Dell XPS 420 direct replacement Card

Roddyrock · Dec 1, 2014

Dear All

Apologies in advance for my silly question as I have never even seen the inside of a pc...!

i wish to change my graphics card from a 8800 Gt to a 650ti/750 ti (so I can play modern games) without changing any other component in my pc (ie psu).

Very grateful if you can advise if this is possible.

System specs (original Dell pack - late 2007):
Intel® Core 2 Quad-Core Processor Q6600 (2.40GHz, 8MB, 1066MHz)
3072MB 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [2x1024/2x512]
SINGLE 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 8800GT card
375w PSU
Chip set - Intel x38/48
Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium 32 bit
Maximum 4gb OS memory

I would be very grateful for any help or advise you can offer

Many thanks in advance
Roy H

helpstar · Dec 2, 2014

750TI is your only choice, because of the crappy PSU. The 650TI with 110W is slightly better in games, so if you can buy it used and cheap buy that, otherwise 750ti. Choose the one, which is cheaper.

Roddyrock · Dec 2, 2014

helpstar :

I am very grateful for your response, helpstar.

I aim to order the MSI Nvidia GeForce GTX 750Ti (2GB) this evening.

I am aware there are many newbies like me who are thankful for the help and advice shared on this forum, so I hope to report back once the card is delivered and I have installed it.

Once again, many thanks
Roy H

Math Geek · Dec 2, 2014

i actually have an r9-270 running in that exact xps 420 running a 1080p monitor. this one to be specific http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161449&cm_re=his_r9-270-_-14-161-449-_-Product works and games no problem as is. it's better than a 750ti and cheaper most of the time. this one is sold out on newegg but there are others that are just as good priced. lots of rebates on them right now plus the 3 free games form amd you get with it.

some will tell you it won't work with the psu but i'm doing it right now no probs. just be sure it only needs the 1 6 pin connector and not more. the oc'ed ones and super cooled ones and such might take more. the his one runs quiet, cool and fine with no issues. fits right in and under the massive cpu heatsink, the blue plastic support for the cpu heatsink still snaps into place as well.

Roddyrock · Dec 2, 2014

Math Geek :

Many thanks, Math Geek.
I will put a hold on buying the 750ti this evening so that I can look at the R9-270. As my 8800 gt is nvidia, I wanted to avoid any compatibility issues which is why I selected the 750 ti (newbie logic...). When I finally purchase, it will likely be from Amazon uk.

Am very grateful to you for taking the time to respond.

Many thanks
Roy H

Math Geek · Dec 2, 2014

i don't play too many games though i'm going to begin exploring. i cranked up battlefield 3 that i had sitting in my origin account (free giveaway a while ago) and it runs fine at 1080p on ultra. don't think all the extra eye candy is turned on (still not 100% sure what all the aa, aaa, aba, xx, ***......) settings mean and what they do. anyway the rest of the system seems to be keeping up so i'm hopeful it'll last a little longer before the cpu is just too old to be useful for games. my kids love it though and of course want every new game out there since they feel they will be able to play them now.

oh and a lot of the rebates expire tomorrow night so you have a day to look into them (maybe more depending on brand) and pull the trigger.

helpstar · Dec 2, 2014

Did you stresstest the R9 270?
Please run "3dmark" basic edition (firestrike) and post the result link which comes up at the end.

Math Geek · Dec 2, 2014

i have stressed it with a few games and had no issues but no i have not run any benchmarks or stress test on it, nor do i own any of these programs. what do you hope to learn by this? i've no experience interpreting such numbers other than higher is usually better.

Math Geek · Dec 2, 2014

so i ran that test and got some number to go with it. this is the page it gave me http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/4915907

no clue what the number means in comparison to other pc's but the video sure was fun to watch.

edit: was curious how the numbers compared so i ran the test on my system with a 270x and an i5-4690k and it seems to be in line with the gpu performance. this was that systems test http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/4916511

i know the 270x is not much better than the 270 so i did not expect too much better a score. seems the test isolates the gpu pretty good as the i5 did not help the numbers as much as it would if the test was more processor based.

helpstar · Dec 3, 2014

Math Geek :

You really have to update your AMD drivers on the R9 270x system to compare with your other system, but you still have a good look, how great impact the I5 has, compared to the Q6600.

@ Roddyrock

If the price for a 270 is as good as the 750ti, buy the 270. But if not, it´s not worth it. The 750ti just lags about 3 frames per second ingame in comparison to the 270, because of the Q6600.
http://www.3dmark.com/fs/3295383

Math Geek · Dec 3, 2014

yah that's why i went with the 270 was price. $99 after rebate was too good to pass up. the 750ti is kind of speciality part and costs too much but if its your only option you have no choice. did the math and took the chance on the 270 and am happy with it. really like the HIS cooler as well. now have 2 of the 270x's and this 270 all the same style and they are all quiet and cool no matter what the load.

and did not even think about the drivers being outdated on my newer system. this benchmarking is not exactly normal for me and i don't worry about drivers much until something goes goofy. if i get bored i'll update them and rerun the test just to see.

Roddyrock · Dec 3, 2014

Math Geek & helpstar

Many thanks for your valuable advice.

I have decided to go with the R9 270 as it appears to be an impressively powerful card while allowing me to make a straight swap with my current 8800 GT. I just need to ensure the R9 270 model I identify uses a 6 pin PCIe.

Once again, I am very grateful for all of your help and advice.

Many thanks
Roy H

BAYAN1 · Dec 29, 2014

sorry another multi post.

BAYAN1 · Dec 29, 2014

sorry about the multi post.

BAYAN1 · Dec 29, 2014

Math Geek :

Hi Math Geek,

i am also using an old DELL XPS 420 and would greatfully like to know of your performance increase with games after inserting the r9 270 into the PC. i have already upgraded my xps 420 once from the stock 8800 gt to an ASUS 6850 GPU.

my specs are virtually the same as Roddyrocks-

System specs (original Dell pack - late 2007):
Intel® Core 2 Quad-Core Processor Q6600 (2.40GHz, 8MB, 1066MHz)
3072MB 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM [2x1024/2x512]
SINGLE 1GB ASUS 6850 Card.
375w PSU
Chip set - Intel x38/48
Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium 32 bit
Maximum 4gb OS memory

The reason i am asking is that i want to upgrade the GPU for the last time before building a new PC. i would like to put the most compatible, powerful graphics card in the xps 420 system and it looks like you have found it with the R9 270. i mainly play flight sims and some FPS so any advice on your experience with the R9 270 would be grateful.

again many thanks in advance
paul.

Math Geek · Dec 29, 2014

my xps 420 had the hd 2400 when i got it which was pretty useless for anything new. so moving to the 270 was a MASSIVE jump for the pc. i am very happy with it and am running it at 1080p on many different types of games. mostly the kids play shooters but also some other lighter type stuff. alien isolation, battlefield 3, dawn of war 1 & 2 series, COD series, sim city, and other random stuff. so far nothing has been a problem for them to play. 1080p on high/ultra has been the norm for most games with playable fps (though we have not bothered to benchmark them since games are very playable) i'm sure the newest greatest games won't gun at ultra but med-high is good enough considering the system it is in.

i don't regret the decision to get the card nor has it caused any problems from the psu. it handles the games well and has not shown any signs of not having enough juice. i don't think you can get anything better to run in the system and the card i picked fit like a glove inside the case. ran right under the cpu heatsink and inside the blue brace for it for a perfect fit.

no idea about prices right now as i am sure most of the holiday sales are over but keep an eye out and i'm sure you can do pretty good even now. HIS decided to not pay the rebate on any of the 3 cards i got around black friday so even though i like the card i will never buy nor recommend anything from them ever again. 3 different cards, 3 different claim forms and 3 different lame excuses for why they would not pay. was $110 total in rebates they refused to pay. other than this the other brands are much better business people and worth doing business with.

BAYAN1 · Dec 30, 2014

Hi Math Geek,

Thanks for the reply, seems it works great and just what I need before I build a new PC when the oculus rift comes out.

I Can't believe HIS did not repay your rebate. Send an email to someone higher up to complain, you may get some thing back if you keep trying.I'll now avoid them too after your dealings with them! I'll think I'll buy an Asus R9 270 as I've never had a problem with my Asus 6850.

I've got to admit the XPS 420 has lasted me well, had it when it was reduced too so been gaming for 7+ years on the same rig, I must be one of the lucky ones as far as some people's experience with Dell.

Math Geek · Dec 30, 2014

i'm working with newegg trying to get things worked out. i got one email for each rebate from HIS telling me it was denied and they have/will not reply to any email i send them. live and learn i guess, i took a chance with them and sadly i am actually happy with the cards (1 270 and 2 x 270x) but i won't deal with nor recommend a product from such a company no matter what.

i got my 420 from a guy i built a new rig for. i took it as payment for my labor along with some cash and though it is old, it is still a good solid machine. the 270 brought it into the modern age and as i said my kids are having a blast gaming on it and i won't have to get them anything new for another year i hope. they get my hand me downs

next year i may do a 2011-3 build for myself for the fun of it and they can have the 4690k system i'm using now. i'm thinking of doing a 970 sli build with a 600-650w psu just to show it is possible and perfectly ok if the psu is quality.

this dell 375 w psu is actually pretty strong as i am seeing lots of 400-450w psu's with less/same 12v amps than it and from good brands no less. don't know who makes it but it's the little psu that could

enjoy your new card.

BAYAN1 · Dec 30, 2014

It certainly is the PSU that could, had different people a few years ago saying a 6850 wouldn't run unless I upgraded the 375w, some people have all the gear and no idea.
X2 270X sli config would be awsome, definitely keep you going for a few years. Good luck with your future build and thanks again.

Roddyrock · Dec 30, 2014

Hi Math Geek, helpstar

Apologies, I should have posted an update following your kind help and advice!

I decided to play it safe and installed a new 600w PSU. There was little price difference between the 270 and 270 x, so i purchased and installed the 270x (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sapphire-Dual-X-Radeon-GDDR5-Graphics/dp/B00FL8H49Q). i have only so far played Elite Dangerous, but it looks amazing and is incredibly smooth.

However, I did experience driver issues - my 420 couldn't detect my new card. However, Toms Hardware posted a great link which resolved my issues (http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/faq/id-2335392/manually-installing-latest-amd-catalyst-drivers-windows-vista.html)

Am actually surprised my XPS 420 is able to run the card but as both you and BAYAN1 have stated, there's still a lot of life left in the old 420's!

My one remaining issue is I keep getting Procedure Entry Point errors (PowerSettingUnregisteredNotification). Although incredibly annoying, the error messages havent stopped my programs from running.

At some point I will run a few stress tests and report back

Bayan1, good luck with your Asus R9 270. Unfortunately Dell no longer care about us old school folk, but there are mountains of help/support available on this site

Math Geek · Dec 30, 2014

yah the 270x is a nice little step up from the 270 and has no issues running newer games. i'm personally very suprised and happy with the little q6600 as it is running strong and still has years of use left. can see this system easily slipping into a office/homework pc in another year and getting another few years of useful life out of it that way.

don't usually like prebuilts but these xps systems are built for the long haul. i have worked on a number of them now and like what i see in all of them other than the stupid power switch on the usb header thing they like to do. i'll probably donate this one to the outreach center for a needy family to use when i replace it.

i have never seen that error but it might be some new psu feature that the system can't recognize and use. just a guess but it might be a power saving feature or something trying to work that the pc is too old to know what to do with.

BAYAN1 · Dec 30, 2014

Hi Roddyrock,

Your post on the sapphire 270x and a new PSU got me thinking again, so I did a quick search online and i came up with this-

R9 270X
max power draw 178w
Crysis FPS 49.8 @ 1920x1080
Cost £129

R9 270
Max power draw 138w
Crysis FPS 46.9 @ 1920 x 1080
Cost £120

My Asus 6850 Max power draw is 125w at the moment. so the question is do I risk it and go for the 270X?, and hope my 375w PSU can give the extra 53w of power to it!
Ahh decisions decisions, why when people upgrade do we always try to push it to the maximum lol

Math Geek · Dec 30, 2014

i can make this easy for you

the 270x needs 2 x 6 pin power connector and you only have 1

i thought about this as well but the missing power connector stopped that real quick.

BAYAN1 · Dec 30, 2014

That could indeed scupper my plans but I'm sure that when I upgraded to the 6850 it needed 2 x 6 pin power connectors too. I think I used a 6 pinn molex adaptor for the second power source but I'll have to take a look inside the PC in the morning to check.

sora · Dec 30, 2014

Get another 6-pin adapter and you should be set.

Dell XPS 420 direct replacement Card

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