[SOLVED] can I swap GT 730 for GTX 1660 on my dell prebuilt?

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kenny69

Jun 8, 2020
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hey guys, I have a dell inspiron 3650. it has an i5-6400, 8 gb of DDR3 and a gt 730. will my motherboard support a 1660 super and will my case fit the new card?
 
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kenny69 said:
yeah i dont really need more ram that much and i will probably upgrade my motherboard and need DDR4 in then future anyways. but would the 1650 super work with my motherboard? https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-Gaming-...ld=1&keywords=gtx+1650&qid=1591701349&sr=8-16
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Yes, you can run that GPU in your current motherboard, but you need a better power supply or you risk destroying the GPU or other components if you use a SATA or Molex adapter. A better power supply requires an adapter to go from 24pin motherboard power to the Dell motherboards 8pin connection. You also need a new case to fit a larger GPU or you can modify the Dell case, but modification would likely be...
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kenny69 said:
ok got it. are they as fast as the 1660 super?
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No, it's a lower model but has lower power requirements so you don't need to use any power adapters which is not a good idea. Those can be a source of failure (say melting the connection and causing your video card to fail). If a 1650 was as fast as a 1660 then it would not make much sense to buy a 1660 for more money. A 1650 will be way faster than your current 730. Without getting a new power supply that would be a good card to get for 1080 gaming.
 
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Yeah, avoid using molex adapters for GPUs, period. It's not good advice; these adapters are uniformly as cheaply made as possible and a common source for melting and the occasional fire. Your actual good options are a 1650 or a better GPU after a PSU upgrade.
 
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hang-the-9 said:
No, it's a lower model but has lower power requirements so you don't need to use any power adapters which is not a good idea. Those can be a source of failure (say melting the connection and causing your video card to fail). If a 1650 was as fast as a 1660 then it would not make much sense to buy a 1660 for more money. A 1650 will be way faster than your current 730. Without getting a new power supply that would be a good card to get for 1080 gaming.
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oh i see i actually understand now. someone on the dell forum said that if i dont want a new PSU then i would have to upgrade to GT1030. but 1550 should be able to be handled by my power supply right? im not able to check the case is really bad.
 
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hang-the-9 said:
No, it's a lower model but has lower power requirements so you don't need to use any power adapters which is not a good idea. Those can be a source of failure (say melting the connection and causing your video card to fail). If a 1650 was as fast as a 1660 then it would not make much sense to buy a 1660 for more money. A 1650 will be way faster than your current 730. Without getting a new power supply that would be a good card to get for 1080 gaming.
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would it fit in the default inspiron case?
 
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DSzymborski said:
There's no one default Inspiron case nor is there one default Inspiron PSU. You'll have to physically look inside the case yourself, both to measure how much room you have and to get the exact specifications of the PSU.
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ok got it. ill measure it later. how much better is the 1550 than my current 730? on newegg, the 1550 is only about 20 dollars more
 
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kenny69 said:
ok got it. ill measure it later. how much better is the 1550 than my current 730? on newegg, the 1550 is only about 20 dollars more
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I assume you're still talking about the 1650? There's no 1550! It's a lot better.

GPU prices don't really scale at the low end. And in this case, these are third-party sellers hoping people make a bad purchase; a 730 isn't a good buy at $30, really.
 
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DSzymborski said:
I assume you're still talking about the 1650? There's no 1550! It's a lot better.

GPU prices don't really scale at the low end. And in this case, these are third-party sellers hoping people make a bad purchase; a 730 isn't a good buy at $30, really.
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yeah i put in numbers wrong on newegg. from the videos comparing the two, the 1650 seems like a really good upgrade probably moving me from 40/50 fps on LOW settings to 100 fps on HIGH/ULTRA settings! i just hope PSU supports it and my case is big enough
 
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DSzymborski said:
Yeah, avoid using molex adapters for GPUs, period. It's not good advice; these adapters are uniformly as cheaply made as possible and a common source for melting and the occasional fire. Your actual good options are a 1650 or a better GPU after a PSU upgrade.
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for my case do i need a small form factor of the 1650, the ones with one fan? just from my eye test doesnt seem like the two fan 1650s will fit inside my case.
 
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kenny69 said:
for my case do i need a small form factor of the 1650, the ones with one fan? just from my eye test doesnt seem like the two fan 1650s will fit inside my case.
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Does your case look like this one? http://downloads.dell.com/manuals/all-products/esuprt_desktop/esuprt_inspiron_desktop/inspiron-3650-desktop_reference guide_en-us.pdf

If your case is the size in that PDF you can use the folowing GTX 1650. These cards have a 75watt power requirement provided by the PCIE x16 slot.
https://www.newegg.com/gigabyte-geforce-gtx-1650-gv-n1650ixoc-4gd/p/N82E16814932151
https://www.newegg.com/gigabyte-geforce-gtx-1650-gv-n1656oc-4gl/p/N82E16814932298
https://www.newegg.com/asus-geforce-gtx-1650-ph-gtx1650-o4g/p/N82E16814126322
https://www.newegg.com/zotac-geforce-gtx-1650-zt-t16500f-10l/p/N82E16814500468
 
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captaincharisma said:
yea you can go that way if you want to blow up your PC. the Dell's PSU doesn't have the right specs for a card like that which is why it doesn't have that type of connector
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It wont blow your PC..It depend on your PSU. Last time I know Dell PSU doesnt blow and mine doesnt blow up its been there for years..

Only reason why people having blow up molex adapter is that the wire are cheaply made...

if you dont trust molex, you can use sata adapter to pcie instead.. SATA uses less voltage & amp. then you dont have to cry about blowing up computer and explode your house.
 
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kenny69 said:
i still have to measure and see which of the four fit right? and are the bigger ones better or does the size not matter
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The first card I linked, the larger Gigabyte card (GV-N1650IXOC-4GD), will have issues fitting because it's taller than normal and I actually forgot to check that. The other two large cards should fit without issue when the case side is closed. The low profile card will obviously fit without any issues, but may have issues with cooling because that case doesn't have much airflow.
 
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Third-Eye said:
The first card I linked, the larger Gigabyte card (GV-N1650IXOC-4GD), will have issues fitting because it's taller than normal and I actually forgot to check that. The other two large cards should fit without issue when the case side is closed. The low profile card will obviously fit without any issues, but may have issues with cooling because that case doesn't have much airflow.
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wow thanks you have been tremendous. my system is currently i5 6400, GT 730, 8 gb DDR3.

a 1650 and another 8 gb of ram will tremendously affect my fortnite fps right? currently running low settings with 40 fps
 
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Third-Eye said:
The first card I linked, the larger Gigabyte card (GV-N1650IXOC-4GD), will have issues fitting because it's taller than normal and I actually forgot to check that. The other two large cards should fit without issue when the case side is closed. The low profile card will obviously fit without any issues, but may have issues with cooling because that case doesn't have much airflow.
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think i will go for the overclocked pheonix, should have no trouble fitting that in and its overclocked
 
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kenny69 said:
wow thanks you have been tremendous. my system is currently i5 6400, GT 730, 8 gb DDR3.

a 1650 and another 8 gb of ram will tremendously affect my fortnite fps right? currently running low settings with 40 fps
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A better GPU may be all you need for now if you are not running into memory limitations. Upgrading to 16GB of ram may be an issue though. You would be better off buying a 2x8GB kit for best compatibility, but if you can't, your next best option is probably this 1x8GB kit https://www.amazon.com/Crucial-Single-PC3L-12800-Unbuffered-CT102464BD160B/dp/B008KSHQBU


2x8GB https://www.amazon.com/Crucial-PC3L-12800-Unbuffered-Memory-CT2K102464BD160B/dp/B0091LG13O
 
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Third-Eye said:
A better GPU may be all you need for now if you are not running into memory limitations. Upgrading to 16GB of ram may be an issue though. You would be better off buying a 2x8GB kit for best compatibility, but if you can't, your next best option is probably this 1x8GB kit https://www.amazon.com/Crucial-Single-PC3L-12800-Unbuffered-CT102464BD160B/dp/B008KSHQBU


2x8GB https://www.amazon.com/Crucial-PC3L-12800-Unbuffered-Memory-CT2K102464BD160B/dp/B0091LG13O
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yeah GPU upgrade will do lots for my system. Does matching brand ram really matter? And the ones you’ve posted seem pretty expensive for 1600 speed ram and ram in general
 
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kenny69 said:
yeah GPU upgrade will do lots for my system. Does matching brand ram really matter? And the ones you’ve posted seem pretty expensive for 1600 speed ram and ram in general
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You could buy used DDR3 1600 for around half the price, but then you might have issues with warranties and RMAs if you can't get a refund or replacement from the seller. Right now is not the best time to buy DDR3 ram unless it's used. I would personally only buy used memory for systems that need DDR3. The main thing to remember, is that kits that come with two modules are going to be more compatible than adding a module to an already existing module. Those Crucial kits I linked are recommended upgrades by Dell from what I can tell, but that doesn't mean you have to use only that brand, as there are other brands that should work fine.

I mainly bought G.Skill DDR3 kits for the last 8 years, because they just seemed to always work fine for everything I have upgraded with them, but I also only upgraded other peoples systems with two module kits if they needed double the ram. I've personally never had an issue with my own systems when adding another module of a different brand to my computers, but that doesn't mean you won't have an issue. The worse that will happen if you buy a single module, is it won't work and you have to return it.

Running dual channel memory could increase your fps by 15-20% and make the system run smoother, but you would be tossing money at obsolete parts with no upgrade path. You also can't run faster than DDR3/DDR3L 1600 because of a motherboard limitation. Ask yourself if you actually need the extra ram right now, because it might make more sense in the long run to save up for a new system if you have a tight budget.
 
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