Best Graphics Card for Dell XPS 8300

mghig · Dec 26, 2013

Hi, I'm interested in getting a new graphics card for my XPS 8300 which is currently stock everything, and I don't want to upgrade the PSU or anything else.

Can somebody knowledgeable please inform me which card will fit in my case, will be the appropriate wattage, and will be the best bang for my buck in the $150-200 range.

Thanks!

hdshatter · Dec 26, 2013

You need to find the power supply wattage. Prebuilt PCs tend to have very bad power supplies in them. XPS also has a small case and only low profile GPUs will fit.

Best you can do for $200 is a 270x or a used GTX 760/670.

Dell used a very bad case your not gong to be able to cool a $150-$200 GPU with that one tiny fan.

Same size/look would be a bitfenix Prodigy M (make the it has the M or it will be the itx version)

I have an XPS 8300 case that was salvaged and your not going to fit a decent GPU in there. My 670 is like 3 inches to long to even fit in the case.

mghig · Dec 26, 2013

After opening my case, the stock PSU wattage is 460W. Certainly that would be enough for a 650 Ti Boost or at least a 7790? Would somebody more familiar with the XPS8300 system, or at least willing to look it up, be able to shed some light?

mghig · Dec 26, 2013

After a bunch of Googling, I see that the XPS 8300 should be able to run the 650Ti Boost or HD7790. I'm also interested in the Sapphire 7870, would anybody know if this could fit in my case and be compatible with my motherboard (0Y2MRG)?

http://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-DL-DVI-I-SL-DVI-D-PCI-Express-100354OC-2L/dp/B00A2J4ROE/ref=sr_sp-atf_title_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1388086292&sr=1-1&keywords=radeon+7870

Kisianik · Dec 26, 2013

mghig :

So far your Sapphire card requires 500 watt PSU and two 6-pin ancillary power connectors, however so far I was able to find XPS PSUs with only one 6 pin connector and 4 SATA power connectors (2 SATA power connectors can be converted into one 6 pin connector), so if you have only 1 HDD and 1 DVDRW you can attach your Sapphire to DEll PSU, if you have 2 HDD or 2 DVDRW - you can not. Also, 500 watt falls short of 460 watt actual.
I can guarantee to some degree that Dell PSU is really 460 watt, but I would not push my luck with 500 watt GPU. So, PSU upgrade for this card is required.

Regarding actual fit. Any card at about 10.83" (inches) long will fit, even a bit longer should fit, but one SATA cable would have to be changed for longer one. So your card is 8.46" - perfect fit.

So, final answer - you need PSU upgrade to accommodate your Sapphire Radeon HD 7870.

Generally any ATX power supply should fit, it could be tight fit however. Make sure that new PSU has at least 4 SATA connectors and two 6 pin video card ancillary power supply connectors.

Anything else I can help you with?

mghig · Dec 27, 2013

Thank you very much for your very informative answer. However, the goal I'm trying to accomplish is getting a great graphics card in my system without upgrading my PSU. I'm looking to get the most bang out of my buck for around $150-$200. Is there any reason I wouldn't be able to run this?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FU4XG70/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Thanks again for your help

Kisianik · Dec 27, 2013

mghig :

Excellent find, System Requirements 450 Watt power supply, length 9.5". Your 460 watt PSU will fare good here!

Anything else I can help you with?

mghig · Dec 27, 2013

Nope, that's it. I'll be buying the card today and hope all goes well when it gets here Monday. Thanks again for your help

Ickabodunk · May 9, 2014

mghig :

Just curious how the card runs with your system? I am thinking of same card but I hear some say this card requires at least 24 amps on 12v rail which xps 8300 is 18 amps. How's it been for u? Game a lot?

fellow xps8300 owner · Jun 4, 2014

mghig :

I just read a blog on the 7790 it requires 500 watt power supply dell says they never tested it with the 7790 lot of people are having issues with no screen display...driver incompatibility and not enough power in the stock power supply

Zombiehavock · Aug 19, 2014

mghig :

I know this an old post , but the best card you can put in there without upgrading your psu is a gtx650. The gtx 650ti and gtx 750 don't runs as well as the gtx 650. You might get a better performance in some aspects of the games you play. But overall the gtx 650 is your best option

Badlisa · Aug 19, 2014

fellow xps8300 owner :

Actually that is the same card I have. I upgraded the power supply to 600 but I have horrible issues with it, I even opened up the case to assist in cooling. I typically get the Windows message that asks if you want to reduce the color scheme and when I play WoW (even on merely GOOD settings) my screen freezes and I have to pull up task manager to shut it down

. I actually found this thread while looking for a different card...

frozentundra123456 · Sep 28, 2014

Sorry, but there is a *lot* of misinformation being posted in this thread. I have an XPS 8300, and have been running a HD7770 for a couple of years with absolutely no problems. The PSU is a 460 watt unit with 2 x 6 pin connectors. To get a good idea of what the computer can support, one can look at the highest level cards available from Dell. I have seem nVidia GTX660 cards available in the past, and the highest card available currently is the R9 270. So any card of this range or lower should work. The case is not really a gaming case per se, but it also certainly does not require a low profile card.

Another option is the new GTX 750 Ti. This is a very low power card that does not even require a 6 pin connector, so for certain it would work on the stock PSU. I actually think even a GTX 760 would work, but it is pushing it since nVidia recommends 500 watts. However, the total wattage rating from the manufacturer is usually overrated to account for cheap psus that cannot come close to their rated power.

Tbmichael · Jan 13, 2015

I'll add that I just installed a 2G GTX 750 Ti SC by EVGA and it works great. You'll need to remove the AMDdrivers first, and be sure to get the SC version of the card ( a short version). I also got a GT 740 1G to run fine.

Some 8300s came with a 350 watt PS, but the 460 watt PS has two 6-pin connectors if you need them, so the 740 worked well (and is somewhat cheaper for nearly the same real world performance). Be aware that R-Series cards by AMD are not compatible with the Dell BIOS. I had this confirmed by a vendors hardware guys.

Vhalan53 · Jun 10, 2015

I run an XFX Double D 7870 for over 2 years in my xps 8300. Stock PSU, hope this helps.

AndreyY · Jul 1, 2015

Tried AMD R9 285 yesterday - no POST . Will try GF 570

John_203 · Dec 31, 2015

Since a lot of these threads just have problems and no resolutions.

I have a stock XPS 8300, I've upgraded the bios to A06. I just bought a MSI Geforce GTX 960 4G and it works flawlessly. I've been running Fallout 4 in Ultra on 1080p, no issues whatever.

I tried an ASUS R9 380 and it did not POST.

Jacob_27 · Jan 2, 2016

John_203 :

Hey, just wanted to say thanks for this post.

We had startup issues with the XPS, thought it was the PSU, upgraded that to a 600 W, issues didn't fix, found out it was an issue with the cable itself, fixed that...
All in an effort to get our brand new R9 380 to work. At the end of the day, our R9 380 still did not POST.

We were about to give up on upgrading our stock video card when we found this thread. Now we're getting ready to send back our R9 380 in exchange for a GTX 960 4Gb.

So thank you for this post. You've just solved a lot of our problems, sir.

frustrated947 · Apr 25, 2016

frozentundra123456 :

Sorry, but there is a *lot* of misinformation being posted in this thread. I have an XPS 8300, and have been running a HD7770 for a couple of years with absolutely no problems. The PSU is a 460 watt unit with 2 x 6 pin connectors. To get a good idea of what the computer can support, one can look at the highest level cards available from Dell. I have seem nVidia GTX660 cards available in the past, and the highest card available currently is the R9 270. So any card of this range or lower should work. The case is not really a gaming case per se, but it also certainly does not require a low profile card.

Another option is the new GTX 750 Ti. This is a very low power card that does not even require a 6 pin connector, so for certain it would work on the stock PSU. I actually think even a GTX 760 would work, but it is pushing it since nVidia recommends 500 watts. However, the total wattage rating from the manufacturer is usually overrated to account for cheap psus that cannot come close to their rated power.

frustrated947 · Apr 25, 2016

I was going to get the GTX 750 TI, I wrote nvidia if I could use this. They wrote back and said I must have the UEFI bios, (i think thats correct bios), I don't have that, I have Dell A06. Do you have the UEFI bios to make the GTX 750 TI work? I like the small card and low wattage, but want to make sure it will run. My ATI/AMD 5770 (6770 in device manage), doesn't work. Display gets distorted once in a while and freezes. AMD doesn't support this card any longer. I would like the Nvidia 750 TI, but want to make sure it works ok. I have 460 PS. The 6 pin connector is on the 5770, but I won't need it with the 750 TI. Thanks

frustrated947 · Apr 25, 2016

Did you get the NVIDIA 750 IT, or I think the MSI is a 750 TI also. Thanks

frustrated947 · Apr 25, 2016

I also have the DELL xps 8300, sorry.

dudeforprez · May 12, 2016

John_203 :

I found a deal for the GTX 970 SSC w/ ACX for the same price as a GTX 960. What are the odds the 970 will work in a stock XPS 8300 too?

John_203 · May 12, 2016

dudeforprez :

If its an MSI one, i think you have fairly good odds. Make sure you can return it though, things may change year to year.

dudeforprez · May 12, 2016

John_203 :

dudeforprez :

If its an MSI one, i think you have fairly good odds. Make sure you can return it though, things may change year to year.

Is the GTX 960 still working fine on your 8300?

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