Will my DEL XPS 8300 work with GeForce GTX 970 ?

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adzubla

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Oct 4, 2014
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I want to upgrade my graphics card with the Zotac GeForce GTX 970.

My current system (Dell Studio XPS 8300) has a 0Y2MRG mobo with 1 x PCI Express x16 (2.0).

The GTX970 supports PCI Express 3.0 x16 (Compatible with 1.1)
http://www.zotac.com/products/graphics-cards/geforce-900-series/gtx-970/product/gtx-970/detail/geforce-gtx-970/sort/starttime/order/DESC/amount/10/section/specifications.html

Will it work with my current system?
If it works, the performance will be affected being it PCIe 2.0?

Thanks, for the advice.
--
Eduardo
 
Solution
dovah-chan
It will work fine. A PCI-E 3.0 card doesn't really get bottlenecked by the 2.0 standard unless you're doing a tri (or more) SLI/Crossfire.

I know the XPS series is supposed to be a more enthusiast oriented brand but you might also want to upgrade you PSU as well. Check out the PSU tier list for some good ideas of where to start looking.
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dovah-chan

dovah-chan

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Feb 5, 2014
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It will work fine. A PCI-E 3.0 card doesn't really get bottlenecked by the 2.0 standard unless you're doing a tri (or more) SLI/Crossfire.

I know the XPS series is supposed to be a more enthusiast oriented brand but you might also want to upgrade you PSU as well. Check out the PSU tier list for some good ideas of where to start looking.
 
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unknownofprob

unknownofprob

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Oct 3, 2013
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I'm not putting in a 100% Guarantee for it to work. Before you buy the card make sure you can return it if it doesn't work.

Many prebuilt desktops have locked BIOS's which prevent any further upgrades. This is not the case for every prebuilt tower, this is just a warning. Some upgrades work, some don't.
 
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saywhut

saywhut

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Sep 11, 2014
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In theory, it should work, you just have to make sure the PSU is able to provide the power.

That being said, a lot of OEMs have a lot of limitations when you put upgraded parts, so it may or may not work.
 
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Hipnotoad

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Mar 15, 2014
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"Many prebuilt desktops have locked BIOS's which prevent any further upgrades. This is not the case for every prebuilt tower, this is just a warning. Some upgrades work, some don't."

This is exactly right. I purchased my XPS 8300 in Dec 2011. 3 months later the GTX 680 was released and I wanted to upgrade my video card. Of course Dell locked the Bios and I couldn't use the GTX 6xx series. This is planned obsolescence.

Dell does this on purpose so that people have to spend money to fix the problem(buy a new motherboard), or even buy a whole new computer if they aren't technically inclined. Its shady business.

Interestingly, there have been reports that the GTX 9xx series works with the XPS 8300. I'm going to look for more verification, but it looks like it might actually be true.
 
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timbelias

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Feb 1, 2015
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Today I upgraded my XPS 8300 like yours it has a 0Y2MRG mobo with 1 x PCI Express x16 (2.0). I installed the "EVGA GeForce GTX 970 Superclocked ACX 2.0" it is working fine. There were no boot issues and the card fit into my computer. I installed the drivers and tested the card out on a few games, t it working fine. I purchased a 600W power supply along with the card, but as it has not arrived, so I am currently running it with the stock 460W power supply.

 
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Scott_21

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Nov 26, 2015
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I have a gtx 660 right now and it works fantastic no psu upgrade needed. However will the 970 need a psu upgrade?
 
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timbelias

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Feb 1, 2015
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No, the existing 460W will run the card, I ran the 970 with the 460 for about a month before my 600W arrived, there were no issues.
 
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thunderforge

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Could you send me the model number of the EVGA 970 that worked in your system?

I just bought an " EVGA GeForce GTX 970 04G-P4-2974-KR 4GB SC GAMING w/ACX 2.0, Silent Cooling Graphics Card" for a XPS 8300 with 0y2mrg motherboard, and it appears the legacy Dell BIOS is not compatible with the new card. The system will run fine but does not recognize the new card. I am thinking of returning this card for your model if it is known to work. Thanks!
 
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timbelias

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The model number for my card is "04G-P4-2974-KR".

Concerning the legacy BIOS you mentioned, my RIG was shipped wit the A06 Bios in December 2011. To check your bios run the command prompt in Administrator Mode, and enter the command "wmic bios get smbiosbiosversion".

If you don't have the A06 version simply go to the Support Section of Dell's website enter your service tag or have it auto-detected, proceed to the "Drivers & downloads" section and under the BIOS drop-down get "Dell XPS 8300 and Vostro 460 System BIOS"; then install.
 
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thunderforge

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Jan 6, 2016
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Thanks! It turns out my card was hung up on the RAM slots and wasn't fully seating. Works fine now after getting it in correctly. For anyone else wondering on compatibility, I had A06 BIOS too.
 
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