Inspiron 660, GPU and Power Supply upgrades?

Minimum recommended replacement for Stock  305W dell is Corsair CS750M.

The EVGA 960 GPU will NOT physically fit into the case.

12 INCH CARDS and even 10 inch CARDS WILL NOT FIT and NVIDIA 900 SERIES may not work at all with windows 8.x secure boot and may need a bios update.

750W seems overkill. 450W to 550W seems closer to what is needed, even for a GTX-960, if a 960 will work.

As speedstep mentioned, a GTX-960 may not fit, but this one should fit, however it may still not work due to issues with the BIOS.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487093 

A GTX 750ti may be your best option. This one says it will work with 300 watt or greater PSU and draws all the power from the PCI-X connector. 

www.newegg.com/.../Product.aspx

Thanks for the reply!!

I was going to measure before I bought this thing but it looks like I don't have to now.

I spoke with a dell sales associate and they said the pny GeForce 960 seen hereaccessories.dell.com/.../productdetail.aspx;l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=A8185723  at the dell store would work fine with my Inspiron 660.

I brought up drivers, bios, and everything and they say it will work (if I change out the power supply) but I really don't want to take the chance now.

I'm needing this card for a program I'm going to buy next month for Adobe After Effects called Element 3d

I'm wanting to spend $250-$350 on the card.

If you or anyone have time which of these cards would work the best?

GeForce GTX 960

GeForce GTX 780 Ti

GeForce GTX 780

GeForce GTX 770

GeForce GTX 760 Ti

GeForce GTX 760

GeForce GTX 690

GeForce GTX 680

GeForce GTX 670

GeForce GTX 660

I'm glad you mentioned the psu thing too. I'll probably get one of the Corsair 750watt models. I figure, whether its needed now or not it will go great this 660 and in my next pc.

Thanks for the reply!!!

You are probably right on the psu but I'm going to get a huge one anyway so it will be a great addition for my

next pc. Every forum that I have posted in people mention the bios issue for Windows.

I forgot to mention I'm using Windows 8.1.

the software I'm buying this gpu for requires at least a 1gb card and it needs to be one of these to be more

specific.

docs.google.com/.../pub

I want to spend $250-$350 on the card

The stock 305W power supply guarantees 20 to 25W on the +5VSB rails and 150 to 170W on the 3.3v/5V Rails.  Many GTX 750 TI now say (300W PSU that can supply 18 AMPS MIN on the 12v rail aka 216W on the 12v rail.

Many EPS 12v power supplies only guarantee 10 to 15W on the  +5VSB and 125 to 130W on the 3.3v Rails.

This means you buy the supply and it may not even turn on.  If it does it wont work with the 960 card installed.

Buying a power supply is not a single 12v rail and thats the only thing it uses.

There are many users who should have gotten a corsair RM1000 but instead chose an ATX not EPS 12v power supply at 500 to 750W and they have the Solid Amber Light of Death.   EPS12v 2.92 for 750W and up  guarantees 150W on the 3.3v rail,  20W on the +5vsb rail and 375W on the 12v Rails minimum.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139057

 Stop making recommendations on price vs actual performance.

If you want a good price look for a Dell W299G, J556T, U595G power supply with wiring harness.  NOTE the 5v @ 4A on the +5VSB and the 225W on the 3.3v /5v rails as well as the 825W on the 12v rails.  Thats the spec of a Dell 875 because they do not over rate what the PSU can do.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Genuine-DELL-Precision-T5500-875W-Power-Supply-with-harness-N875EF-00-NPS-875BB-/281567089745

Thanks for the reply!!!

I don't buy used parts or electronics so I'll probably get the Corsair rm1000.

Would any of these be okay. Element 3d,the software I'm buying the gpu for, recommends these..If you have time,

Radeon HD 6850

Radeon HD 6870

Radeon HD 6930

Radeon HD 6950

Radeon HD 6770

Radeon HD 6990          

Radeon HD 7970      

Radeon HD 7950

Radeon HD 7870

Radeon HD 7850

Radeon HD 7770

I really appreciate you helping me. I have not a clue about any of this stuff. Dell wont help, best buy wont help, and everybody else just makes a quick guess

Radeon HD 6850  Too Long
Radeon HD 6870  Too Long
Radeon HD 6930  Too Long
Radeon HD 6950  Too Long
Radeon HD 6770  Too Long
Radeon HD 6990  Too Long          
Radeon HD 7970  Too Long      
Radeon HD 7950  Too Long
Radeon HD 7870  Too Long
Radeon HD 7850  Too Long
Radeon HD 7770  Too Long
 
Radeon HD 7750  Low profile versions work but hard to find now
this card has been remarketed as Radeon R7 250E

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA24G28M6155

Radeon HD 7770  Too Long but there are remakes of this card as the R7 260X
that are 8 inches long.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202081

A 1000 Watt PSU makes zero sense in an Inspiron 660.

I went ahead and got the Corsair RM850. I got it for my current pc and my next pc. I realize its probably an

over-kill for both but I don't care. Too much power is cool with me.

I ordered that GeForce 960. The 6 1/2 inch one shown here.

www.evga.com/.../Product.aspx

if you add up all the maximums on the 305W unit it comes out to be 620W.  If you add up all the maximums on the 875W unit it comes out well over 1000W.

This math is flawed. 

You cannot add up all the maximums on a power supply and magically create more output.  Each rail has a limit. The combination of rails has limits and the overall power supply has limits. Note the sticker indicates the maximum combined power for each of the sub voltages and the total combined power for the PSU.

If you max out the 5V and 3.3V combined rail, it will use 150Watts of the 305 watt total, leaving only 155 watts of 12 volt power for the rest of the system.  

On the flip side if you max out the 12 Volt output with all 264 watts, you leave a scant 41 watts for 5V and 3.3V purposes. 

Back to the original post. If you add a GTX 960. how much more PSU is needed? Simple The GTX 960 Max power usage is about 150 Watts, so a suitable 455W or higher PSU is sufficient.  Suitable defined to be having all the right connectors with the right power ratings on each voltage.

Which one?

I would look for a top quality PSU, with a good warranty, that has stellar reviews. I would look for one that is quiet. Silent at low power and quiet at full power.

600W  minimum to 750W max is a decent range for your next build, but even 600W is overkill for an inspiron 660.

I chose a seasonic x-650, but there are other PSUs that match this one in quality and price. I would research the exact model you plan to buy, read the reviews and consider the warranty, then watch for it to go on sale if you can wait. They always do, but rarely when you need one. Here' s a slightly old list of brands rated by Tier. its a good starting point.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-1804779/power-supply-unit-tier-list.html

Awesome.

That PSU is Definitely overkill for your current computer, but it is a solid PSU and it should be good for years to come. 

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story6&reid=369

power an overclocked core i7 with dual GTX 970s in SLI and still have power to spare. 

The math is not flawed.  Some units supply 10W or less on 5vSB and 120W on the 3.3v/5v rail.  The result is a unit that has flashing amber power button.  Although the units in question are 500W up to 760W they don't work because of blindly taking one wattage reading of the PSU and saying that it should be good enough.  Totally disregarding that 80 percent of 500W is 400W and 80 Percent of 750 is 600W.  EPS 12V 2.92 spec guarantees more on the 5VSB as well as the 3.3v/5v rails and a minimum of 80 percent efficiency over all load ranges.  This is also why some who replace the stock 305 with a joes crab shack $20 500W power supply that at best it blinks amber and at worst it overvoltages and burns up everything.

My friend has a thermaltake 850watt smart series psu on his dell.

It says it is an atx psu when I checked up on it. I told him it might fry his psu.

He said it is 12v eps certified. Does that mean it wont fry his motherboard or?

Here is a link:

www.thermaltakeusa.com/.../design.htm