[SOLVED] Can I install a GTX 950 into a Dell Optiplex 790?

[stokr57]

I recently bought a Dell Optiplex 790 and it arrived today. I'm hoping to upgrade it soon with the purchase of a 1 TB internal hard drive and a new graphics card, as the one I have installed is an AMD Radeon HD 5450. So, I have two questions -

1. How good is the Nvidia 950 for gaming and video editing?
and
2. Will I be able to install it into my computer without buying a new power supply?

Thank you for answering!

 

[muhammadsamimhassan]

You can install most GPUs in Dell Optiplex 9xx MT or similar chassis. Even dual-slot, full length GPUs are no problem and I've seen people putting GTX970s in that chassis.

Unfortunately; your particular system has other problems:

1. The PCIe slot in the 790 models is undervolted so it can only supply 35W of power. Standard PCIe slots provide more than twice as much power (75W).

2. Your PSU is also VERY weak at just 265W and even if your slot was fully powered; the PSU wouldn't have been able to provide the necessary power to the GPU (75W).

There's a work around, though.

Get a dual-slot full length 950 with a 6-Pin power connector (Asus Strix x2, Gigabyte Windforce x2 come to mind), replace the PSU with a 400W one (Minimum) that has a 6-Pin PCIe power cable. There's a good chance that your GPU 'might' draw the rest of the power from the 6-Pin; instead of the PCIe slot and hence won't starve.

Will it work? I'm not entirely sure, as I personally haven't done it before but theoretically it should. It might burn your GPU or your Mobo or both but that's a worst case scenario.

Or just get a GT1030 (Preferably the GDDR5 variant) that has a TDP of just 30W. The GDDR4 variant has an even lower TDP of just 20W but... It's also 50% less powerful and hence is NOT recommended. Carefully read the specs as Nvidia is very discreet about it.

I hope it helps!

 

[william p]

I looked in the manual, and at some pictures of the MB and don't see any mention of a PCIe slot limit. Look at your MB ans see if it's stenciled next to the GPU slot.. The MT can handle a full height card, the others need a low profile card. To avoid buying a PSU the GTX1050 series is preferred.

 

[muhammadsamimhassan]

I looked in the manual, and at some pictures of the MB and don't see any mention of a PCIe slot limit. Look at your MB ans see if it's stenciled next to the GPU slot.. The MT can handle a full height card, the others need a low profile card. To avoid buying a PSU the GTX1050 series is preferred.

A lot of Dell models come with underpowered slots and his 790 is definitely one of them:
https://www.dell.com/community/Desktops-General-Read-Only/Optiplex-790-35w-PCIe/td-p/5137644

 

[william p]

If you go in a few pages you can find hundreds of them running GTX1050Ti.
https://www.userbenchmark.com/System/Dell-OptiPlex-790/3864

https://www.userbenchmark.com/System/Dell-OptiPlex-790/3864
If yours has the limit it will be stenciled on the MB by the slot. Many people report runnning 75W GPUs without issues but the risk is yours to try it. Optiplex MB can usually be found for as little as $20.
The 790 will have a UEFI BIOS. You can get a UEFI card, or make some BIOS changes to run a Legacy card.
Optiplexes have a 95W CPU limit and that makes the 265W PSU OK.
Also dell uses the more conservative Continuos power rating and not the peak advertised power rating.
Create a System restore, and remove the old GPU drivers in Safe Mode (F8) first.

 

[Danman1]

I have a dell optiplex 790 Mt with a PNY gtx 1060 in it. The full-length card is kinda awkward getting it in but it works with some patience. I upgraded my power supply to have a PCI 6 pin connector for the GPU. That is necessary because without that the dell will through errors because it doesnt have enough power to run the card with the stock psu and slot power. I'm using a corsair cx650m which is overkill but I got a good deal.

 

[QwerkyPengwen]

To answer the question you asked that nobody here so far has bothered to answer, no, the GTX 950 is not good for video editing of any kind.
You would have better experience with video rendering using the CPU it has than with the 950 (assuming your system has the i5-2400) and even then, the experience will be pretty crappy.

As for gaming, the GTX 950 can game well enough at 1080p with customized graphic settings of low/medium mix with other stuff turned off.
I know this first hand because I played that game using a Gigabyte GTX 950 Low Profile card with an i5-2500K.

But assuming you found this 950 for super hella cheap, I would instead look into a 1050Ti that requires a 6pin power cable if you can find one of those within budget.

But a power supply upgrade would definitely be in order as the user above stated.

And let's hope for the best that you can circumvent the PCIe slot power limitation if you have one.