XPS 8700, Planning to upgrade some parts

The CPU according to Dell specs is a 4th Gen and was offered as an i5 or i7.

A standard ATX power supply should fit.  Only consideration is there can be an issue with a power on/off switch on standard ATX power supplies.  Some metal may need to be cut for that.  Get a "fully modular" type power supply to avoid having to stuff unused power cables inside the case.  

Dell uses proprietary fans with sensors on them, and if a non-Dell fan is used you will always get a fan failure notice at power on and have to manually press an F-Key to continue with the boot.  I have a recording studio and see posts from users on recording forums that have Dell's for their DAW and they seem to be OK with the stock CPU and case fans.  Just locate the tower where it gets adequate cool air flow.

Considering you have a 4th Gen Intel and the current is 9th Gen you may want to consider a new system in the near future rather than any upgrading.  I went from an i7 3770 to an i7 6700K for my DAW system in Nov of 2016 and it was a major upgrade for recording.   

I just purchased a new Aurora R7 as I really couldn't upgrade my old XPS 8700 anymore.  Don't get me wrong, it still performs as well, or better, than many "New" off the shelf systems.

Upgraded from i7 4770 to i7 4790k with Asetek 545LC 92mm liquid cooler and Arctic Silver thermal paste

Replaced GPU with Zotac GTX 1060 6 Gb (using stock PSU with NO problems)

Installed 32 Gb Crucial DDR3-1866L RAM

Replaced case fan with CoolerMaster Scythe 92mm 4-pin PWM fan (DFS922512M-PWM)

Added Samsung 850 EVO 500GB mSATA drive (MZM5E500BAM)

I originally thought that I might have to upgrade the PSU, but surprisingly found it not to be necessary.  Other XPS 8700s I have helped with did not need a PSU either.  The XPS 8700 seems to have a surprisingly well manufactured and durable PSU.  I did hear once, that it is actually a Delta 550W PSU that is rated at 460W by Dell's calculations.  All I know for sure, it works fine as is.

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@fireberdwrote:

Since it was on sale that is OK.  Just that the Dell's are not clockable.

I have a 6700K and can overclock but don't.  It was on sale when I built my last system with an ASUS ROG motherboard.

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I know Dell's are not clockable,  I would never allow my users anything that was clockable.   :Wink:

I bought my new Aurora because the whole system price was cheaper than the individual prices of the 1080ti and 8700K.

Interesting that you were able to upgrade.  However, since you can't overclock the XPS8700 the more expensive "K" model CPU was a waste (Only the Alienware's can be overclocked that I'm aware of).

@fireberdwrote:

Interesting that you were able to upgrade.  However, since you can't overclock the XPS8700 the more expensive "K" model CPU was a waste (Only the Alienware's can be overclocked that I'm aware of).

 

 

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Newegg had the i7 4790K for $50 less than the 4790 non-K, personally I don't find a $50 savings to be a waste. Despite not being able to overclock it, it still outperforms the original 4770.  :Smile:

Since it was on sale that is OK.  Just that the Dell's are not clockable.

I have a 6700K and can overclock but don't.  It was on sale when I built my last system with an ASUS ROG motherboard.

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@AlaskaWolfwrote:

 

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@fireberdwrote:

1. I have a 6700K and can overclock but don't. 

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1. I would never allow my users anything that was clockable.   :Wink:

2. I bought my new Aurora because the whole system price was cheaper than the individual prices of the 1080ti and 8700K.

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1. Yeah, I got my Aurora-R6 with this, but never really OverClock or plan to

Intel i7-7700K 4.2ghz (Kaby Lake)
Pegatron (OEM) MB with Intel z270 Chipset and VRM Heatsink 
16gb (2x8gb) DDR4 Hyper-X Fury 2667mhz Ram (Dual-Channel)

2. Exactly.

Plus, when I custom-build I tend to go a bit crazy-anyway :Smile: because you only want the best of everything. :Cool:

I looked at Dell, both the consumer and commercial systems but they didn't offer enough USB ports, Hard/SSD drive bays, etc.  Building was my best (and as it turned out least expensive) option. Although I have an ASUS "ROG" (gamer) motherboard I got if for the number of ports and Thunderbolt capability.  My system is used for my recording studio.  

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@fireberdwrote:

1. but they didn't offer enough USB ports, Hard/SSD drive bays, etc. 

2. Building was my best (and as it turned out least expensive) option.

3. I have an ASUS "ROG" (gamer) motherboard and Thunderbolt capability.  

 

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1. Well, you can add PCIe AddIn USB 3.0 cards

2. Nice. Custom-Build is good if you can build, support, and warranty it yourself. Some people can't, or don't have the time to.

3. Now there's a reason :Yes: Now, if the Thunderbolt peripherals would just come-down in price a bit.

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@fireberdwrote:

Building was my best (and as it turned out least expensive) option. 

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I'd agree with you on that normally fireberd.  But with the coiners driving up GPU prices, and the huge production backlog Intel had with the Coffee Lake processors, building your own was far from the least expensive option.  GPUs "may" start coming back down to reasonable levels this year, but I'm not holding my breath.

Now with Intel delaying their 10 nm process until "sometime in 2019" due to low yield issues and the resultant delay to both the Cannon Lake and second gen Ice Lake processor families, I'm not sure that CPU prices are going to become reasonable any time soon.  In the meantime, if I get annoyed enough with the Aurora, a new case, mobo, and PSU are all I'll need.  ;)

I don't need a separate GPU for recording.  The Intel graphics are more than adequate for that application.  Same thing with an HD monitor, not needed for my applications.

@fireberdwrote:

I don't need a separate GPU for recording.  The Intel graphics are more than adequate for that application.  Same thing with an HD monitor, not needed for my applications. 

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Unfortunately, CAD programs seem to want both....  :TongueTied:

Hello!  You and I did almost the exact same upgrades except I used two Nvidia Quadro GPU's.  It's a Beast!   Have you figured out how to access Overclocking in the XPS8700 with the 4790K with the Dell motherboard restrictions?

upgrade it then see how  cool it runs.

run 3d benchmarks on it.

run cpu temp and gpu temps if ok then forget this.

adding case fans seems not easy on this odd sized case.

the goal is 35C max inside a PC, then you find the CPU and GPU can run OK. (cooling)

if not I add fans to the case some way, IDK on this  funky case.

gen 4 CPU. it is.  XPS8700,   with

what is inside PC now,  Desktops can have vast things side even 1000 of GPU cards

got the old gtx465? still, IDK cant see what is there.

Got SSD. This is first first. on all PCs booted to RUST DRIVES. (spinners) boot to SDD NOW.

got plenty of RAM?   seems you need all you can get.

get a nice GTX1650 (at least) inside.  TURING class chip , entry level, good and low watts.

my answer is what is STOPPING YOU now?  .

learn to spec out your system first. (even PSU watts now inside PC.. )

Desktop as class of PC, can in fact have lots of options new, and 1 year later , endless changes possible.

PSU 460watt or the 750 inside? go 750.

750W Upgrade Power Supply for Dell XPS 8500 8700 8900 Desktop PC D460AM-02 6GXM0