XPS 8300 won't disengage onboard video and enable add-on video card

At least with the GTX 680, nVidia acknowledged that this is their problem and they were going to release a firmware update to vendors who make GTX 680 cards . I wouldn't be surprised if it's the same nVidia issue with the GTX 640.

These are the only cards Dell certifies to work in the XPS 8300, and they're all Dell OEM cards:

KP8GM AMD Radeon HD5450

HWHRN AMD Radeon HD5670

GCJ42 AMD Radeon HD5770

2XTG4 AMD Radeon HD5870

HCVMH AMD Radeon HD6450

8F60V AMD Radeon HD6670

8PJF8 AMD Radeon HD6770

Y9XH7 AMD Radeon HD6870

4VDWW AMD Radeon HD6950

VH86X Nvidia G405

X78HM Nvidia GT420

WGP2G Nvidia GTX560

Any card not certified by Dell is a gamble...

"PCI Express (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express), officially abbreviated as PCIe, is a computer expansion bus standard designed to replace the older PCI, PCI-X, and AGP bus standards." Emphasis on the word 'standard' - there should be no gamble here. If the system says it has a PCI Express slot, and the video card says it has a PCI express slot, then the basic functionality of PCI Express should occur when the two are connected. The real gamble turned out to be buying an XPS 8300 and assuming it had a moderately functional BIOS. I did not realize just how much functionality had been stripped away in newer Dells. If I wanted to buy certified-only components for a dumbed-down computer, I would have bought a Mac.

If nVidia acknowledges problems with vBIOS on their video cards (rather than this being a PC BIOS problem), you can certainly be unhappy, but you can't blame this on anyone but nVidia. 

Dell can't be responsible if a card vendor doesn't follow the slot standards and/or makes a stupid blunder. And Dell can't possibly test every add-in (video) card from every single vendor in every model PC. They certify a number of cards they think meet their users' needs from the most basic to high end, but it would be impossible to certify everything, regardless of whether there are standards.

And no, I don't work for Dell, never have, never will... I'm a Dell user, just like you, and just pointing out the way things are...

Part of the reason I'm using Nvidia is because the HD video editing software I use can utilize the CUDA cores to speed up the rendering process - which is a hog, even on this machine, so every little bit helps. The GT 640 has two DVIs and an HDMI port, and I happen to have two monitors and a TV. I appreciate the suggestion though.

As I understand it from the research I've done (which is difficult given the nvidia forums are down) the vbios update is a workaround for a flaw in the XPS 8300 bios. Given that my Inspiron 518 from 2008 runs the card just fine, and a brand new XPS 8500 runs it just fine, but the computer I landed, with it's restricted bios (when I first had a chat with Dell support, they told me to go into the BIOS and turn off the onboard video, and were as surprised as I was to learn that option was not available in the 8300) is a pretty significant factor.

I know you don't work for Dell, I've read that several dozen times, maybe hundreds of times, while perusing these boards. I don't work for Dell either. Since 2002, between my wife and I we've bought at least five desktops and five laptops, all from Dell, because I've been otherwise very happy with their products and their service - aside from the 5150 laptop with the heat sink design flaw that required a quarterly disassembly & cleaning to keep it from constantly overheating.

I do not understand why the ability to disable onboard peripherals was removed from the XPS bios. Perhaps there is a good reason for removing otherwise standard functionality. I mean, we don't have to set jumpers on hard drives and plug the number of sectors, heads, and something-elses into the BIOS anymore.

It also made me wonder why I can only use either the onboard video or the PCI-e slot. I'm guessing there are signal path issues that come into play on account of the motherboard being 'minimalist' (to put it kindly). I wouldn't even have needed to buy a new card if I could use the HDMI out while also using my existing, older PCI-e video card.

For the same cost as the GT 640, you can get the HD 7750 which has much better performance.  

You simply CAN'T use both an add-in card AND onboard video in Dell XPS 8500 (gen.3) at the same time.

Sorry, but that's not correct. Depending on what CPU is in the XPS 8500, you can use both an add-in video card and onboard VGA. The first monitor has to be connected to the video card. Once that's connected and working. reboot and press F2 to open BIOS Setup. BIOS Setup should have a setting for the Intel Multi-Display option. This option is listed under Onboard Device Configuration in BIOS Setup (see page 122 in the XPS 8500 manual, here):

Intel Multi-Display — Enabled or Disabled (Disabled by default)

That option is disabled by default because this system comes standard with an add-in video card. When enabled, the second monitor can be connected to the on-board VGA port. If the first monitor is connected to the VGA port, an error message should appear on the screen.

And keep in mind that the XPS 8300 and XPS 8500 use different Intel chipsets (Sandy Bridge vs Ivy Bridge) so you can't generalize about what you can do with one system and not with the other. They are very different systems, use different generation CPUs and have different capabilities. There were a lot of issues with PCI-e cards working with the Sandy Bridge chipset (and Ivy Bridge too) when it first came out, so video card companies had to release updates to BIOS (vBIOS) on their video cards for Sandy Bridge systems.

If you look in the XPS 8300 manual, you have the same Intel Multiple Monitor Feature (slightly different name than in XPS 8500 BIOS). In the XPS 8300 BIOS this feature is listed under Graphics Configuration  (page 106 of the manual, here). It's also off by default and only works with a second monitor when there's an add-in video card. Like the XPS 8500, the first monitor has to be connected to the add-in video card. Once that's done, the 2nd monitor can be connected to the on-board VGA port. And like the XPS 8500, an error message will appear if the first monitor is connected to VGA when there's an add-in video card, even if the Intel Multiple Monitor Feature is not enabled in BIOS setup.

If you look in the XPS 8300 manual, you have the same Intel Multiple Monitor Feature (slightly different name than in XPS 8500 BIOS). In the XPS 8300 BIOS this feature is listed under Graphics Configuration  (page 106 of the manual, here). It's also off by default and only works with a second monitor when there's an add-in video card. Like the XPS 8500, the first monitor has to be connected to the add-in video card. Once that's done, the 2nd monitor can be connected to the on-board VGA port. And like the XPS 8500, an error message will appear if the first monitor is connected to VGA when there's an add-in video card, even if the Intel Multiple Monitor Feature is not enabled in BIOS setup.

On the 8300 (had mine for a couple of years), I do not have Graphics Configuration Section in my BIOS at all.   I have now experienced a video card (6770) going bad and am trying to find one that will work in the system.   Tried Visiontek R7 250  but it is not compatible.   System will come on but will not boot.   It will not even display the Dell Logo screen.  Take out the new card and the system comes up with no problem,

So lost for a replacement card.

Hi! I have exactly the same problem, tried to install an ASUS Nvidia GT640 in my XPS8300, and the card wasn't detected.  The same than for Leviathant, it worked flawlessly in an old Dell. The BIOS of my XPS 8300 is the version A03. Somebody knows if the problem was corrected in the newest version A06? Does exist a workaround to fix this?

@ Aizquier: have you solved your problem by updating bios version to A06? I'm experiencing the same problem with XPS8300+GTX 970.

en.community.dell.com/.../19621938

The thread above might be of interest, listing cards that are reported to work.

I suggest updating BIOS to the latest. Also, if there was previously an nVidia card in the system I suggest removing the card, then removing all nVidia device drivers. I would also download the driver for your OS from nVidia directly not from Dell.

Good luck.

@ ImBigMac: Unfortunately not. Even with the upgrade to A06 my XPS8300 did not recognize the card, which, remember was an ASUS Nvidia GT640. After read many discussion forums about the topic, many people reported that other cards are recognized, especially if they come from legacy brands as MSI or EVGA. So I gave up with the GT640 and tried another,  a MSI GTX750ti, in this case it was recognized and so far it works as a charm! I don't really know what is the cause of the problem with the GT640 as it worked very well in  an older Dell  (a Studio XPS 435 MT), which leads me to speculate that eventually dell dropped support for hardware from competitor brands, in this case, ASUS.

Thank you Aizquier and Dan-H for your answers..

I've updated the bios to A06 and, unfortunetely, my new graphic card still doesn't work.

So for people wondering : XPS 8300 (motherboard 0Y2MRG, bios A06, PSU 460W) doesn't support the GTX 970 exoc by KFA2

:(

Sorry for hear that... :(

I ignore what is the technical fault in the BIOS that prevents these card to be recognized, as I mentioned before, older dell machines are fully capable to do it. In my case, finally I was forced to discard my GT640 and look for another model.

I was almost a year and a half afraid to buy a new card and get it unrecognised as well, but, well I took the chance and got the GTX750ti, which worked well... Google the discussion forums for reports of compatible cards, I remember have read many reports of success with GTX960 as well.

Good Luck!