GTX 660 Superclocked in a Dell Studio XPS 435MT - Impossible?

Hey everybody!

I have a 2009 Dell Studio XPS 435MT (MT = Mini Tower; see below), and it's current graphics card is a Nvidia GeForce GT240, which is getting long in the tooth. I currently can't pony up the $800-1200 to replace it (and build my own), so I decided to upgrade the RAM from 6GB to 16GB, and slap in a kick-a** graphics card to last me 1-4 years.

The system has a stock PSU, which according to the spec page on Dell.com (PC is at home, I'm away at school for the week), it has a 475-watt PSU.

I already know the card will work with the Motherboard, the card is PCI-express v.3, but backwards-compatible with PCI-express v.2, which is what I have.


My question is about the PSU. Is 475 watts enough for that card, plus the rest of the components? According to Newegg, it needs a 450 watt PSU as the minimum. Plus, I don't recall there being a power cable for the video card attached to the PSU. My current video card, I just had to put into the PCIe slot, and I was good to go. Is there likely a place for me to plug a power cable into the PSU for the video card? Or am I gonna have to buy a new PSU as well? I'm trying to get as much info as possible, since I can't get access to the computer until Saturday..

I remember reading not to long ago that dell power supplies although the connectors are the same as other power supplies the wiring is different, So if you are going to try and save money and use a supply thats not dell you may want to look into this (just in case im right) or you will brick the whole computer

Not worth it.
If the PSu doesn't explode, your CPU will bottleneck your GPU beyond possible understandable frustration, and you will regret that decision.

Keep your computer, save money, buy smart. Build a machine has components that work well together.

It isn't worth it? Okay, then what's a really good graphics card under $275 that WILL work in this machine with no significant issues? Also, how would the CPU bottleneck it? Sure, my i7-920 is 1st generation (Nehalem), but it still has good oomph...

Exactly which card are you looking at? Is it the 660 2GB Superclocked, 660 3GB Superclocked, or 660Ti Superclocked?

kbrady1979 said:

Exactly which card are you looking at? Is it the 660 2GB Superclocked, 660 3GB Superclocked, or 660Ti Superclocked?

Click to expand...

The GTX 660 2GB Superclocked from EVGA. Here is the Newegg link:

Newegg.com - EVGA SuperClocked 02G-P4-2662-KR GeForce GTX 660 2GB 192-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

According to eVGA, a 660 requires a 450W PSU with at least 24A on the +12V rail. It also needs a single 6 pin PCI-E power connector. (The 660ti has the same requirements, except for two 6 pin PCI-E connectors.) eVGA supplies Molex to PCI-E adapters.

I haven't been able to find the detailed specs on the Dell PSU, but I thinks it's probably OK. For a Dell of that vintage, you could replace it with an industry standard ATX unit, if you're feeling a bit paranoid.

An I7-920 isn't weak. I suppose that Dell won't allow you to overclock it, but it's still a pretty capable CPU.

I'm not a fan of appliance PCs, haven't bought one since 1995, but the 435mt is not exactly a prime candidate for the landfill.

bobkn said:

According to eVGA, a 660 requires a 450W PSU with at least 24A on the +12V rail. It also needs a single 6 pin PCI-E power connector. (The 660ti has the same requirements, except for two 6 pin PCI-E connectors.) eVGA supplies Molex to PCI-E adapters.

I haven't been able to find the detailed specs on the Dell PSU, but I thinks it's probably OK. For a Dell of that vintage, you could replace it with an industry standard ATX unit, if you're feeling a bit paranoid.

An I7-920 isn't weak. I suppose that Dell won't allow you to overclock it, but it's still a pretty capable CPU.

I'm not a fan of appliance PCs, haven't bought one since 1995, but the 435mt is not exactly a prime candidate for the landfill.

Click to expand...

So, eventhough my current card is powered via the PCI Express slot ITSELF, eVGA will provide me an adapter to get power via the slot itself?

I doubt the factory Dell PSU is powerful enough to run that card. Even though it says 450Watts, very rarely are factory PSU's able to produce that.......they are very basic and inefficient. Save up and get a good 500 Watt PSU and that will do everything you need it to do. The PCI slot itself provides 75 watts of power, and a passive card like the one you are currently using doesn't need auxiliary power. A card like the 660 needs an auxiliary power connector from the PSU in order to function properly. If you need help picking out a good quality PSU, we can certainly help with that.

kbrady1979 said:

I doubt the factory Dell PSU is powerful enough to run that card. Even though it says 450Watts, very rarely are factory PSU's able to produce that.......they are very basic and inefficient. Save up and get a good 500 Watt PSU and that will do everything you need it to do. The PCI slot itself provides 75 watts of power, and a passive card like the one you are currently using doesn't need auxiliary power. A card like the 660 needs an auxiliary power connector from the PSU in order to function properly. If you need help picking out a good quality PSU, we can certainly help with that.

Click to expand...

Here's the PSU I was thinking about buying, I guess. I'd rather pony up the extra $100 to be safe than sorry.

Newegg.com - CORSAIR TX650 - EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power Supply

I would get something like this.....great brand, modular and plenty of power. Corsair CX500M

I take that back, go for this one....only $10 higher and 100 more watts. Corsair CX600M

kbrady1979 said:

I would get something like this.....great brand, modular and plenty of power. Corsair CX500M

I take that back, go for this one....only $10 higher and 100 more watts. Corsair CX600M

Click to expand...

The one I found on Newegg is 650 watts. The ones you're showing me are 500 and 600 watts.

The Tehkwhiz said:

kbrady1979 said:

I would get something like this.....great brand, modular and plenty of power. Corsair CX500M

I take that back, go for this one....only $10 higher and 100 more watts. Corsair CX600M

Click to expand...

The one I found on Newegg is 650 watts. The ones you're showing me are 500 and 600 watts.

Click to expand...

You don't actually need 650 watts, and the ones I linked to are Corsair's new models that are semi-modular. If you needed 650 watts, I would have suggested a PSU that is 650 watts. I originally thought the 500 watt would be best, but the 600 watt is only 10 more bucks, and it will give you more lee-way in the future. The one you linked to is basically the same as the one I linked to, but 50 more watts, non-modular and 10 bucks higher.

kbrady1979 said:

The Tehkwhiz said:

kbrady1979 said:

I would get something like this.....great brand, modular and plenty of power. Corsair CX500M

I take that back, go for this one....only $10 higher and 100 more watts. Corsair CX600M

Click to expand...

The one I found on Newegg is 650 watts. The ones you're showing me are 500 and 600 watts.

Click to expand...

You don't actually need 650 watts, and the ones I linked to are Corsair's new models that are semi-modular. If you needed 650 watts, I would have suggested a PSU that is 650 watts. I originally thought the 500 watt would be best, but the 600 watt is only 10 more bucks, and it will give you more lee-way in the future. The one you linked to is basically the same as the one I linked to, but 50 more watts, non-modular and 10 bucks higher.

Click to expand...

Ahh. Gotcha. Okay, I guess this upgrade is going from $306 to $386. But, it'll be worth it in the long right, right?

Well, if you stuck with your original power supply, and it wasn't up to the task, it could brick several PC components before going bad itself. Also, the PSU and graphics card looks to total about $300, where did you get $386?

I can guarantee the factory PSU isn't capable of 475 watts. Something will be starved for power, and your motherboard, cpu, graphics card, etc could be toasted.

kbrady1979 said:

Well, if you stuck with your original power supply, and it wasn't up to the task, it could brick several PC components before going bad itself. Also, the PSU and graphics card looks to total about $300, where did you get $386?

Click to expand...

That 16GB RAM upgrade.

Click to view image: It's too large to comply with forum rules...

Oh, sorry.......I didn't realize you were going to upgrade ram too. All those parts are good and you can use them if and when you get ready for a new mobo/cpu. BTW, the link doesn't work...what kind of RAM are you looking at?

kbrady1979 said:

Oh, sorry.......I didn't realize you were going to upgrade ram too. All those parts are good and you can use them if and when you get ready for a new mobo/cpu. BTW, the link doesn't work...what kind of RAM are you looking at?

Click to expand...

Try it now, I changed the link. It wanted to block the provider I was using. Changed it to Imgur, and it works now.

The Tehkwhiz said:

kbrady1979 said:

Oh, sorry.......I didn't realize you were going to upgrade ram too. All those parts are good and you can use them if and when you get ready for a new mobo/cpu. BTW, the link doesn't work...what kind of RAM are you looking at?

Click to expand...

Try it now, I changed the link. It wanted to block the provider I was using. Changed it to Imgur, and it works now.

Click to expand...

Cool, all those parts will transfer over if you build a new system!

kbrady1979 said:

The Tehkwhiz said:

kbrady1979 said:

Oh, sorry.......I didn't realize you were going to upgrade ram too. All those parts are good and you can use them if and when you get ready for a new mobo/cpu. BTW, the link doesn't work...what kind of RAM are you looking at?

Click to expand...

Try it now, I changed the link. It wanted to block the provider I was using. Changed it to Imgur, and it works now.

Click to expand...

Cool, all those parts will transfer over if you build a new system!

Click to expand...

...which is exactly what I'm going to be doing when this Dell goes to PC heaven!

Does that look like a good brand of RAM? I've only had experience with Crucial and Corsair via 3rd party. I've had experience with Samsung and some other brand I can't remember that shipped from the OEM with my new PCs and my iMac...