XPS 8700 nVidia GTX video card upgrades,

i chose no better than 960 because i don't play many games.

planning on getting a 960 GTX asus strix soon  this is the card in question: https://www.asus.com/au/Graphics-Cards/STRIXGTX960DC2OC2GD5/specifications/

The factor PSU for xps 8700 is 460W, and has two six pin PCI connectors.

Looks like that card only uses a single six pin connector so it should drop in without issues.

Before installing the card, update BIOS to A10

ok thank you for the reply, gave me a peace of mind bfr buying :)

I have a dell 8700 SE... I bought a EVGA SuperNOVA 650 GS 80 Plus gold and gtx 970

I think I will physically be able to install eveything(I haven't done a pc modification in years though)

I updated to a10.  After I install the power supply and card... What do I do about the drivers?  How do I update them?

You just download the drivers from Nvidia and install them.

Someone mentioned there was a program that auto detects the correct driver...? Any idea if that would work to?  I appreciate your help

http://www.geforce.com/geforce-experience

bloatware as far as I'm concerned but...

I would install the PSU first with no other changes, or in other words install the PSU before installing the graphics card and make sure it works. Change one thing at a time.

The CPU power may be the most confusing, especially if the PSU has an 8 pin connector. read the docs to get the right 4 pins, and then zip tie the other connector back to the cable so it doesn't flap around.

Make sure the 24 pin cable seats completely.

I would use two SATA power cables, one for the optical, and one to the HDD/SDD area.

Take digital pics before, and after. The before just in case you can't remember where everything went.

Ok ... I took the old card out and uninstalled those old drivers.

So ... I hope I'm not missing something... Just upgrade the psu, then insert new card, boot computer, install drivers?  Anything else I should know.  To be honest I'm worried about doing the psu myself because the one in the dell is non modular, and the one I bought is modular... Any tips for this?

Thanks again and sorry to be a bother

I'm starting to think I'm in over my head with installing the psu

It's not hard at all dude. on the psu are 2 cords that are permanently attached. the 24 pin and the 8. just pull the 8 apart and plug it into the 4 pin next to the cpu and the 24 pin where it goes.

heres a post i did a while ago on my dell vostro 470.

1. Update the dell bios to A10 or A12 on the vostro 470/ xps 8500. (THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT OR YOU WILL GET A BLANK BLACK SCREEN ON BOOTING UP. ) it is very easy to do. just go to the dell website and download the bios exe. double click. install it. restart the computer when prompted. 

2. Updated geforce drivers to prepare for the new 970.

3. i swapped the dell psu with a corsair 750m. it fit nicely in the Vostro 470. it's a little longer than the stock psu by half an inch but the height and width are dead on. the vostro does not have any interference on the top like the xps does. (xps has a headphone jack in the middle of the top case) i choose the 750 watts because next year i plan to build a pc of my own and i will swap the 750m out. plus, plenty of power for the card aint a bad thing. also, the cable management with a modular is better and i like the cables it came with. now the 2 cables that are permanently attached to the psu is the 24 pin and the 8 pin that goes into the motherboard. on the dell motherboard near the cpu there is a 4 pin socket. the 8 pin that's permanently attached on the PSU splits into (2) 4 pin sockets down the middle. you just pull them apart. 

4. I bought this evga 970 sc blower style model. I choose this version because the dell case is kind of small and i dont want to recirculate the hot air inside with the 2 fan acx 2.0 cooling models. the blower style gpu blows the hot air it creates out the back of the pc preventing it from overheating and shutting down. it took a little twisting and turning but it fits nice. a good half inch of space between the gpu and hdd brackets. the pci-e cable that came with the corsair is what i used for its (2) 6 pin power. it's a cable that has one end with an 8 pin socket and the other end has (2) 6 pins. very simple. just plug the 8 pin side into the psu under the pci-e socket label and plug both 6 pins in the gpu.

5. i turned my pc on and at this time the computer icons were large all over the screen but fret not, it was my system doing the its "new device detected" thing. i just left it alone for 1-2 minutes and it asked me to reboot. click yes. the system will reboot and i had my pc back to the way it was and i was ready to game!!

6. first game i choose to play. FAR CRY 4. plays amazing!!!!

3) I'm sorry to triple post... So I know the motherboard needs a 24 pin connection (from one of the MB slots at the back) and it also needs a 12v 4 pin connection... Does that connect to the back slot labeled CPU, or the other MB slot?  I can't tell since the manual is different than what is actually says.

I'm starting to think I'm in over my head with installing the psu

Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate, Hate leads to suffering. ( ok, I'm a star wars nerd)

The motherboard needs two connectors.

1) the 24 pin (20+4) to the main motherboard connector
2) 4 pin CPU power.

That PSU likely has an EPS style CPU connector which is a split 4 + 4 power connector.

Look very closely at the pins and you will see some are square and some are "D" shaped. Read the manual and you'll see which 1/2 of the connector to use and which 1/2 to not use.

If you are not sure, take a pic and post it. The (force) I mean the forum can guide you. 

May the force be with you.

-

ps: the family went to star wars 7 and we are being nerds re-watching all the old movies.