Dell Optiplex 790 GPU & PSU Upgrade

Jak McC

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Feb 22, 2017
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I have a Dell optiplex 790DT and i want to upgrade the GPU so i can play Rocket league on ultra and some newer games on Med/High if possible.

Its the I3-2120 Model and has a 250w PSU (250AD model)
I know without upgrading i could potentially use the GTX 750Ti 2Gb But i would prefer upgrading the psu and trying to get a more powerful card if possible.

I tried looking on the motherboard and working out what PSU it could take but i literally have no idea so any help would be beautiful, Thankyou :)

I wouldnt really want to spend more than £150 combined. GPU will probably be baught of ebay.
 
Solution


Okay so everything works fine, all powers on fine, runs games fine and it all just seems fine :) The Gpu also stays at a decent Temp under load and doesn't experience anything wierd.

So I got the computer without any HDD so im not sure what it was built with but I can give some...


Exactly like this one https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Dell+optiplex+790DT&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjO95L_2qTSAhWp34MKHUaXAGUQ_AUICSgC&biw=1760&bih=863&gws_rd=cr&ei=W9quWOHmN4PwatObvcgD#gws_rd=cr&imgdii=MOfRrWEUG-uatM:&imgrc=inmkLsCli0tkuM: Think the same as what you linked but im on my phone so wanted to make sure.
 
http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/desktop/f/3515/t/19992699

you do it at your own risk and dell proprietary BIOS used may not support just any cards .. you buy , you try , and hope it don't make you cry . it may work fine , but ?????


some models of store bought computers [dell.hp,acer,ect..] may come with a ''locked or fixed'' / legacy or uefi bios and may not allow you to change certain hardware as a video card.. this is done to protect them from undue warranty claims and refunds .this is not done to hurt you but to protect them. you really need to see if that upgrade has been proven to work in your model first before you invest money in it .. there are a lot of these threads here at toms to look at some models will allow upgrades and some dont.. and a lot of guys here say ya ya ya when is really no no no...it would be sad you spent $200 on a card that won't post after you installed it as most find out. then get told its your psu and you spend more and end up right back where you are now, but its up to you good luck..


you got to know the boards in these computers are not like the ones we use to do custom builds witch are open to upgrading with in the boards compatibly . the bios is custom made for there design and just for the parts they authorize to be used on there computers there only guaranteed to work as is out of the box as you bought it ,..


also these boards do not have to meet atx standards and there pci-e slot power may not do the required 75w needed for most higher end cards and can be limited to say 45 or 60w that is all thats needed with the low end factory oem cards that it may of shipped with

in the end any upgrade you do is all your own risk . the prebuilt manufactures only guarantees there computers work as sold to you as is out of the box from there factory with what they put on it , not a drop more

there in business to sell you whole ready to go computers , and dont worry about you upgrading them or giving you support to do so . thats not how they make there money they prefer you run to wal-mart and buy there ''better'' latest models


notice how a guy asked here on a gtx 970 ? NO answer ?? not even from a Dell rep

http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/desktop/f/3514/t/19610234


''Also its PCI x16 slot on motherboard is limited to draw only 35 watts max from power supply'' that pci-e slot limitation [ and no reply ]

http://en.community.dell.com/techcenter/extras/f/4475/t/19588673

 


Thankyou for the reply, I'll build one from scratch :)
 
thing is if you want to do that then just get the card now and try it and see if it works as expected great if not then do the build you all ready got the card part out of the way ..

see older 750ti's some came with a uefi/ legacy switch on them to help on this issue that a lot of prebuilts have with cards and there support of them

todays 750 ti cards that switch is removed even from the cards with the same part number and model that use to have it ..

how it kinda said here

http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Desktop-Hardware-and-Upgrade-Questions/Will-the-EVGA-GTX-750TI-GPU-work-with-my-HPE-h8-1214/td-p/5353641

now if your dell had windows 8 preinstalled on it from the factory this may not be a issue they shipped with a different bios then the same model that had window 7 or below installed from dell .. you see that said a lot on this .. then if you have the windows 7 bios and look at bios udates for your model theres most times a foot note stating that the win-8 bios is not for upgrading [???? ]



''MSI added a dual-BIOS feature to their card, which lets you pick either a UEFI-enabled BIOS or a legacy BIOS''

https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GTX_750_Ti_Gaming/5.html

''Pros: Legacy switch! I don't know why this isn't advertised more but for someone using a HP computer running a legacy bios this card is my savior. Even under pressure it seems to handle mostly everything I throw at it plus it's quiet and affordable.''

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127783

looks like still on this one


thing is regardless you buy it stick it in and fire it up and it will work or it don't and cant .. that's about the bottom line to it

this here still maybe the biggest catch 22 of it all in the end

''''Also its PCI x16 slot on motherboard is limited to draw only 35 watts max from power supply'' that pci-e slot limitation [ and no reply ]

http://en.community.dell.com/techcenter/extras/f/4475/t...


most higher up cards need 75w at the slot to fully and properly power them and no amount of PSU upgrade overcomes that proprietary motherboard limitation
 


Thankyou for all the extremely useful information :)

It seems my only and best option is to just buy a 750TI and hope it works, If so i can then upgrade to a 1050ti? I have an SSD and i disconnected the Optical drive so it should use much power.

Another guy in the forums said
"Now I'm assuming you are using one of the modern ones featured here http://www.dell.com/ca/enterprise/p/optiplex-790/pd

In which case it should have the 75W spec for the PCIe slot. Where did you find the 35W info?"

Also when i boot up it gives me option of booting into legacy/uefi so I hope that means it will be fine on that front?
 
ya, but I cant confirm that slot power limitation that 750 ti will or made for a full atx standard 75w at the slot the card may work but is not getting the power it needs off a 35w slot and that's the motherboard not the PSU you use ..


this dell guy claims its 25w ?/

http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/desktop/f/3515/t/19657233


then here looks promising ?

http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/desktop/f/3515/t/19657233

http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/desktop/f/3515/t/19999799

then back to this ? the slot don't know what PSu your running if a 200w or 1000w that's controlled by the power regulation built in to the motherboard

http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/desktop/f/3514/t/19667225


I like that one answer for now

if you don't see that printed on the board by the slot maybe full 75w but that psu thing is not right if dell limits the slot to 25w all the psu in the world don't overcome that its a PROPRITORY motherboard


I say give it a shot , why not ?
 


Once again, thanks for all the great info :) I just purchased a new GTX 750TI of Ebay for £60 so its not that bad of a risk. Ill let you know that it works (Hopefully).
 


Well stupidly before buying i didn't check which Version of the 750TI needed a 6Pin Connector.... Ended up getting a cheap New Asus Gtx 750TI (ASUS GeForce GTX 750 TI (2048 MB) (GTX750TI-OC-2GD5) which is going to arrive tomorrow. Turns out it will need a 6Pin Connector. It hasn't actually come yet, but im guessing all the asus ones will require this? So i now either need to resell it or just buy a new desktop and sell my 790 :l

Any recommendation on a barebones Desktop i could pop a 750TI in? Or a PSU i could buy, or any way around my issue that sure to come up tomorrow :L?
 
recall what I said above ? '' thing is if you want to do that then just get the card now and try it and see if it works as expected great if not then do the build you all ready got the card part out of the way ..''

may try a psu as well with all connectors needed - either way now it needed for the dell and the card or if the card don't work out right you got the psu for the new build

I don't know I was going to say you see how ''upgrading a prebuilt can be more hassle then there worth at times ? and in the end you still got a old prebuilt proprietary dell

I was reading on one thread from dell on the cards fit as well may not have room in the case for some larger cards ?? a case ''MOD'' maybe coming in to order as well ?

http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/desktop/f/3514/t/19594726

then you notice how he did not get answered back on his card choice ??

http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/desktop/f/3514/t/20002446

anyway only time ,money and patience and what you feel you got in the end will tell you if it was all worth it or not
 


Hi again!

Turns out the first GTX750 TI I ordered wasn't low profile as it was described :l Anyway i sold it for a profit and have bought a low profile 750TI. If it fits and works without any issues I'll likely upgrade to the 1050TI pretty soon. I'll Come back tomorrow and let you know how it goes.

Just incase it doesn't work for some reason then I have made a cheap custom build. Could you please have a look and see if I have made any massive error as it's my first attempt!

I already own the GTX 750TI and the AMD-6600k. Also i own the RAM and SSD so I left Those out.

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/user/JakMcCauley/saved/bBWP6h Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
 
'' I'll likely upgrade to the 1050TI pretty soon '' that may not work out if the bios don't support these latest cards ?? that's pretty common if your system did not ship from dell with windows 8 or above . I would all most say no on them cards.

all you can do is try and see when the time comes

this guy claimed his worked ?

http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/desktop/f/3515/t/19999799

good luck
 


Okay, So the Gigabyte GPU Came This morning! I plugged it in filled with excitement, only for there to be no display.
As you said it may be a problem with the bios, I decided to look into that. I found my 790 was manufactured in early 2012 (So i was hopeful it would be the revised edition with Win8) and clearly states it has a UEFI Option/Bios. Anyway so i updated the bios, plugged the VGA into my 750Ti and viola I got a picture!

I'm hoping that the fact it turns on and the fans are spinning ect means its going to work! Just downloading the Drivers and stuff because i disabled my optical drive to save power consumption!
I'll let you know if it works shortly. And thankyou for the help.
 


Okay so everything works fine, all powers on fine, runs games fine and it all just seems fine :) The Gpu also stays at a decent Temp under load and doesn't experience anything wierd.

So I got the computer without any HDD so im not sure what it was built with but I can give some information help identify if theres will work.

Manufacter Date - 03/28/2012
Motherboard - Dell OJ3C2F
PSU - 250W
I Updated the Bios version to A18 which seemed to fix the issue with it not working perviously.
My 790MT Looks exactly like this on the inside.. https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Dell+optiplex+790DT&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjO95L_2qTSAhWp34MKHUaXAGUQ_AUICSgC&biw=1760&bih=863&gws_rd=cr&ei=W9quWOHmN4PwatObvcgD#gws_rd=cr&imgdii=MOfRrWEUG-uatM:&imgrc=inmkLsCli0tkuM

Not sure what else i could add that would help somebody, But thankyou for you help and support|!
 
Solution
''Updated the Bios version to A18 which seemed to fix the issue with it not working perviously''

that's a good deal and is key to get the proper support this was a deal with dell xps 8700 and gtx 900 cards dell had to release a bios [A10] that added support for the latest cards to work ..

so great news and enjoy your new card

P.S what card did you end up with the 750ti or that 1050 you brought up ???

 


Will do, thankyou!
Ended up with the Gigabyte Low profile 2GB GTX 750TI
 


Ah sweet, I hope it works out for him.
Once again thank you for the help!
 
ya, its a shame compatibility and support has taken a back seat to hype and gimmicks and things aint so plug and play anymore and all at your own risk weather or not it works as expected .. upgrading has pretty much become a joke and for me it now does me more harm then good to where I never upgrade unless the part just dies and I got no choice