XPS 8500, GTX 1070, upgrade options

Poster "_pressAnyKey" reports that an EVGA GTX 1080 works on his xps 8500.  That poster installed a 750W PSU, in place of the Dell stock 460W PSU.  The upgraded 750W PSU was an EVGA 210-GQ-0750-V1.  Of course, other power supplies are available.  Also, it may be that the stock 460W PSU will be adequate for a (non-overclocked) GTX 1070, if your other upgrades demand only moderate power.

Note that you should use the latest system BIOS version.  Earlier BIOS versions had compatibility bugs, causing the XPS 8500 to fail POST with various graphics cards.  Those earlier compatibility bugs apparently were fixed in later BIOS versions.

en.community.dell.com/.../19474677

So in your opinion would you say the current psu would probably be adequate considering other upgrades are only requiring moderate amount of power? I feel like it would be better to be safe then sorry so I might just upgrade the psu anyways, but it would be a lot less hassle to keep the current one

Awesome thank you so much for this answer I'll go for it then!

Nick, I was the one that suggested you wait for the GTX 1070 rather than the GTX 970.  Go with your original thoughts about using the 750W power supply with that card.  You are correct in playing it safe.   Instructions are there on the main XPS 8500 graphic card update thread.  Let us know how it turns out there.

http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/desktop/f/3515/t/19474677?pi21953=1

I agree with poster HanoverB.  The PSU upgrade is advisable, i.e., assuming that the additional cost is within your budget.  This would also give you more headroom for future additions.

I spoke to a DELL tech in chat last night and they said the PNY - GeForce GTX 1070 - Founders Edition - GF GTX 1070 - 8 GB  that DELL sells should work with the PSU 460w.

But he said if I were concerned I could get the VisionTEK 500w that they sell and put that in my XPS 8500.  What do you guys think about the VisionTEK?

Dell apparently charges some $60 for the VisionTek 500w PSU.  This would only provide an additional 40w increase over the existing stock 460w PSU for the XPS 8500, i.e., less than 10% overall additional capacity.  (Further, it is unclear how much additional +12 volt combined power would be provided by the Visiontek 500w PSU, as compared with the stock 460w PSU.  That critical specification would also need to be compared.)

On the other hand, for close to the same amount of money, you could upgrade to an alternate PSU having considerably greater capacity (for later additional/upgraded components, as well as additional margin of power capacity for the currently planned components).

For example, the popular EVGA SuperNOVA 750B1 750W PSU mentioned above is available for some $65 at Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/EVGA-SuperNOVA-Modular-Warranty-110-B1-0750-VR/dp/B00K85X23O

Note, however, that the EVGA SuperNova 750B1 has considerably greater depth than the stock 460W PSU.  Among other things, this results in very little clearance between that PSU and the USB and phone jack connectors and cables located near the middle of the top of the XPS 8500 case.

See the following link for further details:

http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/desktop/f/3515/t/19474677?pi21953=1

For a video of the installation of a similar EVGA PSU in an XPS 8700, having a largely identical case to that of the XPS 8500, see:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2s0QP4cAecg

My .02

If I am investing $300 USD or or more on a graphics card, I am willing to invest in a very hiqh quality PSU.

Personally, I would choose a higher quality PSU than the EVGA B1 750. It isn't bad but there are many other PSUs that are much better for not much more money.

750W is slight overkill for any single graphics card along with an XPS 8500 or 8700. There are several excellent 650W PSUs that will do just fine.

For example, EVGA SuperNOVA 650 220-P2-0650-X1 is $85.99 ( or less depending on shipping) today after a $20 rebate is factored in. This is built by superflower and is a great PSU.

the EVGA 750B1 is Bronze efficiency, built by FSP.  EVGA part numbes with G2 and P2 are built by superflower and they are much, much better units than the B1/G1 PSUs built by FSP.

Great info my friend.  Thank you.

I am still on the fence on this whole upgrade.

If I do it then I will come back and post how it went.

But this would be cheaper than a whole new build and I think could extend the life of my XPS 8500 for a couple of years.

I REALLY appreciate the info you have supplied.

Good discussion as always about upgrading our older systems!

Nvidia 1070 specifications page

They state 500w PSU is recommended. They also state the card only uses 150w. I am assuming that is at maximum draw. Our 460w PSU should run it. Before buying a PSU, I would at least test our 460w PSU with the 1070. You might find that it runs fine and that could save you a little cash.

Power demands vary based on which specific GTX 1070 you get. MSI and Gigabyte have versions which push the limits beyond the reference card specs.

Also, some GTX 1070s have a single 8 pin PCIe power connector rated for up to 225W, ( 75W from the PCIe slot and 150W from the 8 pin connector).

Some (like The MSI GTX 1070 ) has an 8 pin plus a 6 pin power connector, rated up to 300W, ( 75W PCIe slot, 150W 8pin + 75W 6 pin). Tech powerup measured peak gaming at 193W

My point is, it might work with the stock PSU, but again if  I am adding a $400+ graphics card, I'll put in a better PSU.

I upgraded the power supply in my XPS 8500 to a Corsair AX760w. Works great, was a *** to get it in though lol I hear someone got a GTX 1080 in the case so 1070 should do fine.