PLEASE HELP ME UPGRADE MY DELL.

[FIRECALLER69]

I know next to nothing about the tech side of my computer. I want to be able to do a couple of things, light gaming, video production and editing for a Youtube Channel and website. I have researched and found that it is suggested I have a GPU that has 6GB memory. My Dell's spec are :

• Model: XPS 8930
• i3-9100 CPU @ 3.60 GHZ
• Installed RAM 24 GB (23.8 GB usable.) (expandable to 64 GB)
• 64 bit O.S.
• OS (C 935GB, (506GB free)
• Toshiba DT01ACA100 1TB 7200RPM Hard Drive

I am basically aware of what all that means. I went to the Crucial.com site and it recommended I upgrade my DRAM and my SSD. I know video files are memory hogs so I plan on acquiring an external drive for that. But the GPU upgrade has me stunned. There seem to be thousands of options, and the specs and descriptions are written in Ancient Babylonian. I have no clue how to proceed.

 

[Keullo-e]

GTX 1660/1660 Super or Radeon RX 5600 XT. Would be good to know the wattage of your power supply before getting a graphics card.

 

[FIRECALLER69]

GTX 1660/1660 Super or Radeon RX 5600 XT. Would be good to know the wattage of your power supply before getting a graphics card.

Do i need to open it up to find that?

 

[Keullo-e]

Do i need to open it up to find that?

Yes, there's a label on the power supply which tells the wattage it's able to push out.

 

[FIRECALLER69]

Yes, there's a label on the power supply which tells the wattage it's able to push out.

Thanks. I will do that later today, let you know what I find.

460w

 

[Caring1]

I know next to nothing about the tech side of my computer.

• Installed RAM 24 GB (23.8 GB usable.) (expandable to 64 GB)
• Toshiba DT01ACA100 1TB 7200RPM Hard Drive

I went to the Crucial.com site and it recommended I upgrade my DRAM and my SSD.

They lied.
24GB is more than enough as is a 1TB hard drive.

I know video files are memory hogs so I plan on acquiring an external drive for that.

You appear to be confusing Ram (memory) with storage.

Thanks. I will do that later today, let you know what I find.

460w

There are two 460W PSU's listed, both with the same specifications showing 3 12Volt rails supplying power.
First 12V rail supplies 18Amps, second 16Amps, and third 8Amps.
combined they supply up to 42Amps which is enough for most GPU's.

 

[FIRECALLER69]

Thanks.

 

[dragontamer5788]

Hard drives are pretty slow. SSDs are anywhere from ~200% faster (sequential) or 10,000% faster (random IOPS), depending on your use case.

I think that upgrading to an SSD drive would be a good upgrade. But I don't think its something that should be done for non-techies. You have to transfer your Windows files and everything.

 

[biffzinker]

But I don't think its something that should be done for non-techies.
You have to transfer your Windows files and everything.

Macrium Reflect or Acronis True Image makes imaging to another drive fairly easy I thought.

Simple upgrade kit for moving from HDD to SSD.

SSD Upgrade Kit | pny.com

Learn how to upgrade for desktop or laptop PC from HDD to SDD in three simple steps using a PNY upgrade kit.

www.pny.com

 

[hat]

@FIRECALLER69 what is your budget? Like others here, I'm echoing the recommendation for an SSD and a decent graphics card. 1660 Super should do you just fine. I'm still running a relatively ancient 128GB SSD mainly for my OS and programs, and it's only just over half full. The rest gets shoved onto my even more ancient 500GB hard drive. Back in 2013 or so, I bought a 512GB SSD (which I don't have anymore) for ~$330 to store my games on, and the results were disappointing... however, 7 years later, it seems to make a bigger difference.

 

[biffzinker]

$48 for the PNY 500GB SSD Upgrade kit at Walmart. The drive has no DRAM cache so once the SLC cache runs out the speed drops off. I tried one out and it ran out around 40GB however the full speed returned after 20-30 minutes.

Robot or human?

to store my games on, and the results were disappointing... however, 7 years later, it seems to make a bigger difference.

I’d consider an SSD essential just for performing Windows Updates. It’s the biggest time saver instead of waiting on the random seeking of a HDD. Faster boot up, and program launching is a added bonus.

 

[dragontamer5788]

Macrium Reflect or Acronis True Image makes imaging to another drive fairly easy I thought.

Simple upgrade kit for moving from HDD to SSD.

SSD Upgrade Kit | pny.com

Learn how to upgrade for desktop or laptop PC from HDD to SDD in three simple steps using a PNY upgrade kit.

www.pny.com

That kit does look like it'd make everything risk-free and easy. I've never used something like that before, so I don't know much about it.

 

[FIRECALLER69]

After some more research, I decided to go with a ASUS GeForce GTX 1660 Overclocked 6GB and a PSU upgrade Thermaltake Smart 700W 80+ White Certified PSU. There were in the budget and seemed a good choice. I am also using my system for recording content for a upcoming podcast. I use a Presonus Audiobox USB 96. As I mentioned before I am a light-weight gamer, a little WoW. And I also have Steam because my son got me hooked on Witcher 3, Fallout 4 and Skyrim. So I do everything on one system.