What to upgrade on my Dell XPS Studio 8000?

[twohypnoticfish]

I have a Xps studio 8000 and im looking upgrade current components but i am on a budget.

The pc works and is currently running windows vista. I dont know if i should just go to windows 7 or jump to windows 10.

I know i will want to put in a ssd and upgrade the ram from 8gb ddr3 to 16Gb. I want to upgrade the graphics but not sure which one to choose. And im wondering if getting a new motherboard and processor would be a good idea. I was hoping to re-use as many components as i can while getting my machine to perform well.


Specs are labeled here.
https://www.cnet.com/products/dell-studio-xps-8000-2361jbk/specs/

Most of the forums for this pc are old or are building it for gaming. I want to use my pc mainly for video editing. The video editing i want to do is editing a video of someone talking next to a greenscreen and paste them in another video. and editing multiple 5-10 second videos together to create one long video. I dont know much about computers or editing so any advice is helpful!



Thanks!

 

[ChumP]

If you want to game on the systen you can go with a GTX 1050ti.
The PSU will be enough having 2 12V rails with 18A. Also the GTX 1050ti won't require a separate power connector(will draw all the power from the slot.. 75W max).

Upgrading to 16 Gb is not really mandatory. An SSD will make your PC much snappier... so I'll favor that over the RAM upgrade

Upgrading the CPU+Mobo In the same case it's not worth it... you should build a different PC for that.

 

[Phillip Corcoran]

"The pc works and is currently running windows vista. I dont know if i should just go to windows 7 or jump to windows 10"

Dell have released Windows 7 drivers (64-bit only) for that model, but not for Windows 10. So if you really want Windows 10 I'd buy or build a new PC to ensure full compatibility.

https://www.dell.com/support/home/uk/en/ukbsdt1/product-support/product/studio-xps-8000/drivers

 

[SgtScream]

So there's going to be a point you cross where purchasing a new system would be a more cost effective option, especially due to reasons posted by forum members above. You won't need a power supply upgrade if you stick with the graphics card listed below. It runs off the PCI-E slot power and is designed to be installed in systems like the one you have. There won't be vista drivers for this graphics card.

It appears that you already have two 4gb memory sticks installed. My advise is to confirm that fist to see if you can purchase another pair of the exact sticks already in the system. If not then the modules below should do the job.

If you are going to upgrade to an SSD you will definitely want to take advantage of this and reinstall with Windows 10. Just because Windows 10 drivers aren't listed on Dell support website doesn't mean there aren't Windows 10 Drivers for said individual devices/hardware. Windows 10 is designed to install these drivers automatically as long as you have the correct network driver installed so the system can reach the internet.
I looked up the chipset, audio, & network drivers for that model and there are drivers that MIGHT work, but you MAY have to find them individually. You could test this if you have a spare hard drive lying around and install windows 10 on it then look at device manager to see what devices are missing and if you can install the drivers manually.
However AGAIN if it were me I wouldn't bother with all of this and I would take advice from the other forum members.
Is it possible? Yes, but is it worth your time and money to upgrade a system that is pushing 10 years old? That's your call. You could use the money spent on these upgrades, save up the difference and purchase a better system.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Memory: Crucial - 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($58.88 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Crucial - MX500 500 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($82.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4 GB ACX 2.0 Video Card ($156.88 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($95.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $394.54
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-11-10 08:38 EST-0500

 

[twohypnoticfish]

Wow thanks guys! I thought i would have got an email when someone replied but oh well. Its 4x 2Gb ddr3 1333 installed so upgrading the ram would coet more then its worth. And yea as i look into it more, it seems likes its not worth my time or money. I think i will just save my money and wait to build one in the near future! Thanks again!