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February 16th, 2025 13:54
XPS 8910, upgrading to an XPS 8930?
XPS 8910
Hey, I am a Professional Sports Photographer running PS,LR, Topaz Suite and some basic surfing. I currently own the 8910 and upgraded MAX along the way. Shooting RAW now and I need more HP for my editing needs My thoughts are this, I can buy a OEM Dell 8930 MB on ebay that fits in my 8910 chassis (same).
CPU: choices are i7-8700, i7- 8900, or I9-9900. Wil I benefit jumping to i9 chip on this motherboard for my needs or waste of money stay with I7 chip?
RAM: 32gb 2x16 (already using)
COOLING: I have purchased the upgraded Dell cooler with fans and heatsink that came with upgraded 8930 units. I can leave my 8930 "open" to help circulate if helps. If stepping up to i9 will I need more cooling to support this chip?
GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB requirements are 450 Watt....
PSU: Dell factory 460watt...do you recommend upgrading this because of new GPU or waste of money?
STORAGE: 2 SSD 1 TB and external 8TB. Would a M2.NVME SSD help? I am not sure why or how this type of memory is any benefit than the standard SSD sata drives.
OS: I am used to Windows 10 is there any benefit of going to 11? My understanding is that I will need to purchase a licensed copy for my new motherboard?
Cost/value: If I do all of these upgrades I figure to spend around $400-$600. Does this make good value sense and "future proof" my needs?
Thank you for your opinions
redxps630
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February 16th, 2025 21:32
If OP still want to swap to 8930 motherboard to run 9th gen cpu, make sure seller has already upgraded bios for 9th gen cpu. otherwise you would need to boot with a 8th gen cpu first to upgrade bios.
CPU: i9-9900 better than i7-8700
best is i9-9900k
COOLING: Dell premium blower type cooler for -k cpu
(also need VRM heatsink for -k cpu)
GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB, outdated gpu, future upgrade can be considered
PSU: Dell factory 460watt. good enough
STORAGE: M2.NVME SSD help nice but not critical for photo editing.
OS: is there any benefit of going to 11?
MS stops Win 10 security update in 2025. Win 11 24H2 has update until 2026-10-13
will need to purchase a licensed copy for my new motherboard?
Win 10 will automatically activate Win 11 of same edition
(edited)
redxps630
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February 16th, 2025 14:41
it is a modest and not future proof upgrade from 8910 6th gen 4 core cpu to 8th gen 6 core cpu, 8th gen already 7-8 year old and will be older soon.
The Intel Core i7-8700 was a desktop processor with 6 cores launched in October 2017
i9 9900 is 8 core cpu released in 2019. better and a bit newer than 8th gen.
with 400-600 USD budget consider option to ditch 8910 and upgrade to 8940 which seems to be around 500 now
https://www.ebay.com/itm/365390346012?
ideally upgrade to 8950/8960 that has Intel 12th-13th gen cpu.
(edited)
redxps630
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February 16th, 2025 14:57
quote:
The i9 is the performance king for Photoshop and Lightroom. If you often edit video, consider spending extra for the i9, as the extra cores widen the gap in video editing software.
(edited)
redxps630
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February 16th, 2025 15:17
technically the back panel of 8910 appear identical to 8930
but the front panel has small difference
8910 has no USB C at front
8930 has USB C
this means if OP wants to swap a 8930 into 8910 case, the case needs to have front panel and front bezel replaced too.
(edited)
redxps630
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February 16th, 2025 21:26
8930 black front bezel
8930 FIO