XPS 420- video card upgrade - HELP!

My XPS 420 has a 375W power supply. I have upgraded to a single slot Nvidia 9800 GT card. There was plenty of room for the card. I haven't had any issues related to power, and the card has operated within 'normal' operating temperatures.

With the new card, I have been able to run Crysis at high detail levels with decent frame rates.

I have an XPS 410 and am currently running an EVGA Nvidia 7600 GT KO with 256 MB of DDR3 RAM. It's spec'd out at a minimum power supply of 400 watts, just as is the 9800, which is ALSO exactly what I'm looking at upgrading to, as I've been having a few screen freezes lately on video, since upgrading to a 24" HD monitor.

The specific card I'm looking at is the XFX Nvidia 9800 GT with 512 MB DDR3 -- the one currently available a couple of places online for a sawbuck after rebate (which is $80 less than Best Buy wants -- haven't checked Dell's price, but I'm guessing it's way higher, too). I, too, am concerned about power supply, as a friend suggested my freezes (the whole computer actually locks up and I have to hard-reboot by pushing in the power button when it happens) COULD BE a result of pushing the power supply too hard, rather than the video card.

Either way, I'd like a better video card -- really only for video, not for gaming -- so the question becomes, do I just get a card that BARELY exceeds the power supply's watt-rating, or do I replace the power supply, too, and then greatly increase my options? Replacing the power supply kinda scares me, because it has to be the right size, and have all kinds of OTHER "right characteristics," or it might burn out other things on the motherboard, I think... Not to mention all the extra electrical costs involved.

Thoughts, anyone?

Jeff

replacing the power supply with a higher wattage shouldn't be hard or detrimental to your system.

I'm looking at 750W power supply that the ebay seller claims is compatible with the dell's XPS size restrictions.

the high wattage will not effect the other components.   voltage and amperes will burn out components if they are not right, but the power supply is putting out wattage.

in any case, i ocassionally have the same problems with the machine freezing, i'm wondering if its becuase of the low wattage power supply like you said???  

i wish there were more higher end compenents in my XPS (high end line) machine!!!

You do not mention what ATI card you have or the purpose for getting a better card.  Just getting more video ram on a card does not necessarily improve its performance.  A 256MB card can perform just as well as a 512MB card and a 512MB can perform just as well as a 1GB card.  They really don't come out with newer cards and only put 256MB on them anymore, however.   You will just see this on older series cards still available.  A 512MB is fine for any of today's games.   If your purpose is to play today's games, then the 9800GT will do fine.  I have a 9600GT running on a 350W power supply without any issues.  This card also states a minimum of a 400W PSU.  You will not have any issue running a 9800GT on a 375W power supply just like the other poster mentioned.  If I were to take a guess even with a video card such as a 9800GT installed, your system probably would not draw much more than 250 watts.  A 750W would be overkill. 

So the questions are:  how much do you want to spend and what are you looking at doing with the video card?  Do you want to stay with ATI or change to Nvidia?  If your objective is to play games at the highest resolution and the highest settings, then that's another story.  You really have some good choices of video cards without having to worry about changing your power supply.  A lot of people make the mistake of buying a cheap power supply that has more watts when they are better off with the one they already have. 

I went ahead and ordered the 9800 GT for $100 after rebate, and on the further advice of the computer department manager of the local Office Depot (he's been there for many years and is both knowledgeable and trustworthy -- one of the few people I trust for advice whether I'm buying from him or elsewhere) I also got a more powerful power supply.

He recommended the Antec Earthwatts 500, which puts out only as much wattage as the system needs at the time, up to 500 watts, and which he happily said they had for $69 -- $20 less than Newegg (where I was getting the 9800, although I first saw the deal at TigerDirect). However, he was sold out at that store, and told me I could get it at the store across town. Before doing that, I came home and checked for prices online, and Newegg just HAPPENED to have their regular price slashed from $89 to $49, so I got both from them. Best Buy wanted what I paid for both the card AND the power supply JUST for the card -- and that's BEFORE I get the $30 manufacturer's rebate.

Made the purchase Tuesday. It shipped early Wednesday. Is a couple hours away in transit now, and should be delivered sometime today (Friday). I likely won't have time to tinker Friday, but I should have my 410 "gutted" and be doing some "minor surger" Saturday. With this system "celebrating" its second birthday Nov. 19th, I'm thinking this will be its last upgrade... I'll likely look into a Core i7 quad-core system about a year from now, once they're well established and the prices have settled a bit.

Jeff

P.S. Just now, I've been watching an episode of "Supernatural" on The CW Network's website. I got 3/4 of the way through it and the screen froze and the computer locked up and I had to do a HARD reboot. Started playing it again, and it froze again with just a couple minutes left. I'll play the last couple minutes and likely not try anything with THEM again until after I put in the new power supply and card and see if this fixes the issue.

I also have a XPS-410. I'm also looking to upgrade my video card and wondering how much the 375 can handle. Since the 8800GT has basically dissappeared, looks like it will be a EVGA 9800GT/GTX for me as well.

I would be interested in hearing how eveyrthing ended up fitting inside and of course, how it works.

Ledswinger,

Super excellent link. Thank you. Interesting to see old ATI cards (HD2900 and x1950) toward the top of the lists … must have been especially power hungry.

Thanks for the info about your config. and brings to mind a good point. Some one bought a XPS-410 configured like this (and it had the same Dell 375 watt PS we all have). Something like this was maxed out (1-1/2 years ago) … if my memory serves me correctly.

Intel Core2Quad Q6700 (2.6 Ghz Quad Conroe)

4 Gigs of DDR2-667 RAM ( 4 sticks)

nVidia 8800 GTX

(2) 7200 rpm SATA-2 harddrives (up to 500gig each, as I remember)

DVD +/- RW-DualLayer Burner

- Any combination of 3 PCI cards from below

Creative XFi

TV Card

Ageia PhysX card

PCI modem (mine was free … used for occasional faxing)

PCI - 1394 Card

I’m pretty sure the XPS-420 has the same 375 PS. You can load those up even heavier now.

I checked out that Antec EarthWatts 500watt PS at NE. It has (2) 12 volt rails at 13 amps. each. (Coincidentally, if you buy a 9800GT, there is a combo deal to get it with the video card). Our Dell 375 has (2) 12 volt rails at 18 amps. each, so actually, ours is more powerful (for CPU, video card, and drives). Also, I’ve always heard Dell power-supplies are pretty heavy duty (at least on the higher end machines like these) and are matched to the machines so that the PC can be fully loaded with drives and upgrades.

So, over at EVGA, the most powerful 8800 card they still have online is the 8800 GTS. They say you need 400watt PS and 26 Amps on 12v. Knowing that I only have one “rail” going to it, I thought I needed a higher rated PS. But then I realized … they don’t know how many rails you have, so that’s 12 volts total (in our case @ 18x2= 36 amps). Also, those numbers are not just for the video card. They know you are going to put it in a PC, so that is also with the power requirements of an “average” modern day computer (like you said … basically made up).

With your help, I just ordered the EVGA 512-P3-N980-AR GeForce 9800 GT Hybrid Power 512MB Video Card. This new hybrid version card is a “single slot” version. I don’t plan to use the hybrid thing, but the new HDMI capability might come in handy. It might even have the new 55nm GPU chip.

You mentioned cooling (very important). Yes, it’s kind of strange there is no fan in the back. But with all those holes it looks like it would be easy to mount one. If I did it, I would want to find a really quiet one (I love how quiet my 410 is now). I’ll have to see what kind of temps the card runs on full load without it. From what I have read, it looks like the 9800 is already about 3 times faster than my 8600GTS, so I probably won’t be doing much over-clocking.

Now I can buy Crysis … finally. Thanks again for all your help.

I recently upgraded my XPS420 with an EVGA GTX 260 Core 216 and a bit more memory. In order to accomodate the video card, I upgraded the power supply to the Antec EA650W (Green power supply). It all runs perfect, and surprising the power supply bolts up perfectly. There is a small gap because it is shorter than the Dell 375W, but airflow appears to be normal and temperatures in the case also normal.

This computer is an entirely different gaming machine with these few upgrades..

Hello all, I had the same concerns about the power supply rating as I just ordered a Studio XPS with the ATI Radeon 4850 512mb. But the Dell tech told me that it would not be a problem. I guess we'll see. My other concern is the heat that I've read that this card produces. I'll see whats it's like and maybe put aftermarket cooler on card if I can. We'll just have to wait and see. This should be a smoking machine if everything plays well. Dale

I got the eVGA 512-P3-N980-AR GeForce 9800 GT Hybrid Power 512MB Video Card installed in my XPS-410 and it's running fine on the stock 375 watt power supply (even under heavy load).

Nice upgrade for $110. 3DMark06 score has almost doubled … now it’s over 10,000 (as compared to stock Dell OEM nVidia 8600 GTS). Actual frame rates in games have almost tripled (or with higher graphics settings ... easily doubled).

The included Precision tuning utility is good for mild GPU OC-ing and adjusting fan speed. If you are running the latest nVidia 180.48 drivers (with integrated PhysX), get the updated Precision 1.3.3.

To read internal temps on CPU cores, GPU, and hard-drives, the free HWMonitor works for me:

http://www.cpuid.com/hwmonitor.php

MPO, 

Hey there, i've been looking to update my xps420 for a graphics card as well.  I was wondering about your comment on running these more advanced games such as Crysis on high detail. 

My computer is a

Intel Core 2 Quad CPU Q9450 @ 2.66ghz,  4.0GB of RAM, and my graphics card is an ATI 3650 128mb.

My power supply is 425 Watts.

Now what i'm wondering is what i need to upgrade to make my computer run games like Crysis, or Call of Duty, ETC. at high levels of graphics and without lag.

I have to run my COD4 on low settings for it to run smooth.

Is it just my graphic card that needs an upgrade???  Please reply. thanks. 

Brett

you can either reply, or email me at  --->

Still running my GTX 260 Core 216 with the upgraded Antec EarthWatt 650 with no heat issues, no power issues.

I would highly suggest this graphics card, or even the GTX280 for game play. You have to upgrade your power supply for either, but it is definately worth it.

I have a Q9450, 8GB of memory, and the EVGA GTX260 Core 216 with the Antec Earthwatt 650 power supply. The total for upgrades to video was about $275 from Newegg

how many ghz is your cpu running at?