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Studio XPS 7100 PSU help
Hello.
I need help with the power supply unit for the Dell Studio XPS 7100.The processor is a AMD Phenom II X6 1055T
I'm going to buy a ATi HD 6950 gpu soon to replace the older HD 5450.Shoul I stick with the 460W PSU that I've heard comes with the pc or should I buy a 600W PSU?What is the wattage of the PSU I must buy??
A very quick reply will be much appreciated since I plan to buy the new GPU tonight. :)
Kelbear1
1.5K Posts
1
October 3rd, 2011 11:00
If I calculate from HERE, I am only getting a 414 watt recommendation. I would always add 20 - 25% to what you get though. The recommended power supply by the manufacturers for the HD 6950 is 500 watts. However, I still recommend getting a 650 watt unit. You can figure that your entire system will only be using around 300 watts with the HD 6950 under heavy load and if you are not gaming only around 120 watts.
Here are some to look at:
Antec 620
Seasonic 620
Corsair Power Supplies
Corsair TX 650 a bit less HERE or HERE.
hapkiman
43 Posts
1
October 4th, 2011 19:00
@yogij93:
Hopefully I can give you a little info on this, because we have the same system, and I now have the Radeon HD 6950 card installed.
My XPS 7100 has the AMD Phenom II x6 1090T, and came with a Radeon HD 5770 graphics card.
I wanted to upgrade my card, and I looked around for quite a while before finally settling with the Radeon HD 6950. The stock Dell 460 watt PSU definitely is not sufficient for this card, so I purchased a Corsair TX650 watt PSU. Just FYI- You may already know this, but it is very important to go with a good quality brand PSU (Corsair, Antec, etc...). Also, our system uses a standard ATX form factor.
I installed the PSU (it's really easy) and it worked perfectly the first time.
I followed the advice of a friend (who builds computers) about installing my new 6950 card, and he advised me to completely uninstall the drivers for the 5770, prior to removing it. Then install the new 6950 drivers after plugging in the new card and booting (I got my drivers straight from the AMD website).
I did this and it worked like a charm! This card is really awesome and will destroy any game or program I can throw at it.
The 6950 has turned my system into a high-end gaming rig. I get over 60 FPS on the game Crysis 2 with all settings on "Extreme." I have not found any current game yet that I cant get 60+ FPS on.
You'll love the 6950, but don't try to run it with the stock 460 watt PSU. You will definitely have some issues if you try.
Good Luck
Studio XPS 7100
AMD Phenom II x6 1090T
8GB DDR3 RAM @ 1333MHz
Western Digital VelociRaptor 7200RPM 1.0GB HDD
HLDTST6X DVD+/-RW + BD-ROM
XFX Radeon HD 6950 2GB “XXX” version
Corsair TX650 watt PSU
LG M2262D FLATRON HD 1080p monitor ________________________________________________________
Kelbear1
1.5K Posts
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October 2nd, 2011 09:00
I would upgrade to a 650 watt name brand quality unit such as Corsair, Antec or Seasonic. The jump from an HD 5450 to an HD 6950 is huge.
yogij93
13 Posts
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October 3rd, 2011 08:00
support.asus.com/powersupply.aspx
I calculated the power supply for an HD 6950...It says I need around 700W but I have no idea about Firewire,HDD and stuff like that...Can you please try and calculate the wattage for an XPS 7100 ??
yogij93
13 Posts
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October 5th, 2011 00:00
@Kelbear1 Thank you,Decided to go with the Corsair
@hapkiman Thanks for your advice hapkiman!!And yeah,that is what I want with my games...60+ fps :D
But if I remove the case on my own,will I void my warranty??I bought my PC iun January 2011...So,do I have to get some Dell engineers to do that??
yogij93
13 Posts
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October 5th, 2011 04:00
Guys,Corsair is a little expensive in India...There's a 650W CoolerMaster PSU...Can I go with that??
Kelbear1
1.5K Posts
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October 5th, 2011 06:00
You can go with the Coolermaster if you want. It should be fine for the HD 6950.
You will not void your warranty by opening up your case and installing the power supply. However, Dell may ask you to put the original power supply back in if you are having problems down the road if you contact them under warranty for service or troubleshooting issues. Dell is not going to send an engineer to your house and install a power supply for free that you bought to upgrade your system. You will only get free warranty service on their faulty hardware.
yogij93
13 Posts
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October 5th, 2011 07:00
Oh ok ok...I'll let you know when I probably get my GPU tomorrow :)
hapkiman
43 Posts
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October 5th, 2011 09:00
Yes Yogij93, you can upgrade your PSU without voiding the warranty on your Dell computer. If Corsair is too expensive in your area, try finding an Antec, PC Power and Cooling, or XFX 650-700 watt. If you cannot find any of these, then you shouldnt have a problem with the Coolermaster.
If you do go with Coolermaster look for an 80+ bronze/silver/gold certified one. And you might want to go with 700 watts with that brand to make certain that your 12V rail is sufficiently powered up for the 6950.
On a side note, make sure you ground yourself properly or wear an anti-static wrist strap anytime you work inside your computer's case. It's very easy to ruin an entire system with only the static electricity generated by your body. You can ground yourself by continually touching the side of the metal case before actually touching any component.
And always save any original components from the original purchase configuration, when you upgrade, change, or replace (in case you do have problems later, you may need them).
yogij93
13 Posts
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October 5th, 2011 22:00
Cool...Thanks for the tip....I think I'll buy an Antec 650W
yogij93
13 Posts
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October 7th, 2011 05:00
Guys...I bought it! The XFX HD 6950 and Corsair TX 650 v2 :D
The installing is left to do
Kelbear1
1.5K Posts
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October 7th, 2011 07:00
Congratulations! Now comes the hard part, but hopefully not too hard. Make sure you install the power supply first and then run the computer to make sure everything is working correctly. Then install the video card.
yogij93
13 Posts
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October 7th, 2011 08:00
Thank you!!Unfortunately,I have a mathematics exam tomorrow so my parents have locked both the GPU and the PSU away :(
yogij93
13 Posts
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October 8th, 2011 05:00
Ok,so I'm ready to install now.IS there anything that can guide me through this?A video or something like that?I have an older PC in the other room,so I can watch and do this
Kelbear1
1.5K Posts
0
October 8th, 2011 09:00
You can follow the instructions in your manual HERE. I'm sure you can find generic videos online for installing power supplies. Just remember about the tabs on some of the connectors that have to be pressed to release them such as the main 24 pin motherboard connector and the CPU connector. Look at all your connections before you remove them and where each one is on your new power supply. You most likely will not be able to use the routing clips on the case with the new power supply since the cables will be sheathed and won't fit in these clips like the original unit.
You just have your main 24-pin connection, 4-pin CPU connection, hard drive & optical drive connections and your video card. Therefore, if you add up the connections, it will be 6 if you have just one hard drive and one optical drive. This includes the two 6-pin PCIe connections for the HD 6950. I don't think the card would fit with a 2nd hard drive because the power cables plug into the side of it and there would not be room.