[SOLVED] Adding components to a Dell XPS 8940.

[supressed]

So I recently purchased a Dell XPS 8940 with a 360w PSU, a 1TB hdd, and INTEGRATED graphics. To say the least, I hate it. I should've read about integrated before accepting their "Ultimate HD!" advertisement.

I am hoping to upgrade my graphics card to a 4gb GeForce GTX 1050 Ti, as well as add a 500gb ssd drive. Can anybody tell me if I'm dreaming? I'm not the most hardware savvy guy in town, I am learning slowly.

I suppose my questions are this.

1. Can I even add a dedicated card to this PC
2. Will adding that graphics card and a new ssd require me to upgrade my PSU to anything higher than 360w?

Thanks so much guys.

 

[Dj0gany]

So I recently purchased a Dell XPS 8940 with a 360w PSU, a 1TB hdd, and INTEGRATED graphics. To say the least, I hate it. I should've read about integrated before accepting their "Ultimate HD!" advertisement.

I am hoping to upgrade my graphics card to a 4gb GeForce GTX 1050 Ti, as well as add a 500gb ssd drive. Can anybody tell me if I'm dreaming? I'm not the most hardware savvy guy in town, I am learning slowly.

I suppose my questions are this.

1. Can I even add a dedicated card to this PC
2. Will adding that graphics card and a new ssd require me to upgrade my PSU to anything higher than 360w?

Thanks so much guys.

The metod ur using to get to a gaming level of pc is the most comon way to do it.
You buy a office pc with a good cpu,then buy a gpu and ssd.
You can add a dedicated gpu to that pc and yes you will have to upgrade the power supply

 

[supressed]

The metod ur using to get to a gaming level of pc is the most comon way to do it.
You buy a office pc with a good cpu,then buy a gpu and ssd.
You can add a dedicated gpu to that pc and yes you will have to upgrade the power supply

Thanks a million for the quick response!

 

[supressed]

Can I ask too, will the upgraded GPU be automatically detected, or will I need to mess with settings?

 

[Dj0gany]

Can I ask too, will the upgraded GPU be automatically detected, or will I need to mess with settings?

it should be automatically detected.

 

[USAFRet]

The metod ur using to get to a gaming level of pc is the most comon way to do it.
You buy a office pc with a good cpu,then buy a gpu and ssd.
You can add a dedicated gpu to that pc and yes you will have to upgrade the power supply

Actually, the better way is to just build something, instead of starting with an "office system", and replacing several of the parts.

Replace drive.
Replace PSU.
Often, the BIOS on one of those is not that great, and does not allow a lot of changes.

 

[Dj0gany]

Actually, the better way is to just build something, instead of starting with an "office system", and replacing several of the parts.

Replace drive.
Replace PSU.
Often, the BIOS on one of those is not that great, and does not allow a lot of changes.

yeah i see ur point,but thats how i started my gaming pc.My uncle gave me lenovo thinkcentre edge 72 with i3 3240,8gb ram,hd 5500 (i think),1TB HDD.I bought R9 380 4GB,bought a new power supply,ssd,and another 8gb of ram.The method i use is only for those who dont have the money to buy new,but want to atleast have a pc that can game newer titles on low settings.The CPU upgradability is the highest risk in my metod,since u have to buy used,which is already a risk + the bios is often either hard to find,or upgrade.For example if i wanted to upgrade my BIOS,i would have to install windows 7,update the BIOS,reinstall windows 10,and pray everything works fine.

 

[USAFRet]

yeah i see ur point,but thats how i started my gaming pc.My uncle gave me lenovo thinkcentre edge 72 with i3 3240,8gb ram,hd 5500 (i think).1TB HDD.I bought R9 380 4GB,bought a new power supply,ssd,and another 8gb of ram.The method i use is only for those who dont have the money to buy new,but want to atleast have a pc that can game newer titles on low settings.The CPU upgradability is the highest risk in my metod,since u have to buy used,which is already a risk + the bios is often either hard to find,or upgrade.For example if i wanted to upgrade my BIOS,i would have to install windows 7,upgrade the BIOS,reinstall windows 10,and pray everything works fine.

Getting a free one from a relative is one thing.
Buying a new one, in hope of modifying it, is completely different.

 

[supressed]

Thanks alot for everyone's advice and help. I can find no information about this "proprietary 360w PSU" that I'm stuck with. That is another question I've got to figure out before I order my new GPU.

Am I stuck with this little PSU because it is proprietary, or is there a way around it? ..Absolutely worst case scenario, does Bell sell 500w 'proprietary' PSUs on their own? I can find no info on this as hard as I look.

https://www.dell.com/en-ca/shop/des...desktop/dxps8940ms_s6500e?view=configurations

That is the exact system I have, if that helps. Thanks again.

 

[supressed]

Also I should say that none of this was planned. I did not plan on upgrading this boxed computer, I just didnt realize "integrated" and "proprietary" were both bad options. I saw the PC on sale for about $400 off, and jumped on it without doing the proper research in advance. My mistake. Just looking to tune it up if at all possible.

 

[supressed]

I'm back, and have discovered that my PSU can support up to 150w graphics (According to Dell.) Do you guys suppose that is a comfortable support, or a max support and will burn me out in a hurry? I would love to just upgrade the graphics card to a designated 4gb (I'm not a HUGE gamer) and I've found several options that'd run at 150w, like the GeForce GTX 1650 Super that requires only 100w. Am I answering my own questions here? I'm new. Go easy on me. lol

 

[Dj0gany]

I'm back, and have discovered that my PSU can support up to 150w graphics (According to Dell.) Do you guys suppose that is a comfortable support, or a max support and will burn me out in a hurry? I would love to just upgrade the graphics card to a designated 4gb (I'm not a HUGE gamer) and I've found several options that'd run at 150w, like the GeForce GTX 1650 Super that requires only 100w. Am I answering my own questions here? I'm new. Go easy on me. lol

I think 1650 super is a great deal.Good performance,low TDP.Get it.Worst case scenrario.u have to buy a new psu,but not like a 1000W one,just a good 500W unit.

 

[supressed]

Thanks again Djoza. This'll be my very last question I promise, and you're getting trophied (If that's what it's called here.) lol. ...Is there a way to tell if my PSU is being overused? That's not as easy as downloading some freeware is it?

 

[supressed]

Found an approximate PSU calculator on Newegg. I hope that answered my own question again, as I require about 100w less than my PSU supports. I'm going to make THIS my last question instead if you don't mind. Should I open my PC up to see if it has it's required SATA cables to power/transfer, or is it safe to say a PC I bought 2 days ago with 4 HDD expansion bays likely has both required?

 

[hang-the-9]

Also I should say that none of this was planned. I did not plan on upgrading this boxed computer, I just didnt realize "integrated" and "proprietary" were both bad options. I saw the PC on sale for about $400 off, and jumped on it without doing the proper research in advance. My mistake. Just looking to tune it up if at all possible.

Yep, research first then buy is the correct step, in everything. https://www.tomshardware.com/news/dell-xps-8940-desktop-price-specs Proprietary motherboard and power supply means issues with upgrades.

The model does have an option of a 500 watt PSU but you did not get that one.

I can't find any details about the connectors on the 360 watt PSU but the specs from Dell say it supports a 150 watt video card, which means it must have a PCIe power connector, which will run a 1650 Super with no issues. Even a 1660 super should work if you want a better card to match the CPU, this one is at a good price https://www.amazon.com/MSI-GeForce-...d=1&keywords=1660+super&qid=1603047278&sr=8-3

Not too hard to open the case and look at the power supply to confirm what it has for cables.