Dell 3420 SFF GPU Options

If I'm watching the right motherboard, I think you can install only gpus that use a single slot, and probably low height .

I think there should be some gtx 1650 and 1660, the usual quadro ( p series up to p4000, by example. rtx 3000 and 4000 likely), and the amd equivalent

Also, check your PSU label to see which one you have.  I couldn't tell from the photo.

I was checking the wattage of some of the listed GPU's.  If the PSU is 180w, I wouldn't chance 45w-50w 3D GPU.  Watts, or tdp, of GPU's can be Googled.

Thank you for all the help and feedback so far! These are all things I had no idea about. I took a closer picture of the two labels I could find. Given the model number and output warning I am guessing it is 180W.

Thanks for the photos.  It is 180w.

Side note : if you don't plan to play at fullscreen 4k , but at full hd or windowed, and also don't plan to put all on ultra, the p600/gtx 1030 still do an acceptable job ( I've a p600 and I've no issues gaming )

Given the psu, and the fact that the quadro k1200

https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/quadro-k1200.c2641

is rated for 45W , it's safe to assume that any card up to 45W is fine without changing the psu.

The quadro P600 / P620 is 40W , by example

The quadro P1000 is 47W , so probably would still be safe

The nvidia gtx 1030 is 30w ( there may be different variants of the 1030 )

Again, there are ati equivalent cards. For any like a 1050 etc , you need to change the psu to something > 300W

Thank you for the great replies! So leaving everything else as-is, on a 180w power supply I'd need a low profile, one pci connector, 45w or less GPU.

If I replace the power supply with a refurbished oem 315w unit (VX372), the GPU still needs to be low profile and single pci slot, but what power consumption could I safely go up to? Or there other, higher watt slim power supplies people use?

I think I'm going to go with this bigger psu direction. It's been shown a 1050-ti will work in this case and with a 315w psu, but hoping to determineif there are any slightly better gpu choices like a 1060 6gb or something.

https://www.userbenchmark.com/System/Dell-Precision-Tower-3420/20842 

The userbenchmark link above might also give you ideas.  Not sure why the link mentions "tower" when the 3420 is SFF only.

With a 315w PSU, you can go up to 75w for a GPU, may be 100w seen as a 275w PSU can still power a 75w card.

If you were to use a 315w PSU from the Optiplex XE2 SFF, both the PSU and your MB do have the 8-pin connection.  I can't guarantee the fit inside the case.  Screw holes will likely not line up.  I don't know if any Precision SFF's have 315w PSU.

A few go might go with a full size PSU, but then it has to sit outside the case.  The same with GPU's that are too large.  They can sit outside the case with an extender cable.

Towers are the best bet for upgrading.  Much easier to upgrade PSU's and GPU's.  And some Precision's already have powerful PSU's.

You're also welcome for the replies!!  : )

I also like mazzinia's 30w GT 1030 suggestion.  Another route is get the 240w PSU and go with one of the listed 3D cards.

240W Power Supply PSU for Dell Precision T3420 SFF MT D240E012L H62JR 4GTN5 Part Numbers: 4GTN5 DHVJN 0TRD3 H62JR 0M1C3. https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B08L8GT4JT/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apan_glt_i_KHCJ0PD3KZWK5CS3MHGA

Quadro K1200 is a rebranded, and downclocked version of GeForce GTX 750.

It is a very old and generally inferior board.

"50" in GTX series indicates starter's capabilities for gaming ("30" is enough for CAD work, "70" is for full set of base platform features)

Only comparatively large amount of RAM may help you hold textures in the memory, but you should reduce all the settings to minimum, or avoid starting games released after 2017.

Yes, you should look for some used 10x series geforce. 780ti is still a minimum for most games. But the reason for recommending 10x is that these series had a leap in energy efficiency comparing to top 7x/9x series.

If you upgrade the PSU to 240w as suggested by Brad, you may be able to install up to 100w gaming card.  Most popular choice is low profile GTX 1650.  Here is a video for 3420 upgrade in which a wide graphics card was used.

GTX 1650 is 75w.  Running a 75w PSU on a 240w PSU is outside of Dell specs, I can't recommend it, though some YouTubers have seemed to pull it off.

As for a 100w+ GPU, it will absolutely trip a 240w PSU.  Not as many, but those videos have been on YouTube also.

Dell factory installed a 65w Radeon R5 340x into an Optiplex 5040 sff with 180w PSU.  So having 75w graphics card on a 240w PSU is very generous already.