Advice on Graphics Card Update

[Jason Ramsay]

Hello guys! I thought I would come to people knowledgeable on the subject of graphics cards. I am hoping to upgrade my graphics ideally no more than £300, but do not know if I can even upgrade it or if I can, which one would be best. Here are my system details:

System:

Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (6.1, build 7601)
System Manufacturer: Dell Inc.
System Model: XPS 8500
Processor: Intel (R) Core (TM) i7 3770 CPU @ 3.40GHz (8 CPUs), ~3.4GHz
Memory: 8192MB RAM
DirectX Version: 11

Graphics and Display:

Name: AMD Radeon HD 7570
Manufacturer: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc
Chip Type: ATI display adapter (0x675D)
DAC Type: Internal DAC (400 MHz)
Approx Total Memory: 4095 MB

Any help would be great!

 

[Jeff Baffalo]

http://www.ebuyer.com/666705-asus-gtx-970-strix-directcu-ii-oc-4gb-gddr5-dual-dvi-hdmi-strix-gtx970-dc2oc-4gd5

your system doesn't need an upgrade it will do fine.

 

[quilciri]

What is the make & model of your PSU?

 

[Jason Ramsay]

Thanks for the quick reply! How much better is the graphics card you have suggested to the one I already have? and will it definitely work?

 

[jazzy663]

You shouldn't need any upgrades in the CPU department, the 3770 is powerful enough.

It is important to know what the make and model of your PSU is because you want to be sure it has all the connectors and has sufficient wattage/amperage to handle a GPU upgrade. I've looked it up, and it looks like the stock PSU is 460W. That's a little lower than I'd like. I can't seem to find what connectors it has on it as well.

It's been said before, but please post the make and model of your PSU.

 

[Jason Ramsay]

What is the make & model of your PSU?

Can you tell me how to find that out please?

 

[Jason Ramsay]

Its the usual suspect Dell O.E.M. 460 watt. Its all covered in the article.
Cards that work, cards that need flashing. Dell bios updates, these boys have done it already.

That would appear to be the right PSU. With that being the case, will the aforementioned graphics card work without any further changes to the computer?

http://www.ebuyer.com/666705-asus-gtx-970-strix-directcu-ii-oc-4gb-gddr5-dual-dvi-hdmi-strix-gtx970-dc2oc-4gd5

 

[jazzy663]

Its the usual suspect Dell O.E.M. 460 watt. Its all covered in the article.
Cards that work, cards that need flashing. Dell bios updates, these boys have done it already.

That would appear to be the right PSU. With that being the case, will the aforementioned graphics card work without any further changes to the computer?

http://www.ebuyer.com/666705-asus-gtx-970-strix-directcu-ii-oc-4gb-gddr5-dual-dvi-hdmi-strix-gtx970-dc2oc-4gd5

The official spec states that the minimum recommended PSU wattage is 500W, for the GTX 970. At 460W, you should be fine, but I won't promise you that it will work. Personally, I would be doing a PSU upgrade.

You said you had a Dell XPS 8500? It looks like that model is from 2012. That said, your OEM PSU is a few years old. I don't know how long it takes for this to happen, but PSUs tend to lose some of their maximum output over time. Just food for thought.

Plus, there is still the issue of the connectors. I've been Googling, but I can't seem to find what connectors are on the OEM PSU in your system. The Asus Strix GTX 970 needs two 6-pin PCI-E connectors.

I looked at the thread tea urchin linked, and it looks like the modder that put the 970 cards in their XPS 8500s has done a PSU upgrade, an EVGA one I'm seeing.

 

[Jason Ramsay]

Its the usual suspect Dell O.E.M. 460 watt. Its all covered in the article.
Cards that work, cards that need flashing. Dell bios updates, these boys have done it already.

That would appear to be the right PSU. With that being the case, will the aforementioned graphics card work without any further changes to the computer?

http://www.ebuyer.com/666705-asus-gtx-970-strix-directcu-ii-oc-4gb-gddr5-dual-dvi-hdmi-strix-gtx970-dc2oc-4gd5

The official spec states that the minimum recommended PSU wattage is 500W, for the GTX 970. At 460W, you should be fine, but I won't promise you that it will work. Personally, I would be doing a PSU upgrade.

You said you had a Dell XPS 8500? It looks like that model is from 2012. That said, your OEM PSU is a few years old. I don't know how long it takes for this to happen, but PSUs tend to lose some of their maximum output over time. Just food for thought.

Plus, there is still the issue of the connectors. I've been Googling, but I can't seem to find what connectors are on the OEM PSU in your system. The Asus Strix GTX 970 needs two 6-pin PCI-E connectors.

I looked at the thread tea urchin linked, and it looks like the modder that put the 970 cards in their XPS 8500s has done a PSU upgrade, an EVGA one I'm seeing.

Again thank you for your help! If I could ask one more question however. I am willing to go with the EVGA PSU upgrade as that seems to be the ideal choice and will guarantee that the card will be put to the best use. With your information, I surmise this would be the best PSU:

http://www.ebuyer.com/660724-evga-supernova-750w-fully-modular-80-gold-power-supply-120-g1-0750-xr

 

[coozie7]

Personally I'd say 750 Watts is heavy overkill, something like this is still plenty: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/620w-seasonic-evo-full-modular-80plus-bronze-dc-dc-120mm-silent-bb-fan-atx-psu and a little cheaper.
Just a point on the GTX 970 Strix: a selling point for this design is that its fans don't start until it gets to 65 or 70C, so in most cases it's silent, just so you don't get worried if you see it idling at a high temperature or the fans don't seem to be working.
Oh yes, and the GTX 970 is so far out of the league of the HD7570 that if the 7570 exploded the GTX 970 would n't hear it for three days. I can't see the 7570 here but it's a renamed HD 6570: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/gaming-graphics-card-review,review-32899-7.html

 

[jazzy663]

I am in agreement with the last post. The PSU you linked is a Tier 2 Class B unit-- not the best of the best, but still very good. It will be more than enough for your hardware.

The SeaSonic unit coozie7 linked is actually better than the one you linked, it being a Tier 2 Class A unit. In addition, I am fond of that particular unit. Personally, I'd go with that one. SeaSonic is the best when it comes to PSUs. Also, 620W is still more than enough.