XPS 8940, with RTX 3070 power supply upgrade?

Well, just 2 months over the warranty and the system died!  Clearly it was the power supply.  I was playing a game and the system just "popped" and shut off.

I called customer service and since my system is out of warranty now, I have to pay to have it shipped, have it diagnosed and pay for whatever they find wrong with it. 

I explained to them it was the PS since the green light right below the cord/switch on back won't even go on.  It simply could not handle the RTX 3070 video card and it blew.  I even have a copy of the chat log from last year explaining my concerns with the PS before I bought it and I was assured by the Dell rep that it would work just fine, so I moved forward.

So I have to pay for everything, including the cost of the PS, which would land me over $200.  I explained that I think Dell should step up here and admit that their tech built a system doomed to fail from the start.  Just replacing the PS with the exact same one is going to wind up dead very shortly like this one.  I was passed around to different people off and one over the course of 4 days.  Finally I was able to reach a "supervisor" who was extremely rude and would not let me speak to anyone above him.  I asked to speak to someone in corporate and he would not help me.  I explained that I spent over $2200 for this system and I paid my bill in full, but he still did not care.  The only way that Dell would help is if I sent the system in and I would have to pay for everything.

I am sitting beside myself.  I can't tell you how depressing this entire experience is.  Now I have a dead system after dumping more money than I ever have for a computer and it's totally dead.

I don't know what to do.

I never, ever expected this type of service from Dell.  Their tech built this system incorrectly and I have written proof of it and they still can't own up to the truth that they made a mistake.  Instead they want more money from me to set the system up to fail again.

I tried finding other phone numbers, but always wind up back with tech support with the exact same answers.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

@napski - Did you fully follow the instructions to run the BIST test on a PC without the PSU button, including what do if the LED doesn't come on at all? And just because that  LED doesn't come on for 3 sec and shut off, doesn't mean it has to be a PSU failure.

If you think it's the PSU, you could just order one and DIY the replacement. Instructions are in the Service Manual.

These PSUs will fit in the XPS 8940 case and have the power connectors you need:

2VD0G 360w Liteon
5K7J8 500w Delta
99TPH 500w Liteon
Y7R0X 500w Chicony

Hint: You don't have to order a PSU directly from Dell, so search for them elsewhere....

And there are lots of threads about upgrading/adding additional cooling to the XPS 8940 on this forum so read some of those threads. 

Thank you for your reply.  Yes, it is indeed the power supply.  I did find one on Ebay for $150, but spending that money to replace it with the same exact one will only set this up to fail again.  I already spent over $2000 to have this fail within 14 months, so I can't see investing any more especially if it's going to fail again.  Maybe I can salvage the components and rebuild a new system with them, but...wow, what a ton of stress this puts on a customer.

I'm still really blown away that Dell won't step up to admitting they designed a flawed system doom to fail, let me send the system back and they redesign the system with the correct power supply & case. 

Now I see now what Dell has become.

It's a real slap in the face, especially during times like these.

I will never trust or buy anything from Dell, and that hurts me to say so since I've trusted them for years beforehand.

Take care everyone and hope you never find yourself in this scenario.  

The Dell stock 500 w is adequate to support i9-9900k + rtx 3070.  Based on basic online psu calculator Load Wattage: 425 W
Recommended PSU Wattage: 475 W

it is unfortunate that your oem psu failed shortly after warranty expires if you are 100% confident about that. It is understandable that you are concerned that a replacement oem psu could fail too.  Unfortunately the Dell mobo is proprietary and would not fit standard case. Salvage parts are cpu, ram, ssd, gpu.  One option is to use non-Dell 500+w SFX psu (SFX power supply, which is 125mm wide, 63.5mm tall, and 100mm long) from a reputable psu maker such as silverstone etc. that offers good number of years of warranty plus a 24 to 6 pin adapter from Amazon.  The price may add up less than oem replacement psu but you get more reassurance of quality.

e.g., Silverstone SX-500 has 3 year warranty, SX-750 has 5 year warranty.

https://techbuyersguru.com/article/silverstone-sx500-g-power-supply-review/

Thank you for your response!

But at the Nvidia website, it says it requires a minimum of 650W.

Here is the link, then click on "View Full Specs", scroll down and you'll see it:  https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/graphics-cards/30-series/rtx-3070-3070ti/

Hello everyone,

Does this PSU fit in a XPS 8940 cabinet?

Would a XPS 8950 PSU?

Thanks,