Inspiron 3030 Desktop Upgrade Overhaul

Anyone able to verify this will work? More concerned about the compatibility of the PSU since I don’t think it’s been user tested

That power supply will not fit inside the 3030 case.  You may be able to use it but only outside the system case, if you can find a wiring harness extension long enough to connect to the mainboard.

Hmm. What power supply can I use instead? I’ll probably be fine settling for a 500 watt since I miscalculated the wattage requirement because I forgot the CPU was stuck at 65.

There are some contemporary OptiPlex power supplies that will work, but these aren't going to have dedicated GPU power taps on them that your GPU will almost certainly need.  I would re-think the upgrades in favor of either building or purchasing a new system with the GPU you want.  Effectively you're trying to turn an economy model into a mid-range system -- and you rapidly run up against the limits of the form factor of the system and the fact that the model you have was designed with one main goal:  to be as cheap as possible to buy, rather than expandable.

Short of buying a system from a boutique builder that uses off the shelf cases, power supplies and mainboards, any pre-built system from a big name will involve compromises in future upgradeability.  There are fewer of those as you climb higher in the price spectrum, but they'll still be there.

@ejn63​ The same model of my PC is also shipped with a 4060 with a 460 or 500W PSU (can’t remember), please reconsider your statement. I’m only restoring it to its upgraded form (and a tad bit higher).

With that being said, anyone know if the TPX56 will work with the setup? I’ve seen it used in similar upgrade builds with a 4060 and think it’s the OEM for the 4060 model, but haven’t seen it used on a Ti. Can anyone verify any of this?

The M2G8X 750W Liteon PSU will not fit in the Inspiron 3030 small desktop case. It was only validated with larger Tower cases = Aurora R13/R14, XPS 8950/8960, Precision 3660

A 4060 Ti two fan was also not validated for the Inspiron 3030.

Inspiron 3030 validated OEM PSU =

4H6F4 460W Acbel
5W40K 460W Huntkey
VTG94 460W Chicony

Inspiron 3030 validated OEM video cards =

1YXVY Nvidia/MSI RTX 4060 (Single fan, short card)
DKC8N Nvidia/MSI RTX 3050 (Single fan, short card)

@DELL-ChrisM2​ 

Thank you for this,

I have a question regarding your response. For the graphics cards, what do you mean by “not validated”? Do you mean that it just hasn’t officially been done before by Dell and that it will void the warranty? Or that the system has been hardcoded not to recognize a 4060Ti at all?

Additionally, are you able to inform me on what PSU the OEM 4060 load out comes with? Didn’t read that part of the message 🤪 Will the TPX56 (full size or thin, either) fit in the case and connect to the mobo properly? I feel like the 460W ones might not give me enough headroom for power, given that I’m powering other stuff as well.

Thanks!

Inspiron 3030 like its predecessor 3020 and 3910 are mini tower.  All three model cases use same metal chassis with only difference in plastic front bezel.

TPX56 was validated by user to fit in 3910

”I can now verify that the 500w Precision T3660 power supply is compatible with the Inspiron 3910. I Installed it in the case and it's an exact match to the size of the 300w supply the 3910 came with”

therefore physically and electrically TPX56 will fit 3030.

Caveate: there is a slim model called “Dell Inspiron Small Desktop 3030s”.  We are not talking of that slim model here.  We are talking about full size 3030=3020=3910 desktop.  3910 never had a slim model.

@redxps630​ 

I finally hear from the legend himself! I saw your name in a lot of posts regarding this.

What @DELL-ChrisM2 said about the graphics card not validated threw me off. What does “not validated” mean? Will the Ti straight up be rejected and not recognized by the 3030, or is it just that there’s no official support? Do you have any knowledge on this?

“not validated” just means Dell has not tested it.

TPX56 was never validated by Dell in 3030, but has been positively validated by user.

”The Precision Model T3660 has a 500w power supply option that is compatible with the Inspiron 3910. Part number: TPX56.”

there is no hard code in Dell bios to block off label use.

@redxps630​ Amazing, thank you so much for this. Glad I got out of that mental hole.

While I have you, is it still true that the pinout for the 8 pin mobo has not been discovered yet, and that there is no working 8pin to 24pin atx converter for this gen?

Re: is it just that there’s no official support?

correct. You are on your own to use a gpu not validated by Dell for that model.

these days with Windows 11 there is zero need for Dell device driver. Win11 automatically searches and DL its AI considered most compatible gpu driver.

This user validated 4060Ti in the immediate predecessor of 3030: 3020.  I am sure 4060Ti will run in 3030 as long as two things are paid attention to: psu has enough power and gpu card physical dimension can fit 3030 case

https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/69504972

Re: is it still true that the pinout for the 8 pin mobo has not been discovered yet, and that there is no working 8pin to 24pin atx converter for this gen?

correct.

one user had mapped out some of the essential power etc. pins to turn on new Dell 8 pin mobo using 24pin psu.  We believe those unmapped pins are communication between psu and motherboard to properly regulate power which may be an important operational feature. So although one can use a home made adapter and 24 pin psu to power on Dell, whether it is safe and smooth to operate the PC under various load conditions is completely uncharted territory.