Dell xps 435mt graphics card upgrade

[divisortheory]

I'm looking for anyone who has installed a high end graphics card in your dell studio xps 435mt. I just upgraded the power supply to a Thermaltek TR2 RX 850W. Most difficult thing I think I've ever done in my life since the power supply was so long, but nevertheless I got it working.

First question:

There is literally only about an inch between the back of the power supply and the back of the 2 DVD drives. Despite this, I managed to get everything connected and everything works and all the connections are sturdy. But is there a safety issue with having so little space at the back of the power supply? With a fan, for example, this is a big no-no, but there doesn't seem to be any ventilation equipment near the back of the power supply so I feel like this is probably ok.


Second question:

Am I going to run into cooling issues if I put, say, an nVidia GTX 480 in here? The biggest problem I'm thinking about is that the PCI-E slot is *very* close to the bottom of the case. About an inch or so. I really don't know anything about cooling or if this is even going to be important at all. If this might be a problem, are any of the other DX11 cards known to run cooler to the point that I wouldn't have to go to much effort to put any complicated aftermarket cooling solutions in? The case itself is fairly tight, so I'm not sure how much I can realistically do, and I don't want to change out the whole case.

Thanks

 

[multiscreenz]

Just make sure you have an exhaust fan blowing out wards. The video card will have a really nice exhaust system on it, so you don't have to worry about that now.

 

[divisortheory]

Well it's a closed case, with the *only* vent opening on the rear of the case, and even then it's a really small vent. so I'm not sure if I'll be able to do that. What if I went with something a little bit lesser like an HD 5850? Will something like that run cool enough that I should still be ok?

 

[jay2tall]

Wait.... so you stuffed a huge 850w psu into a tiny little Dell Studio PC. wow. that is a feat all in itself. haha. At least it is modular or you probably would have a problem.

Q1: That is fine, if everything is installed and fits fine. Don't worry. The fan points down so no worries.

Q2: AS long as you have 2 expansion slots the card should fit fine. The only concern I would have, as you did, would be the space from the bottom of the case. If there is enough room for the blower fan so suck in air you should be good. However, in such a little case I would be most worried that the length of the card would be an issue bumping into stuff. It is 10.5" long. I would think it would be ok. That model came with an optional 4850 which is 9.5" long so it is only an inch longer. If it is to long a 5850 is the same length as a 4850.

- WHY! a 850w that is so huge in such a little case. Where you banking on running a GTX480? Just curious.

Site with a picture of your case:
http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/product/43924/review/studio_xps.html

 

[jay2tall]

Just a thought. If you run into issue with it being to close to the bottom of the case. I would suggest making a little template of the card and where the fan is. Then drill some air holes in the bottom of the case so that it can access better airflow. I knew someone that did this in an SLI setup where the bottom card was like 1/4" from the bottom. It helped.

 

[divisortheory]

That is indeed a picture of my case, and yes I got the 850w in there. lol, it really was a feat, I bet getting it out will be just as bad.

As to why, for one thing, I didn't know it was going to be that long. I didn't do any measurements (oops!) and the price wasn't really all that bad, so I figured screw it. I could in theory return it for a smaller one, like a 750 or a 650 and probably still be fine.

A GTX480 would be nice, but if cooling is going to be risky I might go with the 5850 instead. Does the 5850 run significantly cooler than the 480? I doubt I'd really tax the 480 to its max anyway, so this might not be such a big deal.

I really haven't kept up with modern graphics cards, but the 5850 is indeed from the line of DX11 cards, yes?

 

[jay2tall]

They are basically the hottest running card out there. See link:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/geforce-gtx-480,2585-15.html

They also suck a ton of power, which now that you have an 850W is no issue. But still, it is the principle. They consume more power than the ATI 5970 which is a 2 GPU card.

The 5850 is a GREAT card. It overclocks well to. The GTX 470 beats it out by a little, but you can overclock either. I like the performance of the GTX470 and 480, but the heat, power, and everything else just doesn't sit well with me. But I guess if it works and performs well, it's still a good card.

Yes, all ATI 5xxx cards are DX11.

 

[divisortheory]

Hmm, alright thanks. I might just go with the 5850 then. It'll be a huge step up from what I already have anyway.

What's the highest resolution I should expect to be able to run with 1GB of memory? The hardest core thing that I'll probably be running is Diablo 3, whenever it comes out.

 

[jay2tall]

The 5850 should handle anything you throw at it. 1GB doesn't determine the max resolution, it is just a buffer for information. 1GB is fine for what you are going to use it for.

So are you going to keep the 850W? A solid 550-600W is perfectly fine for a single 5850.

 

[divisortheory]

Yea I guess I can take it back as well. Not looking forward to getting it out though, that's for sure! I'll measure this time

 

[jay2tall]

Yea I guess I can take it back as well. Not looking forward to getting it out though, that's for sure! I'll measure this time

mean you can always keep it, just saying.

 

[dlove50]

I'm looking for anyone who has installed a high end graphics card in your dell studio xps 435mt. I just upgraded the power supply to a Thermaltek TR2 RX 850W. Most difficult thing I think I've ever done in my life since the power supply was so long, but nevertheless I got it working.

First question:

There is literally only about an inch between the back of the power supply and the back of the 2 DVD drives. Despite this, I managed to get everything connected and everything works and all the connections are sturdy. But is there a safety issue with having so little space at the back of the power supply? With a fan, for example, this is a big no-no, but there doesn't seem to be any ventilation equipment near the back of the power supply so I feel like this is probably ok.


Second question:

Am I going to run into cooling issues if I put, say, an nVidia GTX 480 in here? The biggest problem I'm thinking about is that the PCI-E slot is *very* close to the bottom of the case. About an inch or so. I really don't know anything about cooling or if this is even going to be important at all. If this might be a problem, are any of the other DX11 cards known to run cooler to the point that I wouldn't have to go to much effort to put any complicated aftermarket cooling solutions in? The case itself is fairly tight, so I'm not sure how much I can realistically do, and I don't want to change out the whole case.

Thanks

 

[dlove50]

I'm looking for anyone who has installed a high end graphics card in your dell studio xps 435mt. I just upgraded the power supply to a Thermaltek TR2 RX 850W. Most difficult thing I think I've ever done in my life since the power supply was so long, but nevertheless I got it working.

First question:

There is literally only about an inch between the back of the power supply and the back of the 2 DVD drives. Despite this, I managed to get everything connected and everything works and all the connections are sturdy. But is there a safety issue with having so little space at the back of the power supply? With a fan, for example, this is a big no-no, but there doesn't seem to be any ventilation equipment near the back of the power supply so I feel like this is probably ok.


Second question:

Am I going to run into cooling issues if I put, say, an nVidia GTX 480 in here? The biggest problem I'm thinking about is that the PCI-E slot is *very* close to the bottom of the case. About an inch or so. I really don't know anything about cooling or if this is even going to be important at all. If this might be a problem, are any of the other DX11 cards known to run cooler to the point that I wouldn't have to go to much effort to put any complicated aftermarket cooling solutions in? The case itself is fairly tight, so I'm not sure how much I can realistically do, and I don't want to change out the whole case.

Thanks