Dell(ugh I know...) upgrade

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BioInclined

Limp Gawd
Joined
May 23, 2011
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So a friend has issues playing most modern games since his Dell Studio XPS 435, which can be seen here.
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2341728,00.asp

It currently has a HD5450 card and a 475-watt power supply.
What would be a nice safe upgrade? I was going to try a 6950 but I think it'd pull to much power, so the 7850 came to mind since it pulls a little less but gives a solid boost in performance.
He doesn't mind giving the GFX card a run and if it doesn't work out we'll begin a rebuild.
Pretty sure it has an i7 920 at 2.67GHz. I would like to OC it a bit for him but probably won't unless I can maintain stock voltage for obvious reasons.

Thanks everyone
 
What PSU does it have? Make and model would be nice but part number would work as well. Knowing Dell's choice in PSU I wouldn't recommend the 6950 but you never know.
 
The Studio XPS 435 cannot be overclocked without use of SetFSB utility which had mixed results for me... needless to say, core voltage cannot be adjusted. You'd be fine with a 6950 with a proper 475W PSU. However, the PSU may be at or nearing the end of its useful life, and it may not be capable of supplying that rated power.
 
As far i know brands like HP, dell, etc etc comes with very simply bios with all locked, do not allow to any kind of OC, in some cases even blocked any tweak like fan control... So will be bit hard to oc it unless change the mobo too.. As far i know someone correct if im wrong.. Also the 7870 its not a bad choise... And still a nice upgrade..
 
People typically greatly over estimate their PSU usage. I think the PSU you have is fine, though, you'll likely need to use the molex to pci-e power adapters. It's always easier to buy the card first, then upgrade the PSU later if it's not enough, rather than spend the money on a PSU that you may not need.

Anecdot: I've had the same Coolmax 750watt green PSU since I ran 8800GTS SLI with a Core 2 Duo dual-core. I now have an OC 2500k and GTX 570; the PSU is still going strong.
 
Good info guys.
As far as the model number, I don't have it but can get it later.
I agree, grabbing the card then worrying about the PSU later was the plan. This is just because I think he only needs a GFX upgrade to enjoy the newer games, with out making him spend too much on a new build.
 
Thats totally right... He just need a newer card.. The i7 920 even at stock can do a excelent job playing games...
 
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