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MSI GTX 1060 6GB for Dell XPS 8700 fit?
I have a Dell XPS 8700 currently with a Nvidia GeForce GTX 745 and I want to upgrade it to a MSI GeForce GTX 1060 DirectX 12 GTX 1060 GAMING X 6G 6GB 192-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready ATX Video Card. Is it compatible in terms of size, slots on the motherboard (Dell 0kwvt8), enough power? If it will require more power, what do you recommend for the minimum wattage needed and pls help m select a PSU for me that fits. Thanks a lot.
Dan-H
1.2K Posts
2
May 18th, 2017 13:00
1) That card will physically fit
The size is identical to the MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G which we have in one of our 8700s. The card takes two slots so remove the GT 745 and the PCI slot blank below it.
2) OEM PSU is sufficient, but if/when you want to upgrade there are several good choices.
3) you MUST upgrade BIOS A10 (windoze 7/81) or A11 (Win10) or the display will black screen on boot. Do this before installing the new card.
4) you need a dual six pin to single 8 pin PCIe adapter. These can be found on eBay. I'll post a link in a separate response as it might get flagged for moderation because of the eBay link.
5) you will likely need a longer SATA cable. a 16 inch straight-straight or straight-90 will work.
If you have a single HDD, I suggest moving it to position HD2 and completely removing the drive cage. It makes it much easier to get the card in as it is a snug fit. On this system I moved the SSD to the lower optical bay and have the HDD in HD2 position.
here is a picture of how snug things are. note that this 8700 has an aftermarket CPU cooler, updated case fan and an upgraded PSU along with the GTX 970
You can probably sell the GT 745 on eBay and net about $30 after selling fees and shipping.
after you install the new card, I suggest using DDU to remove all traces of the prior graphics card driver and then re-install the driver directly from nVidia. checkout www DOT wagnardsoft.com (replace the DOT) with a .
Dan-H
1.2K Posts
1
May 18th, 2017 13:00
This link may be moderated. Hopfully it posts through.
www.ebay.com/.../i.html
JustAnotherJerr
6 Posts
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May 18th, 2017 16:00
Do I necessarily have to move my HDD because I'm inexperienced so I may screw it up. And also you mean update not upgrade A11? thanks a lot
Dan-H
1.2K Posts
1
May 18th, 2017 17:00
You do not have to move the HDD or remove the cage for HD0 and HD1. It makes it easier to install the graphics card as there is more room.
To be candid, moving the drive is much easier than installing the graphics card.
The BIOS update is described here: I am running A10 for Windows 8.1 I remember reading A11 is needed for Windows 10.
A10: www.dell.com/.../DriversDetails
A11: www.dell.com/.../DriversDetails
an easy way to see what version of the BIOS is to open a cmd window ( goto run: type "cmd") and then enter the command "msinfo32"
a window will show lots of things including the BIOS version.
Dan-H
1.2K Posts
1
May 19th, 2017 12:00
I posted yesterday with links to the drivers and instructions but the post was moderated. Perhaps the Dell moderators could whitelist their own domain so links will go through.
I see my post from yesterday finally showed up.
Hopefully this answers your questions.
I should have also mentioned, ALWAYS backup your data before updating BIOS or installing new hardware. It is unlikely, and rare that there is a problem but it is worth doing anyway.
JustAnotherJerr
6 Posts
0
May 19th, 2017 15:00
Thank you very much for the help. Now I won't have to deal with this potato graphics card. And last question, is this SATA cable good enough? amazon (DOT) com/Monoprice-108784-18-Inch-6Gbps-Locking/dp/B009GUXWDM/ref=sr_1_8?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1495229260&sr=1-8&keywords=SATA+cable
Dunno if it'll go through, but thanks for the help.
FKroll
2 Posts
0
November 25th, 2017 14:00
Hi Dan,
could you tell me about your cooler type? I am looking to upgrade my XPS 8700 too.
Thanks. Fredrick
Dan-H
1.2K Posts
1
November 25th, 2017 23:00
It is a cryorig H7. Excellent upgrade. I highly recommend it. It fits, is quiet and it works with the quirky mount that Dell chose. here's the thread on it with a video.
http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/desktop/f/3514/p/19993539/21000552
FKroll
2 Posts
0
November 27th, 2017 08:00
Thanks for the recommendation.