XPS 8960, potential PCIe slot problem if using dual slot video card

* Go back to the top of the XPS Desktops board
* Open the Pinned Posts, "FAQ XPS Desktops"
* Open FAQ XPS 8960

You will see in the picture of the motherboard that there are two PCIe x4 slots.

#15 PCIe x4 slot 2 would be covered by a dual width video card.

#16 PCIe x4 slot 3 should still be accessible to add a PCIe x1/x4 card.



The new replacement for XPS 8960, Tower Plus EBT2250, has the same slot situation using a dual width video card.

#16 PCIe x4 slot 2 would be covered by a dual width video card.

#15 PCIe x4 slot 3 should still be accessible to add a PCIe x1/x4 card.

If I could use that 1 slot then I would be happy. But if you look at that Reddit thread, the person is saying that there is no room for ANY pci-e cards in his XPS 8960 with a dual slot video card. He posts alot of photos in that thread. Here are some of them. In one of them he has to use an extension cable to use the last slot:

He ended up returning the computer. So are you 100% certain that I would be able to use that last pci-e slot? The person in that thread was using a large video card (nvidia RTX 4090). So I was thinking that if I get a dual slot video card that is smaller in size, then I might have space for the other pci-e slot. Thoughts?

@Outlier​ Based on the pictures in our database, the RTX 4090 is the only video card offered on the XPS 8960 where the width of the video card is wider than the dual bracket width. Resulting in the blocking of both PCIe x4 slots.

RTX 4090 =

that thing is a monster. Dell also offers the Nvidia RTX 4060 Ti. Here's a photo of it:

Does this one look like it would allow space to use the PCI-e slot in the Dell Tower Plus EBT2250?

@Outlier​ Since it does not extend beyond the dual width bracket, should work.

It looks like the thickness of the video card will depend on the manufacturer. Here is an Nvidia RTX 4060 Ti from Gigabyte:

In that pic, it does look like it extends beyond the bracket.

@DELL-Chris M Do you have any idea if that RTX 4060 Ti card extends beyond the bracket in the pre-built bundle that Dell ships out?

The Dell OEM J1R45 MSI RTX 4060 Ti is shorter, one less fan, and does not extend beyond the bracket =

@DELL-Chris M Those photos are extremely helpful. Do you have similar photos of the OEM RTX 4070 Ti Super video card showing if it extends beyond the bracket?

CNV9G OEM RTX 4070 Ti Super, three fans, slightly over bracket =

@DELL-Chris M Do you think that RTX 4070 Ti Super would allow space for a PCI-e card beside it? Is there any way you could try fitting one beside it and taking a pic?

@Outlier​ I do not have that hardware here at home. Another XPS 8960 user would that video card would need to post pictures.

I have an update to this thread. The RTX 4060 video card does allow for a PCI-e card to fit next to it. I was able to fit my Creative Soundblaster Z sound card next to it. However, there is VERY LITTLE SPACE in between the two cards. Here is how it looks:

Whatever card you put in there will block the fans of the video card, hamper ventilation, and heat up the video card. During a graphics intensive game, the video card temperature persisted at around 83-86 C when the sound card was next to the video card. That temperature is the maximum threshold level that a video card should be subjected to. Without the sound card next to it, the video card temperature persisted at around 70-71 C which is much more like it.

If you don't do graphics intensive tasks then you can live with this setup but in my case when I play graphics intensive games, I really don't want to keep my video card at 85 C because I don't want to risk damaging it and/or the motherboard. Other than to stop using an internal sound card, does anyone have any other suggestion? Are there other Dell motherboards similar to the Tower Plus but have more space between the video card and the PCI-e slot?

The new Alienware Area-51 AAT2250 is the only consumer model with more space between the slots. Page 39 =