Upgrading Dell XPS 8500 to play mmos on high-ultra settings

Eviserated · Jun 28, 2013

Hello. I had originally bought this pc for casual gaming and later realized that I wanted smoother game play in higher settings for MMOs. Unfortunately, the AMD radeon 7570 HD that came with this machine just didn't cut it. I was wondering if you guys could recommend a high end graphics card + PSU combination anywhere in the 400-500$ range that would be compatible with my machine?

Tech Specs:
DELL XPS 8500
Service Tag: 8WJDXVI
Intel I7 3770 Ivy Bridge 3.4ghz
Motherboard Dell Inc 0YJPT1
Memory 16gb DDR3
AMD Radeon 7570 HD 1GB

Also, would it be safe to overclock the CPU to 4.6ghz without any additional cooling? Any input is much appreciated. Thank you.

expl0itfinder · Jun 28, 2013

PSU: Antec, Seasonic, Corsair, and XFX all make great power supplies. You likely won't need more than 550w. As for a graphics card, The 760 has incredible bang for buck right now:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130933
As for overclocking to 4.6ghz, no way man. You would need a 3770K for that. And even if you had the unlocked version, you would need some solid aftermarket cooling to hit 4.6.

Eviserated · Jun 28, 2013

expl0itfinder :

Thanks for your reply. I called up Dell customer service and they informed me that replacing the PSU on the machine would require replacing the motherboard and many other components so I would be better off just sticking with the current 460 w psu. As far as the best upgrade I can go according to videocardz.com from what I can see, it would be the geforce gtx 660 which has a min 450w psu requirement. Is getting this video card going to put stress on my motherboard and PSU and would it worth it (money-wise) to upgrade from my current AMD radeon 7570 HD or is the difference insignificant? Thanks.

expl0itfinder · Jun 28, 2013

The difference will be night and day. I don't see how replacing the PSU would make you replace anything, and I'm pretty sure that is a bit of lazy research on the customer representative's part. However, I would recommend the 7850 from amd as it has a slightly lower tdp and costs significantly less. That way, your entire system would max out at around 400w, (it would likely never even hit that) so even if your PSU is not of good quality, it should be just fine.

RedJaron · Jun 28, 2013

expl0itfinder :

I don't know, Dell could train their people to say that to keep people buying stuff from them. I also wouldn't put it past them to use proprietary power connections in the PSU.

Since this is a Dell, is it a standard sized case and PSU? Just need to make sure that you can actually fit a new GPU and PSU ( if necessary ) into this thing.

Also, what resolution are you gaming at? Yeah, a 760 will definitely do the trick, but if you're stuck on a low-res monitor, you don't need that powerful a card if you want to save some money.

expl0itfinder · Jun 28, 2013

RedJaron :

expl0itfinder :

I don't know, Dell could train their people to say that to keep people buying stuff from them. I also wouldn't put it past them to use proprietary power connections in the PSU.

Since this is a Dell, is it a standard sized case and PSU? Just need to make sure that you can actually fit a new GPU and PSU ( if necessary ) into this thing.

Also, what resolution are you gaming at? Yeah, a 760 will definitely do the trick, but if you're stuck on a low-res monitor, you don't need that powerful a card if you want to save some money.

Don't forget, he is only playing mmo's. You don't need something as powerful as a 760 to max them out, as more are about the cpu than anything.

RedJaron · Jun 28, 2013

expl0itfinder :

Right, which is why I was asking about his monitor and other stuff. I agree, a 760 will likely be overkill and a 7850 or 7870 would hit his goals without using his entire budget.

Eviserated · Jun 29, 2013

Thanks for all of your inputs. I clarified with the tech several times and he reassured me that I was pretty much "stuck" with the stock psu and motherboard. He said that if I were to change those, I would be better off buying a new computer. Kind of baffling to me.

I currently game in a 1920x1080 resolution windowed, everything on lowest settings with this monitor http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&cs=19&sku=225-3894.

Since the 760 is out of the question for me, I'm probably gonna be looking at a 7850 or 7870, both seem like good choices. What do you guys think of the evga Geforce GTX 660 TI 2gb superclocked compared to those two? Reviews have said that it works out of the box with xps8500 machines but running wins 7. I'm running windows 8; should I be concerned with any bios issues?

expl0itfinder · Jun 29, 2013

Eviserated :

The standard 660 has a bit more bang for buck, a lower tdp, and a very similar performance spec. I would go with that. But if you feel you need the extra oomph of the 660 ti, then you can go with that without issue.

RedJaron · Jun 29, 2013

Unless the PSU you have is using a bunch of proprietary parts and connectors, I can't see replacing it requiring a whole new build. It sounds like the tech guy is ill-informed or has been trained to reply that way to encourage people to buy more Dell stuff. The one exception to that is whether your current Dell case isn't fully ATX compliant and therefore a new ATX PSU won't fit in it ( possible, but not a given. )

I know in sheer framerates, the 660 can edge out the 7870, but I'm not a huge fan of it due to its limited memory bus. It can cause problem at high resolutions and/or high AA settings. However if you're only playing at 1080p and don't crank the details to max ( not that MMOs are the most graphically demanding, ) then the 660 will be ok.

expl0itfinder · Jun 29, 2013

RedJaron :

Unless the PSU you have is using a bunch of proprietary parts and connectors, I can't see replacing it requiring a whole new build. It sounds like the tech guy is ill-informed or has been trained to reply that way to encourage people to buy more Dell stuff. The one exception to that is whether your current Dell case isn't fully ATX compliant and therefore a new ATX PSU won't fit in it ( possible, but not a given. )

I know in sheer framerates, the 660 can edge out the 7870, but I'm not a huge fan of it due to its limited memory bus. It can cause problem at high resolutions and/or high AA settings. However if you're only playing at 1080p and don't crank the details to max ( not that MMOs are the most graphically demanding, ) then the 660 will be ok.

+1

TheGetWeston · Oct 10, 2013

I have a Dell XPS 8500 running an upgraded 600W PSU as well as an Nvidia GTX 660 on the stock motherboard (which doesn't have proprietary parts or connectors) without a single issue.

Definitely seems like Dell is pushing their own products here or at the very least trying to ward off any potential warranty issues they assume this will cause (which of course it won't). Hope this helps!

Rofltropter · May 1, 2014

TheGetWeston :

Hey which PSU did you get? I am thinking of getting the GTX 670 for my XPS 8500 but I would need to upgrade my PSU so I want to get one that definitly fits my case!

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