Upgrading Dell Inspiron 660s

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Afzal Sulaiman

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Sep 11, 2013
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Dell Inspiron 660
4 GB RAM
1 TB HDD
Nvidia Geforce 620
300W PSU
intel Core i5 3330s giving 2.70 Ghz (4cores)
Win 8.1 Pro

I want to change the graphics card and the psu. Because the thing comes with a slim cabinet, should i consider changing the cabinet? And should i consider changing the mother board also. I'm not familiar with compatible but better graphics cards. Can somebody help me out with that?
 
Greetings Afzal Sulaiman,

I serviced two of these machines, and I went after S & T cpus. It can handle both Sandy Bridge, and Ivy Bridge, but not the "top of the class", only mid-range processors, if You have the version with B75 chipset. If You provide me more info with CPU-Z, that would help a lot.

Computer does have two DDR3 slots, that can carry up to 2 x 4 GB DDR3 ticking at 1333/1600 MHz [not more, but it can downcock from 2K].

You can have practically any VGA, You pick, but You're gonna need new PSU, as You already noted.

Btw. chipset is B75 Express, so I'd go maximally for GTX 660Ti, or 760.

For CPU, I'd go for 3570K,

Hope this helps a bit,

regards

uplink
 
The motherboard, if it is a standard itx board (which it appears to be) should fit happily in to any case you care to choose. As to a GPU your only restriction would be the PSU size, which in order to upgrade you would need a new case.

I have to disagree quite strongly with Uplink, because putting an i5 3570K, an overclocking CPU, on a B75 motherboard, which does not allow for overclocking, would be a massive waste of cash. In fact, Dell do not recommend installing anything more than an i5 3550 on that motherboard because it's not desinged to power a K series chip and in this instance a standard i5 3550 would be a better bet if you want to upgrade the CPU. As to the RAM, Uplink is correct in stating that the maximum RAM you could install would be 8GB of 1600MHz ram.
 
Admiral Donut - Motherboard can run 3570K as well as 3550. K doesn't mean only OC ability, they run faster at factory defaults. 4 pin 12V CPU rail ist just fine for 3570K, it uses the same TDP 77W! as 3550, which You suggested.

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/342100-28-should-power-connector-3570k

and this one backs me up.

So do You have any real advice for Azfal, or You just wanted to discredit my reply?
 


Spending extra on a K series would be pointless, I stand by that. Everything else you said was perfectly fine. I am not here to argue with people like you, I'm here to provide decent, relevant information to people like the OP.
 


The K is the better chip, you won't get an argument from me on that one, especially as I own an overclocked one. That said, Newegg is not the cheapest, nor the easiest for many people to buy from and limiting oneself to just one website is rather silly. For instance, here in Germany the i5 3550, brand new, goes for roughly €175-180 whilst the i5 3570K goes for around the €208-220 mark. See what I mean? Sure, if the OP can get a K series cheap then going for it wouldn't be a bad idea. It is also worth pointing out that whilst Newegg does ship to a fair few countries, it is by no means "Worldwide" as stated by Newegg themselves here:

http://kb.newegg.com/FAQ/Article/1400

There is also the fact that the B75 board made for Dell may struggle with the K series chip, as stated by Dell themselves. Though I am often times inclined to ignore companies like Dell, who would prefer you just buy a whole new PC rather than upgrade, it is worth noting that the motherboards in their machines, whilst standard sizes now, are custom made to their exact specifications and I would not put it past them to ensure that chips like the K series will not run safely or efficiently. I will not be conversing with you any further.
 
...i simply want to change the the GPU and the PSU. IS there compatible but better GPUs than the present one that can fit into the slim thing or should i get a new cabinet?....and thank you for your replies....i cant decide whom to agree with....I'm not being mean...i need a simple answer... something like yes or no or like "dude, here is the name of a better GPU"
 


Simply put, you need a new case and a new PSU. No standard size PSU will fit in to that case, and if you want a better GPU such as a GTX 770, 780, 970 or 980, then you will need a better power supply. Any standard ATX case will suffice as will any PSU over 500W though I recommend going for a case with a decent amount of airflow and room enough for a large size GPU. As for PSU'S there are plenty of choices, though personally I would go for Corsair, Seasonic or XFX as they are all great brands, available in most countries and for reasonable prices. Without an idea of budget, geographical location or intended use of the finished PC I cannot be anymore specific than that.
 
Afzal Sulaiman - is there any chance You could open Your 660s and post a picture of it's side in here? There are two 660s to my current knowledge, one isn't capable of any upgrade whatsoever, besides those from DELL, and the other can be fully upgraded, with new PSU and can hold up pretty long VGAs.
 
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