Question Will this upgrade of an Inspiron 3471 meet the power needs of upgrading to an RTX 2060 12gb?

[damian.kowalski]

In order to enjoy The Witcher III and other games, I'd like to upgrade my GPU to an RTX 2060 (which requires PCIe as well as an 8-pin power connector).

I'm planning on adding a 460w PSU, and would greatly appreciate advice on whether this will be sufficient! According to a PSU calculator, I should have just enough (433W recommended - see below) but a 2nd opinion would be great before I pull the trigger to buy the PSU, the GPU and the extra RAM.

My machine will have the following specifications (new bits in red):

Motherboard: Desktop
Socket: Socket LGA 1151
CPU: 1 x Intel Core i5-9400
CPU Speed: 2900 MHz
CPU Vcore: 1.2 V
CPU Utilization: 90 %
DELL 3046 3040 3050 5050 7050 MT 6+4PIN 04FWF7 460W Desktop Power Supply - I understand from this article that this PSU is compatible with the Inspiron 3471 build)
(https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/353269623973)
Memory: 1 x 8GB DDR4 Module
Memory: 1 x 8GB DDR4 Module
Video Card Set 1: 1 x NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060
Core Clock: 1650 MHz
Memory Clock: 1750 MHz
Storage: 1 x M.2 SATA SSD
Storage: 1 x SATA 7.2K RPM
Optical Drive: 1 x DVD/CDRW Combo Drive
PCI Express Card: 1 x Standard Sound Card
Keyboard: 1 x Standard Keyboard
Mouse: 1 x Standard Mouse
Fan: 1 x 120mm
Fan: 1 x 120mm

Computer Utilization: 8 hours per day
Gaming / Heavy 3D Application Time: 2 hours per day
Monitor: 2 x LED 37 inches
Load Wattage: 383 W
Recommended UPS rating: 1000 VA
Recommended PSU Wattage: 433 W

Thanks so much to anyone able to help!

 

[Aeacus]

Since RTX 2060 is 160W GPU, i'd look towards good quality, 650W PSU, e.g Seasonic Focus+ or PRIME. Or Corsair RM/RMx/RMi. Now, 550W unit would do too, since you can't OC your CPU and your build isn't populated with loads of fans (like mine are). Still, there is no excuse to get cheap, low quality PSU. Since PSU powers everything, it is the most important component inside the PC.

The power calculation site uses 50W headroom, while to be safe, i suggest always with minimum of 100W headroom. You'd want to have 70W more than 30W short. Moreover, GPU can power spike double of what it normally consumes. And when that happens with PSU that isn't capable of handling it (e.g too less wattage headroom), you'll get PC shut down.

 

[damian.kowalski]

Thanks so much Aeacus, I understand what you're saying.

Having looked at some of your suggestions, they all seem designed for larger towers (or maybe they are external?). I was hoping for a PSU that would be compatible with the dimensions of the SFF case of the INspiron 3471 so everything fits neatly in the original box.

Is such a thing possible at the 650W mark that you recommend?

 

[Aeacus]

SFF case of the INspiron 3471

Since what you have, is prebuilt, proprietary Dell PC case, only Dell proprietary PSUs are compatible with it. Now, there are other TFX PSUs out there as well, but:

1. Those may not fit your proprietary case.
2. Those industry standard TFX PSUs, for sure, have different connectors on PSU, than what is compatible to your MoBo. And yes, your MoBo is also proprietary Dell MoBo, rather than industry standard from factor MoBo.

Regarding Inspiron 3471 PSU upgrade, i found this topic,
link: https://www.dell.com/community/Inspiron-Desktops/Compatible-PSU-for-Inspiron-3471/td-p/7783699

Highest i can see from there, is 500W PSU, either Liteon 99TPH 500w or Chicony Y7R0X 500w, given that you can actually find one for sale.

Here, you have 3 options:

1. Buy the higher wattage proprietary PSU and probably the conversion plug as well, while crossing your fingers it fits into your proprietary PC case.
2. Do not get RTX 2060, instead use the GPU you currently have (without buying PSU upgrade).
3. Buy normal, industry standard ATX MoBo, ATX PSU and ATX PC case, so that you can rid yourself from the Dell proprietary parts. While transferring CPU, RAM and disk drives over. You could even get micro-ATX or mini-ITX MoBo, with SFF case and SFX PSU, if you like your PC to be small. Oh, you might need to buy CPU cooler as well, if the one you currently have is also proprietary and fits only that Dell MoBo.

 

[damian.kowalski]

THanks so much Aeacus. I will research the Liteon and Chicony and see what I can discover in terms of dimensions and availability.

May have to just go with #3, or buy a new separate machine perhaps.

Appreciate the steer!

 

[Aeacus]

Oh, have you already bought your RTX 2060? Since if you haven't, have you made sure that RTX 2060 actually fits in your Dell SFF case?

RTX 2060 is beefy GPU and even the smallest of them are full-size dual-slot GPUs. While what seems to fit in that Dell SFF case, is low-profile GPU with low bracket.
E.g this thing on the right;

All-in-all, Dell prebuilts are only good if you never-ever plan to expand the PC hardware and use it as-is, until it is obsolete. All because Dell has made their PCs so proprietary that expanding them is nigh-impossible and only select few Dell parts are compatible with their prebuilts.

 

[damian.kowalski]

Sorry for delay responding (contracted Covid).

Haven't bought the 2060 yet, but will remember to check the height and other dimenions! If I proceed (stubbornly ) with upgrading the existing machine I am aware I also need to verify the dimensions of the PSU, the length of the cabling, the number and type of the power connectors.

One other point that occurred to me was from a pure logic point of view. My current Dell machine is powered by a (proprietary) 200W PSU. If I am adding a GPU with a 160W draw, and am upgrading to a 460W PSU (also proprietary), does that suggest that I would in fact be guaranteed to have the minimum 100W headroom that you sensibly advocate? Apologies if this was a key piece of info I should have shared at the beginning!

 

[Aeacus]

One other point that occurred to me was from a pure logic point of view. My current Dell machine is powered by a (proprietary) 200W PSU. If I am adding a GPU with a 160W draw, and am upgrading to a 460W PSU (also proprietary), does that suggest that I would in fact be guaranteed to have the minimum 100W headroom that you sensibly advocate? Apologies if this was a key piece of info I should have shared at the beginning!

When it comes to PSUs, it's best when load on them is 50% - 80% of their max wattage capacity. Since then, PSUs are most efficient.

Also, the rest of your system also consumes power. i5-9400 is 65W CPU, the rest of the system (MoBo, disk drives, fans) have varying power consumption but including CPU, good estimate (with headroom) would be 200W.

Now, GPU + rest of the system, should consume 360W, making 460W seemingly enough. However, GPUs have an issue, where for nanoseconds, their power draw will spike, often double of what they are rated for. Sometimes even tripe, if you use high-end GPU. GamersNexus made a nice video about it;

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnRyyCsuHFQ


While Steve mostly focuses on RTX 3000-series, he also shows GTX 1080 Ti (Pascal architecture), to show, that the problem has been around for a long time. Now, your RTX 2060 (Turing architecture) is newer than GTX 1080 Ti (2 years newer), meaning that your GPU will also produce power consumption spikes.

And it's those power consumption spikes, that will surpass the 460W limit of the PSU you plan to buy (200W system + GPU spiking to 320W = 520W). Hence why 650W good quality unit is preferred.

You may be fine using 460W Dell PSU with your RTX 2060. But answer me this: When issues do arise, and your PC is starting to randomly shut down due to the GPU power spikes, then what?

 

[damian.kowalski]

This is really helpful, thanks so much for adding more context to the situation. Think I'll have to get myself a new machine with plenty of power and space for an upmarket GPU. Seems the best approach all things considered....

At this point, I have no further questions (your honour! ).