[richidoo]

Hey guys, I need a little PC upgrade advice.

I'm taking a CAD course, so I need a machine to run AutoCAD 2015, which requires 8GB RAM and DirectX 11 graphics card.

I have a Dell Inspiron 3847 mini tower. It has i3 CPU 3.6GHz, 8GB RAM, PCIEx16 slot and 300W PS.


EDIT:
This is the video card I want to use: NVIDIA Quadro NVS310 1GB RAM
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0167MZP9U
It draws 19.5W


The above is not a Quadro and isn't powerful enough for AutoCAD 3D stuff, so I'll get this one:
https://www.amazon.com/PNY-Video-Graphics-Cards-VCQK420-PB/dp/B00MPXS0F2
It draws 45W


Question: Is the stock 300W PS sufficient to power the graphics card's additional load?

Followup: If 300W is questionable, is it still safe to try? It'll just shut off if overload, right?

TIA!
Rich

[FullRangeMan]

Dell supplies are the minimum need, I have a optiplex that came along w/a 230W supply only, when I upgrade to a NVIDIA Geforce 630(2 monitors) I had to change the PS to a chinese 600W.

The video card specs will inform the W need, I suggest a 600W as minimum and a 2 monitors vid card+ a 4GB RAM(minimum) AutoCAD is a heavy software.

Look for this specs item at the card specs:
Minimum System Power Requirement ?W
it will show your PS size need.

My card required a minimum 300W PS.
http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gt-630/specifications

[richidoo]

Thx FRM, you are right, it was the wrong card, too weak for AutoCAD.  I changed my OP with a different card, draws 45W.

[srb]

The Inspiron 3847 with 300W PSU was sold with several different processors, including an i3-4160 (65W TDP) and i5-4440 (95W TDP).  With 30W maximum differential in processor alone, I'm thinking you'll still be OK with a 45W video card, but I probably wouldn't push it too much beyond that.

Steve

[smk]

Get in touch with whoever make AutoCAD. See what they recommend. And make sure to talk with technician who knows PS. Not all do!

I would say the 8 GB RAM figure is a little lite. As FullRangeMan suggests, I think this is a "minimum" and 16 GB RAM or more is more realistic for AutoCAD.

[FullRangeMan]

Get in touch with whoever make AutoCAD. See what they recommend. And make sure to talk with technician who knows PS. Not all do!

I would say the 8 GB RAM figure is a little lite. As FullRangeMan suggests, I think this is a "minimum" and 16 GB RAM or more is more realistic for AutoCAD.

My Vid card is 4Mb DDR3/128Bits and sometimes not suffice.

[richidoo]

AutoCAD recommendations are too dated and too wide range. I'm going by the instructors recommendation. He said 8GB is enough for doing homework and any DirectX11 card will work. tomshardware post pointed me to Quadro chips for CAD and K420 is the baby Quadro.

I just inherited this Dell. It's new but I haven't fired it up yet to see what CPU is in it. It has 8GB and I think that's what came with i3 version. Whether i3 or i5 it can't hurt to stick a stronger PS in it. I don't want to risk it crapping out.

Thanks guys, much appreciated!
Rich

[*Scotty*]

You can probably look up the model number of power supply in the tower and check it for over current protection. I suspect that this a feature that is fairly common to modern computer supplies, but you should check this if you can. I don't know if Dell would repond to query about this or not.
This may be obvious but can you total up the power demands of the existing hardware to see if there is any budget left over for another 45 watts
You might double check the case depth to be sure that the Nvidia card will fit whether or not you upgrade the supply or not.
Scotty

[gregcss]

AutoCAD recommendations are too dated and too wide range. I'm going by the instructors recommendation. He said 8GB is enough for doing homework and any DirectX11 card will work. tomshardware post pointed me to Quadro chips for CAD and K420 is the baby Quadro.

I just inherited this Dell. It's new but I haven't fired it up yet to see what CPU is in it. It has 8GB and I think that's what came with i3 version.

Hi,
If there are bottlenecks elsewhere it wont matter too much if you even get the worlds best video card. Also, per PNY website the new card you linked uses a PCI Express 2.0 x16 interface. Does the system board in the Dell support this interface?

[srb]

Also, per PNY website the new card you linked uses a PCI Express 2.0 x16 interface. Does the system board in the Dell support this interface?

It does have one PCIe x16 slot.  The specs fail to mention the PCIe revision number, but since the PCIe 2.0 spec was first released in 2007 and the 3847's Intel H81 chipset in 2013, it's pretty safe to say that it's 2.0.

Steve

[richidoo]

Hi,
If there are bottlenecks elsewhere it wont matter too much if you even get the worlds best video card. Also, per PNY website the new card you linked uses a PCI Express 2.0 x16 interface. Does the system board in the Dell support this interface?

Thanks Greg. The mobo has PCIe2.0x16 slot to match the video card. 1600MHz memory bus speed. The PC can take up to 16GB RAM. I have 8GB now.

You can probably look up the model number of power supply in the tower and check it for over current protection. I suspect that this a feature that is fairly common to modern computer supplies, but you should check this if you can. I don't know if Dell would repond to query about this or not.  This may be obvious but can you total up the power demands of the existing hardware to see if there is any budget left over for another 45 watts. You might double check the case depth to be sure that the Nvidia card will fit whether or not you upgrade the supply or not.
Scotty

Thanks Scotty. I found the Coolermaster Power Supply Calculator online, it predicts 195W draw from my PC with a Quadro 410 (38W.) It recommends a 247W PS. So I'll try the stock PS.

A Dell support thread says my PC needs a EPS12V upgrade PS, not just ATX, and recommends verifying the individual rails for output watts because 3.3 and 5V rails are hungry in this PC. The usual Corsair CX won't work.

It does have one PCIe x16 slot.  The specs fail to mention the PCIe revision number, but since the PCIe 2.0 spec was first released in 2007 and the 3847's Intel H81 chipset in 2013, it's pretty safe to say that it's 2.0.

I found this post confirming PCI2.0 Thanks
Also, it's a i3-4150 CPU

[smk]

I realize AutoCAD recommendations likely to be dated. That's why I suggest communicating with AutoCAD technician. You are using an inherited computer that probably don't have the latest & greatest hardware.