Upgrade for GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Graphics Card

Fishrman said:

I don't want to break the bank but just installed Photo AI and seems to lock up my Elements program when I work in that program. I have read that Photo AI needs a minimum of 6 gb card and I think the GTX 1050 ti may only be 4. This will go in a Dell XPS machine. My computer is about 7 years old and I have thought about replacing it but not having any issues with it. Is there a card that you might suggest that wouldn't be too expensive?

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I am using an Nvidia RTX 3070TI in my Win11 machine. It is an upgrade from my older GTX 1660 super and is far better. It zips through the new Adobe Denoise AI quickly enough. It's very powerful and not as expensive as the high end 4000 series cards. I haven't checked the price recently, but if you want the power, it will cost you some.

The biggest question is what kinda power supply does your XPS have? Are there any extra PCI power cables for the GPU in there? Because the GTX1050 Ti only needs the power from the PCI-E slot, so if that's all you have it would severely limit your choices. And upgrading the power supply might be possible but it's a bigger pain due to the proprietary power system Dell uses.

CBR1100XX said:

The biggest question is what kinda power supply does your XPS have? Are there any extra PCI power cables for the GPU in there? Because the GTX1050 Ti only needs the power from the PCI-E slot, so if that's all you have it would severely limit your choices. And upgrading the power supply might be possible but it's a bigger pain due to the proprietary power system Dell uses.

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yes, the 3070ti is likely out of the question. I believe one pcie power cable is required for a 3060/4060. Also, the size of the gpu might be a factor - is there 2-3 slots worth of space?

On the good news - even a 4050 would likely be a pretty decent perf bump.

I suggest that you provide the exact model of your Dell XPS PC. That might get you meaningful help. Its service code would be great.

If you could provide information about your PSU (power supply unit), and whether it has any PCI-E graphics power cables, that'd be more helpful.

The GTX 1050 ti looks like a low-power (75W) card. It needs no additional PCI-E power. It is a 4GB card, as you said.

There are no cards in the RTX 20X0, 30X0, or 40X0 lines that don't require additional power. Compare Current and Previous GeForce Series of Graphics Cards | NVIDIA

I wouldn't recommend upgrading to anything lesser than an RTX card. Unfortunately, they are all expensive.

I don't know whether there are suitable AMD cards at lower prices. Maybe a Radeon 5700XT (8GB)? SOYO Radeon RX5700XT 8G New Gaming Graphics Cards GDDR6 256Bit PCIE4.0x16 HDMI DP*3 for Desktop GPU Video Card For PC GPU - Newegg.com (<$200. Needs one 6 pin and one 8 pin power connection. Recommended 600W PSU or larger.)

It would be possible to upgrade the PSU to go with a new card. It might have to be one specially made for Dell, if the motherboard uses nonstandard power connections. (Not unlikely.) That would increase the effort needed to upgrade the graphics card, though.

If all this appears unnecessarily complex, I can't disagree.

I'm a DIYer, so I usually know what's in my PC. Haven't bought a Dell (or other appliance PC) since 1995.

For some reason, I couldn't sign in with my long time user name so had to create another account in order to reply to your help. My current machine is a Dell XPS 8930 and the tag number is 9SMCOM2. Hope this helps.

Fishrman2 said:

For some reason, I couldn't sign in with my long time user name so had to create another account in order to reply to your help. My current machine is a Dell XPS 8930 and the tag number is 9SMCOM2. Hope this helps.

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Your service tag appears to be 9SMC0M2. (That's a zero, not a capital O.)

I'm a little disappointed that the service tag doesn't lead to a parts list for your specific XPS 8930. Support for XPS 8930 | Documentation | Dell US

The Setup and Specifications document lists 3 possible PSUs: two 460W, one 850W.

The highest end GPU sold with it was a GTX 1080, which is a 180W card that needs a single 8 pin PCI-E power cable. Its minimum suggested PSU is 450W.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Specs | TechPowerUp GPU Database

I hope that means you'd get the PCI-E power cable with any of the possible PSUs.

Suggested graphics cards:

RTX 3060, 12GB. (Don't get the 8GB version. It's not enough cheaper.) Nominally 170W.

RTX 4060, 8GB. 115W.

Both are about $300 at Newegg. The 4060 is a generation newer, and has better performance, even though it's a PCI-E X8 card (vs. X16 for the 3060), and has a lower memory bandwidth than the 3060.

I think I'd suggest the 4060, as long as 8GB is adequate for you. (Should be.) That 115W spec is attractive.

I hope that either card would be an easy swap for the GTX 1050 ti.

XPS 8930 Service Manual | Dell US

You'll need to consider the air flow of your case, the physical size of the GPU, the maximum power consumption of the GPU, the maximum power available from your PSU, and the power cables available from your PSU.

Open you case and measure the maximum length the GPU card can be.

The XPS case has poor air flow so look into GPUs that vent out the back and not into the case.

When you open your case, check what PCIe cables you have active. There likely will be a 6 pin and a 6+2 pin. You can also look for a sticker that lists the power rating of your PSU.

If you have the "standard" configuration, you'll likely have a 6 and 8 pin PCIe power cables coming from a 450W PSU. Without changing the PSU, anything from a GTX 1060 6GB to a GTX 3060 8/12 GB should work. There are shorter GPUs from companies like Asus and Gigabyte in case a triple fan GPU is too long. Anyway, maybe look into a used 1060 or better yet a 1070/1080 (they have 8GB of memory).

If you upgrade your PSU, then any GPU that will physically fit is an option.

You could look at the 20xx super series as well. I have the 2070 super in my XPS 8940 and it is an awesome card. My system blows through my Ai and video editing workflow. A lot of slow down issues are software issues not hardware issues, but the 20xx super series would probably work for you.

My first go to resource for Dell XPS desktops has always been Dell's community support forum, currently at:

Dell XPS Desktop Community Forum


I haven't needed to go there for ages and I see now that at some point they replaced their old format with a new one. I can still find old posts for my relatively ancient 2010 "Studio XPS8100" by dropping that term into the forum search box.

When I regularly was going to that forum I found it to be by far the best resource for almost anything to do with XPS desktops with an incredibly knowledgeable and helpful community.

I don't know if it still lives up to that level but it may be worth spending some time there for any XPS desktop issues you run into or questions you may have.

BobKnDP said:

Fishrman2 said:

For some reason, I couldn't sign in with my long time user name so had to create another account in order to reply to your help. My current machine is a Dell XPS 8930 and the tag number is 9SMCOM2. Hope this helps.

Click to expand...

Your service tag appears to be 9SMC0M2. (That's a zero, not a capital O.)

I'm a little disappointed that the service tag doesn't lead to a parts list for your specific XPS 8930. Support for XPS 8930 | Documentation | Dell US

The Setup and Specifications document lists 3 possible PSUs: two 460W, one 850W.

The highest end GPU sold with it was a GTX 1080, which is a 180W card that needs a single 8 pin PCI-E power cable. Its minimum suggested PSU is 450W.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Specs | TechPowerUp GPU Database

I hope that means you'd get the PCI-E power cable with any of the possible PSUs.

Suggested graphics cards:

RTX 3060, 12GB. (Don't get the 8GB version. It's not enough cheaper.) Nominally 170W.

RTX 4060, 8GB. 115W.

Both are about $300 at Newegg. The 4060 is a generation newer, and has better performance, even though it's a PCI-E X8 card (vs. X16 for the 3060), and has a lower memory bandwidth than the 3060.

I think I'd suggest the 4060, as long as 8GB is adequate for you. (Should be.) That 115W spec is attractive.

I hope that either card would be an easy swap for the GTX 1050 ti.

XPS 8930 Service Manual | Dell US

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Very much appreciate all your time and help!! Appears the GTX 1080 is no longer in production but I will look at the rtx 4060. That should be double the gb. any way, from what I have.

Robert Zanatta said:

You'll need to consider the air flow of your case, the physical size of the GPU, the maximum power consumption of the GPU, the maximum power available from your PSU, and the power cables available from your PSU.

Open you case and measure the maximum length the GPU card can be.

The XPS case has poor air flow so look into GPUs that vent out the back and not into the case.

When you open your case, check what PCIe cables you have active. There likely will be a 6 pin and a 6+2 pin. You can also look for a sticker that lists the power rating of your PSU.

If you have the "standard" configuration, you'll likely have a 6 and 8 pin PCIe power cables coming from a 450W PSU. Without changing the PSU, anything from a GTX 1060 6GB to a GTX 3060 8/12 GB should work. There are shorter GPUs from companies like Asus and Gigabyte in case a triple fan GPU is too long. Anyway, maybe look into a used 1060 or better yet a 1070/1080 (they have 8GB of memory).

If you upgrade your PSU, then any GPU that will physically fit is an option.

Click to expand...

I was thinking about the gtx 1080 used. I see they are not manufacturing them anymore.

The Point and Shoot Pro said:

You could look at the 20xx super series as well. I have the 2070 super in my XPS 8940 and it is an awesome card. My system blows through my Ai and video editing workflow. A lot of slow down issues are software issues not hardware issues, but the 20xx super series would probably work for you.

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I will take a look at that. Thanks!

My dell xps 8700 is even older. I upgraded to the gtx 1050ti about 1 year ago because the user forum indicated it was the cheapest and easiest upgrade. Works fine with old LR and photo ai. Not speedy but OK for sporadic use with 20 megapixel raw files. ON1 now OK with recent update. PSU is only 450 watt. Minimal or not ok for most newer 8 gig GPU. Let us know what works. No more upgrades for me. New, but read about CPU issues with some 13 - 14 generation intel.. hmm.

Greg

Fishrman2 said:

Robert Zanatta said:

You'll need to consider the air flow of your case, the physical size of the GPU, the maximum power consumption of the GPU, the maximum power available from your PSU, and the power cables available from your PSU.

Open you case and measure the maximum length the GPU card can be.

The XPS case has poor air flow so look into GPUs that vent out the back and not into the case.

When you open your case, check what PCIe cables you have active. There likely will be a 6 pin and a 6+2 pin. You can also look for a sticker that lists the power rating of your PSU.

If you have the "standard" configuration, you'll likely have a 6 and 8 pin PCIe power cables coming from a 450W PSU. Without changing the PSU, anything from a GTX 1060 6GB to a GTX 3060 8/12 GB should work. There are shorter GPUs from companies like Asus and Gigabyte in case a triple fan GPU is too long. Anyway, maybe look into a used 1060 or better yet a 1070/1080 (they have 8GB of memory).

If you upgrade your PSU, then any GPU that will physically fit is an option.

Click to expand...

I was thinking about the gtx 1080 used. I see they are not manufacturing them anymore.

Click to expand...

In my humble opinion, that's not enough of an upgrade.

I admit that I'm a PC enthusiast.

Fishrman2 said:

The Point and Shoot Pro said:

You could look at the 20xx super series as well. I have the 2070 super in my XPS 8940 and it is an awesome card. My system blows through my Ai and video editing workflow. A lot of slow down issues are software issues not hardware issues, but the 20xx super series would probably work for you.

Click to expand...

I will take a look at that. Thanks!

Click to expand...

The 20x0 series is two generations old. There's nothing wrong with that. However, the pricing of new 20x0 cards is wildly variable, but maybe you can find a deal. Used might be OK. I don't know how to be sure that you're not getting one that was used in a cryptocurrency mining operation. Maybe don't buy one for a seller that has 100 available. ;-)

I bought a 2060 (6GB) late in 2023 for less than $200, new. I don't see a similar offer at Newegg at the moment. I wouldn't spend $250+ on a new 2060, when I could get a new 4060 for $300.

BobKnDP said:

Fishrman2 said:

Robert Zanatta said:

You'll need to consider the air flow of your case, the physical size of the GPU, the maximum power consumption of the GPU, the maximum power available from your PSU, and the power cables available from your PSU.

Open you case and measure the maximum length the GPU card can be.

The XPS case has poor air flow so look into GPUs that vent out the back and not into the case.

When you open your case, check what PCIe cables you have active. There likely will be a 6 pin and a 6+2 pin. You can also look for a sticker that lists the power rating of your PSU.

If you have the "standard" configuration, you'll likely have a 6 and 8 pin PCIe power cables coming from a 450W PSU. Without changing the PSU, anything from a GTX 1060 6GB to a GTX 3060 8/12 GB should work. There are shorter GPUs from companies like Asus and Gigabyte in case a triple fan GPU is too long. Anyway, maybe look into a used 1060 or better yet a 1070/1080 (they have 8GB of memory).

If you upgrade your PSU, then any GPU that will physically fit is an option.

Click to expand...

I was thinking about the gtx 1080 used. I see they are not manufacturing them anymore.

Click to expand...

In my humble opinion, that's not enough of an upgrade.

I admit that I'm a PC enthusiast.

Click to expand...

I think you're on the right track, going 4060 seems to be the right answer here. With the limited power supply wattage it's the least risky upgrade while providing a really nice bump in AI editing performance.

The previous generation cards use more and more energy to get similar performance so even if you get a little bit of cost savings you're going to have to pay a lot more for a new power supply that's compatible.

From what I am seeing from various testing sites/channels, the 2070 super vs. the 4060 is 2 percent speed difference. Not noticeable in even the most demanding work flows. There are a bunch of 2070' supers on ebay. I was looking at getting a second one and running dual GPUs in a new/old system.

CBR1100XX said:

BobKnDP said:

Fishrman2 said:

Robert Zanatta said:

You'll need to consider the air flow of your case, the physical size of the GPU, the maximum power consumption of the GPU, the maximum power available from your PSU, and the power cables available from your PSU.

Open you case and measure the maximum length the GPU card can be.

The XPS case has poor air flow so look into GPUs that vent out the back and not into the case.

When you open your case, check what PCIe cables you have active. There likely will be a 6 pin and a 6+2 pin. You can also look for a sticker that lists the power rating of your PSU.

If you have the "standard" configuration, you'll likely have a 6 and 8 pin PCIe power cables coming from a 450W PSU. Without changing the PSU, anything from a GTX 1060 6GB to a GTX 3060 8/12 GB should work. There are shorter GPUs from companies like Asus and Gigabyte in case a triple fan GPU is too long. Anyway, maybe look into a used 1060 or better yet a 1070/1080 (they have 8GB of memory).

If you upgrade your PSU, then any GPU that will physically fit is an option.

Click to expand...

I was thinking about the gtx 1080 used. I see they are not manufacturing them anymore.

Click to expand...

In my humble opinion, that's not enough of an upgrade.

I admit that I'm a PC enthusiast.

Click to expand...

I think you're on the right track, going 4060 seems to be the right answer here. With the limited power supply wattage it's the least risky upgrade while providing a really nice bump in AI editing performance.

The previous generation cards use more and more energy to get similar performance so even if you get a little bit of cost savings you're going to have to pay a lot more for a new power supply that's compatible.

Click to expand...

I guess the main issue is what "fishrman's" budget is. Some may regard $300 as exorbitant.

But for a brand new card, with warranty, greatly enhanced performance, and low power requirements (for an RTX card), I think that a 4060 is a good choice.

(Gamers seem to hate them, I suppose because they don't give much of a performance boost over the 3060.)

plantdoc said:

My dell xps 8700 is even older. I upgraded to the gtx 1050ti about 1 year ago because the user forum indicated it was the cheapest and easiest upgrade. Works fine with old LR and photo ai. Not speedy but OK for sporadic use with 20 megapixel raw files. ON1 now OK with recent update. PSU is only 450 watt. Minimal or not ok for most newer 8 gig GPU. Let us know what works. No more upgrades for me. New, but read about CPU issues with some 13 - 14 generation intel.. hmm.

Greg

Click to expand...

I also have xps8700; currently using Nvidia K620. Is the gtx1050ti better?

or any other suggestions? Seems like the system is not worth putting in more gpu power; but I'm content except for not being able to use advanced "ai" features in LR, but don't think (?) I need them.