitable for the XPS 9100's power supply (both GTX cards use less power than the 5870), I don't know if my original xps 9100 motherboard (with updated bios from july 2014 from the dell driver site) is compatible with the gtx 970. Dell's newer desktop 8700 bios was not compatible/created a black screen issue and Dell released an updated Bios for the 8700 in December 2014 which apparently is working ok now with the 980/970 series. I would hate to drop $350 on a video card that didn't work with my 9100,
I use the Dell 9100 for video editing (Sony Vegas Pro 13, Hitfilm 3, NewBlue and other open GL/CL based programs) plus 3d animation work with iclone (which prefers Nvidia). I could likely get another year or two out of it with a newer video card....otherwise I'll transfer any useful parts to a self build.
I would appreciate any feedback on this. Maybe Dell's Chris from this forum would know as he quarterbacked the dell bios fix that allowed the 980 to work with 8700. Thanks to Chris if he responds or if he can answer my gtx 970 question for me and the other 9100 owners.
Jim594
3 Posts
2
February 2nd, 2015 19:00
Just this moment installed an MSI gtx 970 in my 3 1/2 year old xps 9100. Original mother board. Only thing I've really upgraded over the years is the memory.
Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-960 processor @3.2GHz (8MB L2 Cache)
16GB RAM, DDR3 PC3-10600, DDR3 PC3-12800
Nvidia(R) GeForce(R) GTX 970 4GB
Dell XPS 9100 Desktop
Windows 7 Home Premium (64bit) SP1
PSU at 525 watts was more than enough. You have to use both the 6 point and the 8 point plugs not one or the other. Biggest problem was finding a second power source. Had the 6+2 plug but didn't think another was there. It was and was buried in the middle of a cable bundle. A plain 6 point plug. Just enough.
It's working like a charm. No start up problems at all
videoeditor9
5 Posts
0
January 15th, 2015 12:00
Hello out there xps 9100 owners! Have any of you successfully installed either a gtx 970 or 980 video card in your system if it has the original motherboard?
Chris: do you have any information on this topic?
thanks
videoeditor9
5 Posts
0
February 2nd, 2015 19:00
Thank you very much Jim594 for taking the time to provide this update and clear answer to my question! Also I appreciate the tip about the extra plug location. I'll be getting the card soon...it is an excellent value and powerful card even though it is apparently in effect a 3.5GB fully usable video memory card based on recent controversy about the new Maxwell Nvidia cards. Thanks again, Jim!
psychedlicSight
21 Posts
0
July 30th, 2016 10:00
Hey Videoeditor9. I know this has been a while but I just wanted to see if you went through with this? I also have this same system as yours and am thinking about getting the gtx 970 as well. I can't seem to find info on how much power supply I have, but I'll assume its the same for now.
Thanks!
videoeditor9
5 Posts
0
August 1st, 2016 16:00
I intended to buy the gtx 970 but didn't due to the Canadian $ currency fluctuations and lack of a good sale with inventory available. Nearly got one on Black Friday and then Boxing Day but no stock for the excellent sale prices. In January, I got an MSI R9 380 4G instead. It was on at more than $100 cheaper than the 970 (fit budget) and the Radeon card is a better choice with the software that I use the most, Sony (now Magix) Vegas Pro. The R9 380 Radeon uses almost the same power as the original card in my system, the HD5870. The outcome was excellent with better performance with Vegas as well as a big jump up in performance with memory hog iClone 6. No installation issue but had to remove the brace that supported the slightly thinner 5870. I still have the original MB, processor, and 12G RAM as well as power supply (525W). I'd still be comfortable with the 970 but this is the way I went.
psychedlicSight
21 Posts
0
September 18th, 2016 23:00
I see. Thanks for the info! I'm looking to move out of Radeon, some rendering programs I use I've noticed say that they can use the CUDA cores from Nvidia. So, now I'm looking again at the GTX 970 and the 980 as I've seen it for just about the same price on ebay now. I'm hesitant though as it uses more power and I don't want to push the PSU to much since this is an older system.
psychedlicSight
21 Posts
0
September 19th, 2016 11:00
Now I'm looking at the 1060. Just a little more expensive than a used 970. Newer and uses only 1 6pin power adapter. Apparently it's performance is near the 980. Less CUDA cores, but then again I've been use to this old radeion 5800 for so long that any upgrade would probably seem amazing to me right? haha
Do I have to worry about my system not recognizing it? BIOS concerns? I suppose I could just buy it and try and if it doesn't work I can take it back. Anyone with experience with this card?
psychedlicSight
21 Posts
0
November 18th, 2016 19:00
Just wanted to add that I ugpraded to a GTX 1060, the Asus ROG strix edition to be exact for anyone else out there looking to get that card. All is good. It's a bit longer so it sags slightly toward the end... I'll have to rig somethign up to help it out a bit, but I'm not really worried about it. Stock power supply of 525w. 1 six pin and 1 two pin for power.
Also, I upgraded the processor to a i7-980x with no problem. I did download the last bios update from the dell site though before installing. It's like a new computer! hehe.
Thanks everyone for your help!