Dude, I upgraded my Dell (PSU + GPU)

Time to upgrade the PSU in my Dell XPS 410 from the weak 375 W to a powerful 750 W unit from PC Power and Cooling. After I opened up the PSU I realized it might have been a smart idea to get a modular power supply because there are so many adaptors that I did not use and had to stuff into all the nooks and crannies.



The Dell XPS 410 with old PSU.


Old PSU removed.



Side by side, the old 375W and new 750W PC Power and Cooling.


Lots of creative cabling. Was really hard to get the cover back on.


A little gap because the old one was slightly bigger, but not longer.


All done.

First startup was BSOD. The second startup was ok.

 

Gtx 280


GTX 280 is bigger then my laptop.


GTX 280 vs 8800 GTS, both superclocked versions


GTX 280 wedged into a tight slot. So far, I have only tried Crysis Warhead, Far Cry 2, and F@H for 2 minutes to see if temps increased.

Warhead was playable on Enthusiast 2xAA, but it kept crashing. temps were only 60C.

Far Cry 2, maxed 4xAA was fine.

Temps got up to 80C, but it wasn't a long test because the electric squeal upset me. Not sure I like that sound. Everytime the molecule would move the squael would happen, then the molecule would pause for a fraction of a second and stop.

Not super thrilled with my GTX upgrade so far.

 

yea.... i don't think ANYONE should get anything other than a modular PSU no matter what they're doing with it. whether you have a cramped to sh*t case, or a case with plenty of room to spare, modular just looks more clean, and is easier to work with. can run one wire at a time, rather than having to fight to untangle one wire from all the others every time.

 

Might want to do a little dusting there once you've got the card installed. And, good choice on units. I thought about that one before as well.

My current unit is modular but I ended up using all of the cables anyway due to the number of connectors involved with all of my drives and whatnot.

 

What a mess that dell is inside.Your gonna need alot more open space than that to cool your new card.And did you ever hear of compressed air?Try blowing some of that dust out.

 

You my friend get the "Dustiest Dell Award".

HOLY @(#*@)

Yeah compressed air works wonders bud

Not bad. I'm still not a fan of Dell's. I prefer to build my own stuff.

 

Dell's were made by the devil, and I shall not rest until they go under!

God I love a good recession, don't you? eerightELL

 

Yeah! Does that come with any prize.

It is not that bad. I will blast with air before I put the video card award.

 

My case looks empty compared to that case and mines about the same size.

 

Hahaha! Sorry. I started cracking up when I saw the picture of the new power supply installed, cables everywhere. I have not ever seen such a cluttered environment. For the sake of your $200 GTX 280, you need to dust it out, reroute cables, hide cables behind things, make it look neat and OPEN. Maybe install more fans in the case. Those dell cases are notorious for overheating and burning out graphics cards. Only happened to my mom's computer 2 times.

Really, just set out some time and make the thing look good. I would suggest buying a new case, but maybe that is taking it too far. For now, just do your best. Don't want to deal with an RMA on an artifacting 280. Good luck.

 

only thing i can see being able to do to clear up some space is tucking a couple of the wires into the drive bays.... but he'd have to either choose which hard drive he doesn't really need in there, or find a more creative way to mount it.

i'd almost be more worried about just fitting the GTX 280 in there and being able to still close the side panel with the two PCI-Express power connectors plugged into it than the overheating alone.

 

Modular really can't help with wire management
http://contrvlr.no-ip.org:12300/ussdirect/cb/IMG_0526.JPG

 

Yeah those cases are just way too cluttered.I have 3 times the airflow in my case and my little 9800GT still runs hot.It would be running about 70c idle in that case.

 

Yes. You receive a gift certificate good for a package of air.

 

GTX280 fit, but warhead crashed on enthusiast in less than 5 minutes. Temp was only 60. I am worried that the GTX intake is blocked by the CPU cooler.

Folding@home has micro studders the occur the same time as this high pitch squeak from the graphic card. Not sure what to do. I guess I will call EVGA...

New case is not a good option because that will cost me way too much money. I have BTX motherboard. I,d need to upgrade that too. then I,d need a new vista license, cause mine is OEM.

There really is not any room in the case. As someone said, I would have to remove HDD from the DVD bay to have room for stuffing. I would like to not do that.

 

This is my rig,6 year old Thermaltake and with all the space I still barely keep my 9800gt cool.

 

I bet its sucking air off the cpu cooler?

 

Probably not much, cause it is solid plastic on two side of CPU cooler , so it a restriction. If it is sucking air, it is air that has already passed the CPU cooler and is warmer.

 

Update: GPU pictures added to post #2

 

Simple solution to your probelm.

Buy a bigger and better case. With ample cooling.