does Dell studio XPS 435mt support [internal hard drive 2TB and up / and USB 3.0 PCI card] ?

can anyone help me ,please ?

Regarding USB 3.0, you would need to find a PCI-e X1 card that supported that mode.  The ports on the machine are all USB 2.0.  The first computer in this line to advertise a USB 3.0 port was the XPS 9100, and that was only one port.

3 TB drives may require an add-on card, especially if you want to boot from them.  The MBR used on the typical PC will not support drives larger than 2.1 tb.  3 tb drives require a GUID partitioning table.  Late model machines with 64 bit Vista or Windows 7 can use the drives as data drives, but booting from a 3 tb drive requires hardware or something like Seagate Disk Wizard software.

Check these articles for more information.

Beyond 2 TB (Seagate)

Using GPT Drives (Microsoft)

Hard Drives Greater than 2 TB Do Not Work on Existing Operating Systems (Western Digital)

Thank you very much so :

1) Can I buy a USB 3.0 PCI-e like this product and install it ?

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/rocketfish-rocketfish-usb-3-0-pci-express-card-rf-p2usb3-rf-p2usb3/10156607.aspx?path=de5b0e0fdcc11eb6c42dcad4e687271cen02

2) and about hard drive , so I can add 1 more 2TB Hard drive 3.5", right ?

http://www.cbit.ca/product.php?productid=14427&cat=1447&page=1

Please confirm it , and i will follow your advice

Thanks

Hi,

I really need to upgrade my XPS 435 MT as well.  I see that I can use a standard 2TB in the second open slot but could I also replace the current 500GB one with another new 2TB hard drive to give me 4TB of internal storage?

Also will the HD SATA port provide power?  I was thinking I would just plug it in and go...or will I need to purchase any leads?  I am no expert but I am happy to tinker around inside the case...

Many thanks,

Chris

You should find a power connector in the chassis, but Dell only ships SATA data cables for the drives they installed.  If you plan to add a second SATA hard drive you will need to purchase a data cable for the drive.

You can replace the existing 500 GB drive with a 2 TB drive if you wish.  You should be aware that nearly all hard disk drives of that size use Advanced Formatting; if you plan to perform a clean installation of Windows 7, the installation disk you use should have Service Pack 1 incorporated.  The earlier installation disks without that service pack can sometimes have difficulty with advanced format drives.  If you should choose to clone your existing hard drive to a new 2 TB hard drive, you should use the utility that is often available from the vendor to do so.  Otherwise, you can use the most recent version of most imaging tools.

Thanks Jack, that is really helpful!

I received Vista with my system and bought a 64 bit Pro upgrade.  It was pretty soon after release so I believe that I do not have SP1 incorporated.  I presume it would say +SP1 on the disk.  Is there another way around this?  In worst case scenario what size of HD would not need advanced formatting.

Many thanks for your expertise,

Chris

Microsoft has a couple of ways to work around the problem, outlined here:  Windows Setup Could Not Configure Windows on This Computer's Hardware.  The procedures contained in that document basically change the driver used for the hard drive.  Be careful of the option to switch your SATA controller to IDE, however.  The IDE option uses the older PATA/IDE/ATA interface, which does work just fine, but it also makes impossible the use of any of the advanced features of the AHCI interface.  Most of the advanced features are not used by home users anyway, but elimination of the command queuing feature slows things down a little.  Most owners I've worked with don't notice the difference between IDE and AHCI, but gamers seem to be bothered by this.

Most hard drives on the market that have a capacity greater than 500 GB are Advanced Format drives, and many that have less capacity are also going that way.  You just have to be sure you examine all the specs.  I usually select a drive tentatively from an on-line vendor, and then look up the specs on the vendor's page to be certain of what I'm getting.  I wish it were easier, but this is one of the costs of continuing with an older system as the technology advances.

Thanks again Jack.  I will give it a go and get back to you if it goes pear-shaped :-)