Unsolved
2 Posts
1
2070
XPS 8950, 460W PSU insufficient
XPS 8950
Hi, I wanted to use an empty PCIe slot on my Desktop 8950 (i9 12900K, Nvidia 3060Ti) with an extra ethernet connection. Unfortunately the standard power supply unit (460W) cannot deliver enough power. So much for the flexibility to add stuff.
Dell support installed a new motherboard without result. The technician noticed that the motherboard has a 10 pin connector while the PSU only have 8, hence 2 pins are not used. It seems to the technician a design issue and very weird.
Unfortunately support does not want to support anymore as they claim they have delivered according to the specs. But that does not help if the original specs are not ok. Anyway they now suggest to upgrade my power unit at my own cost. Ridiculous of course. So to what PSU can I upgrade in this chassis? And what are the cost? And where to order? Thanks
redxps630
7 Technologist
7 Technologist
•
10.4K Posts
0
August 17th, 2022 09:00
Dell technician does not know. The 8 pin motherboard connector is designed for 460w psu while 10 pin is for 750 or 1000 w psu. The latter two are nearly impossible to get anywhere now as spare part (unless you have someone to buy it in Taiwan or Asia). This may change in time when Dell oem parts become more available but no estimate of when.
Which card are you trying to add? Users who have 750w or 1000w psu use 6/8 pin PCIe connectors for graphics cards. It seems the extra 2 pin in the 10 pin motherboard connector helps PCIe slot provide power to video cards in concert with the supplementary PCIe connector.
billyjk
1 Rookie
1 Rookie
•
110 Posts
0
August 17th, 2022 10:00
Sorry to hear of this. I just posted about the real need for an 8950 PSU more than the stock 460w. Given your experience, I can see the benefit of going for a larger PSU. Not sure why Dell doesn't point us in the right direction when configuring.
ProfessorW00d
4 Operator
4 Operator
•
2K Posts
1
August 17th, 2022 16:00
With a top tier 125 watt Alder Lake processor and a 200 watt Ampere graphics card . . . a 460 watt PSU should not even be an option.
Tesla1856
8 Wizard
8 Wizard
•
17K Posts
0
August 17th, 2022 18:00
1a. May I ask why the built-in gigabit ethernet port is not adequate enough?
1b. May we know what exact PCIe card you are trying to install?
2. I don't think that is the problem. It sounds more like the PCIe card is incompatible. Dell was previously having trouble with card detection in certain Alienware Aurora-R13 slots so maybe the XPS-8950 has a variation of that problem.
Are you using a x1 slot, x4 or what? Have you tested an alternate PCIe card?
What BIOS are you running?
Tesla1856
8 Wizard
8 Wizard
•
17K Posts
0
August 17th, 2022 18:00
Agreed, but apparently it has been working fine until now.
ErikDJ17
2 Posts
0
August 29th, 2022 08:00
1a. May I ask why the built-in gigabit ethernet port is not adequate enough?
Answer: Killer E3100G 2,5 Gb (I need 10Gb)
1b. May we know what exact PCIe card you are trying to install?
Answer: Uptimed 10G Workstation Single Port RJ45 with Aquantia AQC107 Chipset
Answer: could be, but the Dell Desktop XPS 8950 doesn’t startup and provide a clear error message with the power-on lights beeping 3 times orange and 5 times white, indicating according to the manual as (translated): “Supply rail error: EC has error at feeding sequence” (Dutch: “Fout voedingsrail: EC heeft fout bij voedingsvolgorde”). Also the PCIe card did work on an older Dell Desktop XPS8910, so it doesn’t seem that the network card is to blame.
Are you using a x1 slot, x4 or what? Have you tested an alternate PCIe card?
Answer: x4, only slot available an yes, tries an alternative PCIe Card with the same result.
What BIOS are you running?
Answer: latest: 1.5.0
Thank you for your support
redxps630
7 Technologist
7 Technologist
•
10.4K Posts
1
August 29th, 2022 08:00
Re: It sounds more like the PCIe card is incompatible. Dell was previously having trouble with card detection in certain Alienware Aurora-R13 slots so maybe the XPS-8950 has a variation of that problem.
it sounds like a 8950 bios issue and apparently Dell is still honing it to fix various bugs (multiple updates since inception). It does not sound like a 750w psu would solve this issue.
Tesla1856
8 Wizard
8 Wizard
•
17K Posts
1
August 29th, 2022 10:00
1. Well, then I can see why you think it is the Power-Supply. You are welcome to try a more powerful one. You might even be able to lower base power consumption by doing something like removing the video card (and using the on-board one).
HOWEVER, while I don't think the lack of power is the problem (regardless of the messages and errors codes) it would be nice if that fixed it.
2. Agreed. Yes, I think it is the XPS-8950, not the Uptimed-10g-NIC.
3. Good troubleshooting. Still points to XPS-8950. I think this problem hasn't appeared more widely because users rarely insert PCIe cards into a desktop computer any more.
4. Good.
5. You are welcome. Dell will have to look into this for you. I have reported via my available Rockstar support-channel.