Choosing a Graphics Card for an Dell XPS 8500

[PurpleShyGuy]

So, lets start with this. The very first upgrade I ever made to this system was a Sapphire HD 7770 GHZ edition, it worked flawlessly. But now I'm ready to upgrade to a newer card. I do realize that I will be limited as to what I can pick until I can get a custom built pc put together. Here's the back story -

I did about a weeks worth a research on my system and determined that I wanted the GTX 750ti SC. Every post I read and every benchmark I saw showed that this card suggested it would work on my machine. So I went for it, because it's a cheap little card and it's a nice upgrade from my current one. I get it in today, pop it in (cleaning out my old AMD drivers ofc) and went to install the drivers. What happened from there was a wave of confusion and failed driver installations. What's weird though is if I booted into my Linux system and ran the open source drivers for this card.... it worked just fine. The Linux proprietary drivers and the Windows drivers do not work and result in a failed installation/black screen. I called EVGA and nvidia and they came to the conclusion that the card was defective and that I should send it back. Dell, on the other hand, said that the card would NOT work.... they also said the Sapphire HD 7770 wasn't compatible either, which it clearly is because I used it for many years. So I'm reluctant to take their advice at this point.

What I would like to know is can I use a GTX 750ti SC in my pc? I have a 460w PSU.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B2xCR0DXKbgQU2xzUWtBY0tWVXM

If not, then what could I use as a substitute?

 

[voltoid27]

Take everything Dell says with a grain of salt; they'll often say things like that to prevent liability and whatnot. If the HD 7770 works, then we know your PC can handle PCIe 3.0 cards that draw a total of 80W. Luckily for you, the 750 Ti draws only 60W, so it's even lighter on your PSU. I see no reason for the 750 Ti not to work. You should definitely use DDU to remove the old drivers and boot into safe mode before even installing the 750 Ti though; that will ensure that there are no incompatibilities between the old Radeon driver and the new card.

 

[PurpleShyGuy]

Take everything Dell says with a grain of salt; they'll often say things like that to prevent liability and whatnot. If the HD 7770 works, then we know your PC can handle PCIe 3.0 cards that draw a total of 80W. Luckily for you, the 750 Ti draws only 60W, so it's even lighter on your PSU. I see no reason for the 750 Ti not to work. You should definitely use DDU to remove the old drivers and boot into safe mode before even installing the 750 Ti though; that will ensure that there are no incompatibilities between the old Radeon driver and the new card.

From what they told me, my machine's bios was only made to support a certain range of cards, mainly those being OEM's they just so happen to sell on the website. After about 4 hours of work around's and fixes, nothing will get this card to install, so I'm thinking it's defective. I dont know how much truth there is to that statement, however. As of now I'm planning to return the card based on the advice I was given, because the support team from both nvidia and evga were confused lol.

But, just to keep my options open, what would you suggest IF the 750 doesn't work, that will run on a 460w psu? I'd rather not sink too much money into upgrades seeing as how I will eventually build a new pc. I can stick around the $150 range though for a card.

 

[voltoid27]

That's such crap, if Dell made it possible to only use OEM cards they'd have a massive lawsuit on their hands. (I really don't like Dell, lol)

Anyway, the GTX 960 should be just fine; it does consume more power than either the HD 7770 or 750 Ti but it's also more powerful: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487091

 

[PurpleShyGuy]

That's such crap, if Dell made it possible to only use OEM cards they'd have a massive lawsuit on their hands. (I really don't like Dell, lol)

Anyway, the GTX 960 should be just fine; it does consume more power than either the HD 7770 or 750 Ti but it's also more powerful: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487091

I thought so, that sounded like a car salesmen informing me that they're a preferred lender I'm glad you clarified that for me. I'll have the card RMA'd tomorrow and get a new one in the mail. If that for some reason fails I'll make the jump to the card you showed me. I appreciate the help!

Edit: I included a pic of the power supply.

 

[voltoid27]

Exactly I hope the new one works!

About the power supply, looks like it'll be fine for your needs. I'm at work so I can't check the amperage on the 12V rails vs the cards needs but it does have 2 6-pin connectors and that's good enough for me.