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June 22nd, 2024 14:04
XPS 8700, upgrades, now added RTX 2060 Super
I just wanted to post my experience upgrading my old XPS 8700. So far I've upgraded the CPU to the i7-4790k, added internal SSD's, replaced the original 8gb with 16gb RAM, replaced the rear fan with a Noctua Fan and moved the stock fan to the front [these upgrades are described in another post].
My last and final upgrade-accomplished yesterday-was to move the RTX 2060 Super GPU that came with my XPS 8940 over and install it to the XPS 8700. Super easy - all it took was getting this 6 to 8 pin adapter (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B081LRKX78) in order to use the two three pin connections that come with the XPS 8700. All these upgrades work fine with the existing PSU - didn't need to upgrade that at all. Again, I installed the dell version of the RTX 2060 Super that came with my XPS 8940 and comes with only one fan, so maybe there is some power savings there.
Anyway, only thing left I suppose is to add 16 more GB of RAM, but I'm not sure I'll ever need it, since she's running like a new beast!
redxps630
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June 22nd, 2024 23:29
good to know. did you also upgrade the cpu cooler itself?
estimated benchmark
Mark Amadeo
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June 24th, 2024 15:30
@redxps630 Thanks. I didn't upgrade the CPU cooler - the new i7-4790k came with one but it was a snap in and my motherboard has screw-in holes, so I just dusted off the old CPU fan/cooler that came with the factory-shipped i5-4460 and used that one. I did add an extra case fan though and CPU seems to be running cool. Here is the link to that old thread describing the changes: https://www.dell.com/community/en/conversations/xps-desktops/xps-8700-upgrade-to-i7-4970k/647f8651f4ccf8a8de55102e
(edited)
Mark Amadeo
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July 4th, 2024 12:43
Just a quick update on this post - which is a follow-on to an earlier post on my upgrades to the XPS 8700. After installing the RTX 2060 super all seemed ok, but my main PC now is the XPS 8940 so the XPS 8700 only gets a few hours of daily use. Well, a few days ago I decided to keep the XPS 8700 running most of the day and after several hours I started to get random shutdowns, particularly when in chrome. No BSOD's, just black screen and then restarts. I have the latest BIOS A14 available and had the latest RTX 2060 drivers also. Temps were in the 40's & 50's (C) so I don't think overheating was the issue. But I still had the old GT 740 drivers installed apparently, so I downloaded DDU and uninstalled all the drivers and then reinstalled the Super RTX 2060, but I was still getting occasional shutdowns.
I found this thread - https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/pc-keeps-restarting-after-installing-new-graphics-card.3585737/ - that talks about the same issue and points to this thread for the solution
https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/random-restarts-with-nvidia-gtx-1650.3585231/
After changing the power settings as instructed, I had no more random shutdowns even with multiple browsers streaming video, Davinci Resolve, and Photoshop running at once. Hopefully this has fixed the issue for good, but I also decided to order a new PSU (Seasonic GX 750W). Running two fans with a new CPU and GPU is probably taking the existing 460W PSU to or near its limit. Anyway, I still plan to run it before the PSU arrives to see if the power setting changes did indeed fix the issue.
(edited)
Mark Amadeo
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July 5th, 2024 14:18
Just want to give a quick update. With the power settings described here I haven't had any more shutdowns after running the XPS 8700 all day for two days: https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/random-restarts-with-nvidia-gtx-1650.3585231/
Although I never had any issues with the dell RTX 2060 super when it was running in my XPS 8940, I know others had significant issues with shut-downs and freezes, and there may have been issues with how the NVIDIA drivers are supported by Dell's BIOS. Some seem to have gotten relief by downloading drivers from Dell. Anyway, as I mentioned earlier , after moving the RTX 2060 Super over to the XPS 8700 I downloaded the drivers from NVIDIA and with the adjusted power settings described in that link everything is now running fine. The Seasonic GX 750W is still on its way and I might as well install it, if only as insurance in case I decide to somehow add more peripherals/devices. But at this point the XPS 8700 is running fine on the original 460W psu with the single-fan RTX 2060 super GPU and the i7-4790k CPU upgrade.