GPU upgrade options available for Dell OptiPlex XE3 SFF currently with RX 550

[Assimilator]

Ah! All the models I saw reviewed had a power connector on them which clearly made me rather annoyed. That's great to hear that Asrock makes a slot power only model.

It's not single-slot, though - it's low-profile dual-slot. AFAIK there are no single-slot A380s, which is exceptionally disappointing.

 

[KedsDead]

Yeah.. OP may be SOL with the placement of that PCIe slot, if that is indeed the system from the picture.

 

[Selaya]

[ ... ]
For the A2000 suggesters: it ain't gonna fit in there as it looks like the x16 slot is single slot width only and the A2000 is double slot width.

single slot mod

 

[Assimilator]

single slot mod

https://n3rdware.com/accessories/rtx-a2000-heatsink?v=5 "only" 80 euros (or 60 if you buy B-grade) for a piece of copper, on top of the A200 purchase price... somehow I think OP isn't going to be interested.

 

[wNotyarD]

It's not single-slot, though - it's low-profile dual-slot. AFAIK there are no single-slot A380s, which is exceptionally disappointing.

Hmm, true. Although it uses only one bracket its cooler occupies two slots. That leaves only the RX 6400 then (either Sapphire or PowerColor).

 

[Lew Zealand]

Hmm, true. Although it uses only one bracket its cooler occupies two slots. That leaves only the RX 6400 then (either Sapphire or PowerColor).

This is why I bought the Sapphire 6400, because it fits just about everywhere a PCIe slot exists. And it won't even be bottlenecked even if you only have an x4 wired slot. …beeeecause it's already x4 bottlenecked. Well, at least you already know what your performance will be.

 

[wNotyarD]

This is why I bought the Sapphire 6400, because it fits just about everywhere a PCIe slot exists. And it won't even be bottlenecked even if you only have an x4 wired slot. …beeeecause it's already x4 bottlenecked. Well, at least you already know what your performance will be.

Its bottleneck comes when you try to install it on a gen 3 or older pci-e slot. According to TPU's testing, on PCIe 3.0 it takes a ~14% performance hit on 1080p.

 

[Selaya]

which is exactly what this system will be.

honestly. the only realistic thing i can see in this scenario is a single-slot modded a2000, everything else just doesnt really make any sense at all

 

[wNotyarD]

which is exactly what this system will be.

honestly. the only realistic thing i can see in this scenario is a single-slot modded a2000, everything else just doesnt really make any sense at all

I disagree. Even when nerfed by a 3.0 bus, a RX 6400 is a commendable upgrade over a RX 550.

 

[Selaya]

this is getting dangerously close to a 1030.

i mean, it all depends on what you plan on playing/doing, but personally i'd buy an a2000 and either run it x4 or singleslot mod it to run it x16

(why must dell always do things ass-backwards; there's NO FUCKING REASON AT ALL to put the x16 slot at the bottom besides as an intentional fuckyou to the customer ...)

 

[Lew Zealand]

this is getting dangerously close to a 1030.

How?

1030: 8.8 fps
6400 PCIe 3.0: 33.8 FPS

3.8x faster is usually a noticeable improvement.

i mean, it all depends on what you plan on playing/doing, but personally i'd buy an a2000 and either run it x4 or singleslot mod it to run it x16

(why must dell always do things ass-backwards; there's NO FUCKING REASON AT ALL to put the x16 slot at the bottom besides as an intentional fuckyou to the customer ...)

This is such a Dell decision. I'm sure it serves a niche reason like saving 2¢ or something else ridiculous.

Its bottleneck comes when you try to install it on a gen 3 or older pci-e slot. According to TPU's testing, on PCIe 3.0 it takes a ~14% performance hit on 1080p.

And those are at ultra settings which you won't be using on this card because of low fps. I suspect at 1080p med-hi settings targetting 60 fps the delta between PCIe 3 and 4 will be smaller but I really want some data on that instead of a guess.

 

[wNotyarD]

How?

1030: 8.8 fps
6400 PCIe 3.0: 33.8 FPS

3.8x faster is usually a noticeable improvement.

Also, w1zz doesn't test at realistic loads for such low-end cards. Nobody would get them to play anything at the highest settings, at least no one who researches what the cards are capable of.
As much as the PCIe scaling for the RX6400 is VERY MUCH dependant on what is being executed (e.g. BL3 basically takes no hit at 1080p, F1 2021 runs 45% slower on 3.0 vs 4.0), there's no scenario at all it doesn't run circles around the RX 550.

So, for OP's situation where there's both power and space restrictions, a RX 6400 is not only a commendable upgrade. IT IS AN AMAZING ONE, and possible the best he can get short of a proverbial RTX 3050 6GB slot-powered, single-slot low profile card which still doesn't exist (or a chinese frankencard based on a mobile RTX 3050).

 

[Selaya]

wdym man the A2000 is basically just that ...

 

[wNotyarD]

wdym man the A2000 is basically just that ...

Bar being single-slot, that is.

 

[A Computer Guy]

The RX6400 seems to be the best fit in this scenario that still comes with some unavoidable compatibility tradeoffs but that's just my 2c.

• The 16x slot is pretty close to the PSU so there might not be nice room for airflow there but could be manageable with a well placed fan.
• Are we sure that 4x slot is PCIe 3.x (it might be a 2.x slot)? If not you end up taking more of a hit to performance making the cost/perf less desirable even if it is still better than the iGPU.

The time a cost of modding that A2000 (which is pretty interesting) might as well buy a new PC. In that way at least even if the parts are somewhat at the lower end you can use them at their full potential.

Reusing the CPU and RAM could be an option with some good eBay finds on cases, motherboards, cooler, and PSU but still that cost might not be desirable if the OP only has a budget for a low tier GPU.

 

[KedsDead]

its nothing a little sawzall and hot glue cant fix..

 

[S162216]

Thanks everyone for your opinions and suggestions. I've got quite a few to consider now!

The RX6400 seems to be the best fit in this scenario that still comes with some unavoidable compatibility tradeoffs but that's just my 2c.

• The 16x slot is pretty close to the PSU so there might not be nice room for airflow there but could be manageable with a well placed fan.
• Are we sure that 4x slot is PCIe 3.x (it might be a 2.x slot)? If not you end up taking more of a hit to performance making the cost/perf less desirable even if it is still better than the iGPU.

The time a cost of modding that A2000 (which is pretty interesting) might as well buy a new PC. In that way at least even if the parts are somewhat at the lower end you can use them at their full potential.

Reusing the CPU and RAM could be an option with some good eBay finds on cases, motherboards, cooler, and PSU but still that cost might not be desirable if the OP only has a budget for a low tier GPU.

I've just installed my current RX 550 in the 4x slot and can confirm that it is a PCIe 3.0 slot according to GPU-Z. Playing a few games that I know the performance of, FPS etc seem to be pretty similar with it in the 4x slot.

Also, w1zz doesn't test at realistic loads for such low-end cards. Nobody would get them to play anything at the highest settings, at least no one who researches what the cards are capable of.
As much as the PCIe scaling for the RX6400 is VERY MUCH dependant on what is being executed (e.g. BL3 basically takes no hit at 1080p, F1 2021 runs 45% slower on 3.0 vs 4.0), there's no scenario at all it doesn't run circles around the RX 550.

So, for OP's situation where there's both power and space restrictions, a RX 6400 is not only a commendable upgrade. IT IS AN AMAZING ONE, and possible the best he can get short of a proverbial RTX 3050 6GB slot-powered, single-slot low profile card which still doesn't exist (or a chinese frankencard based on a mobile RTX 3050).

I have been having a good think about this. At this point I am still leaning heavily toward the Yeston single slot GTX 1650, but I have found a used PNY A2000 on Ebay for £260 and it is very tempting. It is a bit more than I was realistically budgeting, but, I can afford it and when import VAT is included on the Yeston card it will only be about £80 more. For now, I could put it in the 4x slot and perhaps mod it to single slot later when I have the means/opportunity. Besides, I suppose I can justify it to myself that I can use it in a SFF PC that I will build at some point when I'm in a bit of a better situation (I used to build my own computers years ago, to give an idea of when this was, this was the last GPU that I brought back then, AGP and everything... Gainward supposedly only made 1000 of that particular special edition 7800 factory overclocked card containing the 7900 core and it was the fastest Nvidia AGP card ever. Compared to what is available now, it seems crazy that this was once thought of as being fairly powerful. I do still have it somewhere.)

Does that sound just crazy getting an A2000 or should I just get the GTX 1650? So many choices...

 

[Ruined Mind]

You should consider waiting until next month. The 3050 6 GB has a rumored release month of February. It's faster than the 1650. Some leaked models show at least one company will have a Low-Profile version available (the company called "Gigabyte"). The rumored cost is $179.99 USD. It will use 70 watts. It won't have a single-slot version. Some games will have reduced performance while it's in your PCIe 3.0 x4 slot, but it still will be faster than the RX 6400, and will be improved further when you've switched to a new computer that could use all eight of its lanes.