Jan 7, 2021
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I've got an older Dell XPS 8500 with the specs below and need to upgrade my graphics card because it's really putting a hamper on the games I play (Sims 4, Castlevania 2, Life is Strange 2, etc.). I meet all the other Recommended specs on the Can You Run It site except for the video card. On this machine I also animate in TVPaint, and run MS Office, Adobe Creative Suite, and Firefox. I don't run too many things at a time just to be cautious.

I need to be careful of my budget (under $400 CDN), my legacy BIOS (A14), and the small amount of space in my tower (around 4.3-4.4").
I've narrowed my search down to these 4 options that I can get but I'm not sure if they'll be compatible with my BIOS and if I'll need to upgrade my PSU too? So after months of compiling my research and spreadsheet, I'm reaching out with all the details and my final options and hoping someone has some helpful advice for me:
-GTX 1650 Low Profile GDDR5 (4.13" not the gaming one or the OC edition, the #MSG16504GTLP at B&Hphotovideo)
-GTX 1660 6GB SUPER GDDR6 (4.37, 2 slot, and 450W
-GTX 1650 Low Profile Gaming GDDR5 (the ZT-T16500H-10, the rest are all 4.38", 2 slot, and 300W recommended)
-GTX 1650 Low Profile Gaming GDDR6 (the ZT-T16520H-10L)


Dell XPS 8500
BIOS: A14 Legacy
Monitor: 1920x1080
Radeon HD 7550
460W power included with original PC
Windows 8.1
Intel i7.3770 CPU @ 3.40GHz, 4 cores
1 PCI-E x16
16GB RAM
Main drive is 1TB SSD
Secondary drive is 2TB HHD

Which do you think would work best for my PC and do you think it also needs a PSU upgrade?
Any help would be much appreciated.
 
Solution
I don't think your PSU would be an issue even thou it is older.
The 1650's are around the 75w mark and the 1660 supers run about 125w depending on the exact model.
So even with the 1660 your entire PC's power consumption wouldn't even be 300w.
Jan 7, 2021
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It should be fine with any of those but I though the 8500 ONLY came as a tower and it doesn't sound like you have a tower. You sure you don't have the 8300?
Good to know, and do you think the PSU is enough for all of them?
I have the 8500 as a tower, it's what my System Information says when I run an msinfo32. You've made me curious now, what about my specs sound like the 8300?
 

popatim

Titan
Moderator
I don't think your PSU would be an issue even thou it is older.
The 1650's are around the 75w mark and the 1660 supers run about 125w depending on the exact model.
So even with the 1660 your entire PC's power consumption wouldn't even be 300w.
 
Solution
Jan 7, 2021
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I thought the 8500 tower took a full height card and your initial post made it seem like you could only fit a low profile card like this was one of the smaller cases.
Ahhh got it. Apparently it's a problem with the 8500 because it's organised so tightly so all the discussions I found had people recommending 4.3" and under or it would have a hard time fitting
 
Jan 7, 2021
4
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I don't think your PSU would be an issue even thou it is older.
The 1650's are around the 75w mark and the 1660 supers run about 125w depending on the exact model.
So even with the 1660 your entire PC's power consumption wouldn't even be 300w.
That's great news! And such a relief now that I can feed that PSU budget into the card budget haha. Thanks so much Popatim, you're a lifesaver!