XPS 8300 GPU, PSU and RAM Upgrade

Question

Hello,

I own a fairly old XPS 8300 (late 2011), that I mainly use for gaming and work. The system is still a beast, but I think it's time for an upgrade since I'm being left out of the newer releases.

Over the years, I upgraded the default Radeon HD 6450 to a NVDIA GeForce GTX 750Ti, and I also replaced one of the HDDs for a SSD.

Since the i7-2600 processor is still kicking, I'm thinking that a GPU upgrade as well as more RAM will breathe new life into the system. So I'm looking to update the GPU to a GTX 1660 SUPER, and also having 16GB of RAM. The new GPU will probably require a new PSU so I'm also looking for a 500W PSU with at least 450W in the +12V rail.

The doubts I have are basically if the motherboard is capable of handling these new specs.

Mainly, I'm aware that I currently have DDR3 memory, so naturally I'm looking for DDR3 memory sticks. Is there a limit to the RAM I can have? as in, individual slot limit and total RAM limit? Will 2x 8Gb sticks for a total of 16Gb work on my system? Since I have 4 slots, is it better to have 4x 4Gb? Also, is there any chance that DDR4 will work?

Regarding the GPU, I'm guessing I con just plug it in and everything will work, but the newer GPUs are GDDR6, will there be any problem with this?

Also, is my PSU estimation correct? I've used various PSU calculators and the result ranges from 300-ish Watts to 400W power consumption, and the recommended PSU wattage ranges from 450W to 550W. Since I don't have any fancy RGB lights or water cooling, I don't believe I need more than 500W max power output, but I'd like an expert voice on the matter.

Finally, is this upgrade even worth it? For less than $500 I'm looking to be able to run the latest games at at least 60fps in mid or low settings. I've actually considered buying a new system, and I'm even willing to go as far as spending up to $2500 in a high-end Alienware PC, but the problem is that Dell doesn't ship outside of the US and I live in Argentina. A similar spec PC as the Alienware in my country would cost around $3000 so I ruled that out.

Sorry for the long post.

My PC Specs:
Intel i7-2600 processor
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750Ti
8Gb (4x 2Gb) RAM
512GB SSD + 500GB HDD
Soundblaster XFi Xtreme Audio sound card

John-Jay · Answer

Hi, @WCm1st ,

Welcome to the Forum!

First observation that I would make is:- have you checked what the Rating of your existing PSU is??

My understanding is that, generally, Dell fitted these with a 460W PSU - however, for whatever reason, they also fitted some with a 780W PSU (I have a 780W in my XPS 8300 & my Specs are not higher than yours)!

If you have a 460W & still want to upgrade it, upgrading it to ONLY 500W doesn't really seem worth it - I would suggest at least a 750W PSU!

WCm1st · Answer

@John-Jay  Thanks for your reply. I have the original 460W PSU. You're probably right that the small jump is probably not worth it. I'll check into higher PSUs.

WCm1st · Answer

@Dell630i k. Sorry for the bad wording. Anything Alienware si probably better than what I could ever get my hands on around here. Third world country things. Cheers.

XPS Desktops

XPS 8300 GPU, PSU and RAM Upgrade

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