XPS 8940, with RTX 3070 power supply upgrade?

One, why are you led to believe this will be a problem?  What is “broken” that Dell is refusing to “fix”?

Two, it’s no secret that 500W is the size Dell provides.  (And that, unfortunately, it’s a non-standard size and impossible to upgrade.)

Just to state, I never said it was "broken", but logically if you don't have sufficient power to supply to the computer and all the components, then you will have an issue.

I have not plugged in the computer yet for that very reason.  When I received it, I opened it to insure that everything was ok and properly seated after its journey to me.

My order did come with a Nvida 3070 video card and it was in there, but I did notice the small power supply.

I then went to Nvida's website to check on the power supply needed for this card.  It states that the required system power for this card is 650 watt power supply, not including any hard drives, ram upgrades, etc. which Dell XPS clearly promotes. So I would think that at least 750-850 should be installed just to cover those areas down the line.

Here is the link to Nvidia (you need to scroll down to the "View Full Specs" button to see it: https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/graphics-cards/30-series/rtx-3070-3070ti/

Dell installs a customized Nvidia card that does not always match the one from Nvidia. They make sure that the psu will run the selected card. My 8940 has a 360w psu which comes with the integrated video. Also Dell's wattage ratings are usually undervalued. You can return the computer but there is nothing wrong with it. Power it up and test it out before returning it.

 Forgot to mention that if you check all the specs on the Nvidia page you might see some of the specs do not match the card you have. For instance, does your card take up 2 slots? 

Hi Mary,

Thank you for your response.

If Dell is installing "customized" Nvidia 3070 cards that do not match what they sell publicly, then Dell needs to clearly state that because that's news to me and no one has told me that so far.  So if they are customized, then they are dumbed down to meet the 500 watt power supply?  If that's the case, then Dell is selling an inferior product and misleading the customer by not clearly stating that.

If you check the link I posted, it clearly states that the 3070 requires a 650 watt power supply, regardless how many slots it takes. 

The reason I did not start it up is because I didn't want to start a computer with insufficient power and possibly damaging any of the components.  That would be worse, so I'm trying to prevent that happening.  The likelihood of it being damaged by turning it on and using it over time with a lower power supply is much higher than simply replacing the necessary power supply up front.

@napski  - Virtually all OEMs use customized video cards in their PCs and it's no secret. Helps keep PC prices down...

Many OEM video cards don't have the same number/type of video output ports as the "retail" version with the same card number. OEM cards sometimes have only one fan instead of two, and as @Mary G said, OEM cards typically have lower PSU requirements than the retail version of the same card.

@DELL-Chris M posted the specs for Dell's OEM RTX 3080 GPU, so maybe he can post the specs for their RTX 3070 card in this thread.

Unless you build a DIY PC, you're likely going to get a smaller wattage PSU and an OEM video card. So plug the XPS 8940 in and get it set up and running...

Dell OEM MSI GeForce RTX 3060 Ti

Part number = 86RMK
Platforms = Aurora R12/R11/R10, XPS 8940, Inspiron G5 5000
Card dimensions = Length: 144.75mm, Height: 109.94mm
Maximum Power Consumption = 200W
Power connector = Two PCIe 8 pin
Ports = Three DisplayPort 1.4a, one HDMI 2.1
Memory = Type: GDDR6, Size: 8GB, Interface width: 256 bits
Graphics bus = PCIe speed 4.0, PCIe width x16
GPU = Nvidia CUDA cores: 4864, Base clock: 1.41 GHz, Boost clock: 1.66 GHz

Dell OEM MSI GeForce RTX 3070

Part number = KX61M
Platforms = Aurora R12/R11/R10, XPS 8940, Inspiron G5 5000
Card dimensions = Length: 189.48mm, Height: 111.15mm, Width: 1.57mm
Maximum Power Consumption = 220W
Power connector = 1x PCIe 8-pin
Ports = Three DisplayPort 1.4a, one HDMI 2.1
Memory = Type: GDDR6, Size: 8GB, Interface width: 256 bits
Graphics bus = PCIe speed 4.0, PCIe width x16
GPU = Nvidia CUDA cores: 5888, Base clock: 1.50 GHz, Boost clock: 1.73 GHz

Dell OEM MSI GeForce RTX 3080

Part number = 4Y12V
Platforms = Aurora R12/R11/R10
Card dimensions = Length: 267mm, Height: 114mm, Width: 50mm
Maximum Power Consumption = 320W
Power connectors = Two PCIe 8 pin
Ports = Three DisplayPort 1.4a, one HDMI 2.1
Memory = Type: GDDR6X, Size: 10GB, Interface width: 320 bits
Graphics bus = PCIe speed 4.0, PCIe width x16
GPU = Nvidia CUDA cores: 8704, Base clock: 1.44 GHz, Boost clock: 1.71 GHz

Dell OEM MSI GeForce RTX 3090

Part number = M8HMD
Platforms = Aurora R12/R11/R10
Card dimensions = Length: 267mm, Height: 114mm, Width: 50mm
Maximum Power Consumption = 350W
Power connectors = Two PCIe 8 pin
Ports = Three DisplayPort 1.4a, one HDMI 2.1
Memory = Type: GDDR6X, Size: 24GB, Interface width: 384 bits
Graphics bus = PCIe speed 4.0, PCIe width x16
GPU = Nvidia CUDA cores: 10496, Base clock: 1.39 GHz, Boost clock: 1.69 GHz

The “650W” is a theoretical maximum, not a required minimum. And it refers to the entire system draw.

Your system will work just fine with a 500W supply under the vast majority of circumstances.

If you intend to operate at the limits regularly, you’ve no business buying a prebuilt.

Hi RoHe,

Well that's news to me and that should be stated on their sales page then, don't you think so?  If Dell is clearly displaying any brand name video card on their sales page, then they should note that are customized in a inferior fashion to meet Dell's lower power supply needs. 

Hi ib11,

Thank you for your comment.

If I have no business buying a prebuilt, then Dell should state that not to operate this particular units at the limits regularly, which it doesn't do.  

Besides, why would you put a powerful video card, with an i9 processor and 64gb of ram then?  Whey would Dell do that with a low 500 watt supply?  It's like buying a Corvette and never driving it above 40mph.  Doesn't make sense.  Those components are meant to handle those limits.  But the only thing holding that back is a decent power supply.

Hi speedstep,

Thank you for your reply.

So the system does have an I9 processor, 64gb ram and the massive rtx 3070 video card.

Why then would Dell put a 500 watt power supply in there?  It doesn't make sense.  To be honest, I thought it was just an error. Why would Dell do that?

Hi Chris M,

Thank you for your response!

I'm very confused then when I go to the Nvidia website and it states that the 3070 with an i9 processor requires at least 650 watts.

So are you saying that this customized 3070 card only requires 220 watts at maximum?  That's drastically different than the Nvidia website.  But that's not including the other components either, where the Nvidia site clearly states that paired with an i9 processor.

Again I have to ask the question why then would Dell design a system with i9 processor, a high end 3070 video card and 64 gb of ram with only a 500 power watt supply?  You have components in there that are meant to handle high end programs, games, etc, and then install an underpowered power supply?  That clearly makes NO sense at all!

The OEM model is optimized for the  OEM 500W power supply.  If it was a standard unit you could get a newer more powerful power supply. But its not standard its proprietary.

Retail cards are definitely going to be clocked higher and use more power than the OEM Dell Model.

YMMV

This is also why when someone asks about a Dell to support a card like that I recommend the Aurora model with liquid cooling and 1000W power supply.

@napski  Did you read footnote #4 for NVidia's specs for the RTX 3070:

Requirement is made based on PC configured with an Intel Core i9-10900K processor. A lower power rating may work depending on system configuration.

Note: The above specifications represent this GPU as incorporated into NVIDIA's reference graphics card design. Clock specifications apply while gaming with medium to full GPU utilization. Graphics card specifications may vary by add-in-card manufacturer.  Please refer to the add-in-card manufacturers' website for actual shipping specifications.

I now see that, but I wish Dell then wouldn't put those high end components in a system like that.

It gives the impression that this system can handle it at all levels, when in fact it can't.

That's not very good especially for company like Dell.