Thanks for the great video. I just purchased this machine yesterday (description stated 2 X 2.5" slots & 1 x 3.5") then downloaded the manual today, where on pg. 17 it stated it shipped with 2 x 2.5" slots, no mention of a 3.5" slot. I was concerned they only put in the 3.5" slot if you included a 3.5" HDD with your order (hey, it could happen). I have all my data on a 2nd 2T HDD that I plan to use in the new machine. Your video made it clear that I can do that.
I got mine from Amazon and should be available from ebay/similar sites or computer hardware store. www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08375VPR2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I tried Vengeance and Crucial and neither worked. I called Crucial and they recommended taking out the CMOS battery which reset the system...upon reboot I went into the BIOS setuo and it showed the additional memory. Exited BIOS, rebooted, and everything is working now.
On Dell service manual site Phillips screwdrivers #1/#2 are listed. www.dell.com/support/manuals/en-uk/xps-8940-desktop/xps-8940-service-manual/recommended-tools?guid=guid-ea979cc8-84ec-4827-86c4-c80a8c31f4bf&lang=en-us
I used a old utility called dvio.exe which didnt require any other software to download from the camera. I have used that on the XPS 8940 and it was able to detect the camera and download raw content. Found it here www.carr-engineering.com/dvio.htm . Hope this works for you
Thanks for this video. I am considering buying this machine rather than build something myself and would also like to be able to install a FW card. Don't know if I can find my old one but if not, what are the specs for a FW card that can be installed on the MB? Cheers.
Hi I got the one with these specs from Ebay - 1394A Firewire Card Adapter PCI-e 1X IEEE 4 Port (3+1) With 6 Pin To 4 Pin Cable. www.ebay.co.uk/itm/402311305329
Where did you get the 2.5" drive caddy (the light blue adapter)? Mine did not come with one and I cannot find one on the Dell website (or anywhere else for that matter).
Mine came with the desktop. It was a challenge to find one for the second slot. I bought one from ebay which was a slightly different form factor. Was a very tight fit but did the job. Was an old drive but would be slightly worried to squeeze a brand new ssd
Do you have any overheating issues ? I have bought mine xps 8940 two days ago and I’m dissatisfied with how hot in runs. When i do 3d renders the cpu goes up to 97 celsius. I have the 10900k procesor.
Currently I have the dell xps 8940 but with the 10700k and rtx 3070 and it can’t handle 100% load as it goes to 93 or so degrees then will eventually just shut down on idle it’s 66 degrees
Try replacing the cup fan and add a Case fan in the casing
3 роки тому
Great tutorial, thanks. Do you know if this PC works without the Graphic card mounted on the PCIe slot? Because I need the all the 3 PCIe to mount others cards.
All though there is an integrated graphics card the only hdmi output port available to connect the monitor is on the graphics card. I had a situation where the graphics card was not seated properly and was not detected in device manager. Still was able to connect and work on the pc using Windows remote desktop.
Not tried it and my one is with 1650 Super so although it does support ray tracing it will most probably struggle. Hope it works for you. It does though handle Star Wars Squadrons on Oculus Quest with no issues
@@OvalShelf This wouldn't really be a "support" thing; any modern PC with a PCIe 16x slot would support an RTX 3080. This is more of a "will it fit" thing. I'm looking to potentially install an EVGA 1080Ti SC2 in one of these, and my card is ~270mm in length.
@Pro Dev Although this PC has the proper 16x PCIe slot for an RTX 3080, I don't think that the included 360W power supply would be able to provide enough juice. That said, Dell offers up to an RTX 2070 Super with this build, so maybe they offer heftier power supplies? UPDATE: Checking Dell's site, you can upgrade to a 500W power supply. The 3080 alone requires 350W, so it would still be a pretty close call.
Yup which is why I think Dell has listed the supported cards which can fit within the 500W power supply. The newegg website has a psu calculator. A general config takes power requirement upto 520W
Ok, so I’m a bit confused. I got mine 2 days ago and it came with the ssd and an hdd. I want to add another 3.5 hdd and I see the extra slot but I don’t see another power cable. There’s one extra SATA port that I assume is for the extra 3.5 bay, but I think it also might be needed for a second 2.5 hdd. Could I theoretically have the ssd, 2 3.5 hdd’s and 2 2.5 hdd’s? There appears to be 2 power cables (on the same run) over to the bay where the 2.5’s are, but only one SATA cable runs over there. And where is the SSD? This is my first computer with a solid state and I can’t find it.
The SSD which you are looking for is in M.2 format and will be between the fan and the graphics card. Check this link www.dell.com/support/manuals/en-uk/xps-8940-desktop/xps-8940-service-manual/installing-the-system-board?guid=guid-25d14fe1-5fc7-4b24-939b-56aa714aa638&lang=en-us . This also shows the number of data and power ports available. You should be able to use a Y cable to put another device on the Power run. There is an Optical SATA drive port(SATA3) which i think can be used for either the 2nd HDD or an Optical drive. So I think if optical drive is configured then we cant use the 2nd 3.5" slot and In the service manual as well that slot is not shown as an option for installing a 3.5" HDD
Followed your advice with the firewire card upgrade. I have an old 1999 sony mini DV camcorder (DCR-PC3E) and wanted to upload all my video from 2000-2015 captured on it. The card went in ok and in device manager I can see the card is being recognized. When I check properties it says it is working properly, it also says its got the required driver and wont select any alternative if you click update driver, it says it has the correct driver installed (seems to be a Microsoft one from 2006). Furthermore when I attach the camera with the firewire cable I get the usual windows system sound you get when you add or remove a device or flash disk so I know its recognizing to a certain extent that somethings just been attached. The problem is on my old computer this was followed by a camera icon for the device appearing in My Computer and the camera appearing in the option list of drives/devices for uploading video files into my video editing software. Unfortunately on my XPS 8940 no such icon appears, it seems at the final hurdle the camera is somehow invisible to the computer. Like you say it was very cheap off amazon so no big deal but was a shame to fail at the final hurdle; when I heard the system sound on plugging in the cable I thought Id done it!
May be your old PC had the software which came with the mini DV installed. I remembered there was a old utility called dvio.exe which didnt require any other software to download from the camera. I have used that on the XPS 8940 and it was able to detect the camera and download raw content. Found it here www.carr-engineering.com/dvio.htm
Dell's OEM 1650 Super is ~6.3" long and ~3.6" high if anyone is wondering, 0.5" shorter than the Zotac 1660 TI mini, but still about the same height. This is the 6 pin version, not the Alienware 1650 which only runs on PCI slot power, and shorter.
Optical drive is slim size or regular size? Also mobo only got 3 sets of sata and power cables right? And you can add up to 5 things (2 2.5, 2 3.2, 1 optical) So 2 drives won't have cable to connect if you max it out?
I believe the Optical drive is slim size. The power cable can be daisy chained so that will not be a problem. For Sata cable the desktop comes with 3 sata cables and you can add 1 extra sata cable to the mobo. So can connect 4 out of 5 devices
@@OvalShelf So mobo got 4 sata connections? I tho it's 3, how about power cable for the 4th device? mobo also got 4? also My xps 8940's latest bios update shows "urgent" in dell.com, if desktop is working fine should I update the bios when it shows urgent?
There is a spare SATA port. You can buy a 46cm SATA cable. I currently have 2 x 2.5" + 1x 3.5" and a DVD drive. The power cable can be daisy chained from an existing power cable by using a Y splitter cable. This link will show the system board layout www.dell.com/support/manuals/en-uk/xps-8940-desktop/xps-8940-service-manual/removing-the-system-board?guid=guid-5623e814-fb64-486d-b5b4-835b861db37f&lang=en-us. Its always better to stay up to date as the updates may have security patches. Its straightforward however key is not to remove power while bios update is going on
Does it matter which dim slot you put it in because people put it on 1 and 3, or 2 and 4 and they work perfectly fine. Am I able to do 1 an 2 or use all of them
I have updated the notes to recommend putting in same coloured slots so 1 and 3 to get dual channel performance. putting them side by side you might lose some performance
Hola , tengo una dell xps 8940, quier instalarte esta tarjeta grafica NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 TI 8GB GDDR6, pero no se cual elegir por el tamaño, ya que varia y me preocupa que luego no entre en la pc o dañe algo, me podran ayudar?
Th only thing available is the information on Dell site. www.dell.com/support/manuals/en-uk/xps-8940-desktop/xps-8940-setup-and-specifications/gpu%E2%80%94discrete?guid=guid-d6248aeb-4661-44f3-84d0-9c79f6dcd32c&lang=en-us . Best is to see the dimension of the card you want to buy and compare against the current card you have
Not aware of the part number but when I bought the system only 360W option was available. These are dell custom PSUs to fit in the profile and to some is a drawback as cannot be replaced with standard PSUs
I bought this computer with RTX 3070. But I have in my computer a Mellanox ConnectX-2 for 10Gbit network. Can I plug in my new PC ? Thanks for your help
It has 1 x 4x and 1 x8x pci-e slot free. If your card is a x4 then it should fit but if its a x8 i am not sure if it will have enough space next to the graphic card. If removing from your current PC is easy then it will be a very simple exercise to try and see if it fits
Is it possible to add a 2.5" HDD and a second 3.5" HDD (if your system already came with one 3.5" HDD installed) at the same time? I can find a power cable and a SATA cable for the 2.5" no problem but the second 3.5"... I can only find a SATA cable for it, how do I power it? There doesn't appear to be any more power sources. I don't get why they'd have an empty SATA slot to add a HDD that you can't power? What am I missing?
You should be able to buy a power cable Y splitter and connect it to the Power cable you used for 3.5" HDD. And then connect each of the Y end to the HDD
There is a "SATA Power" cable -- but it only has two power leads, one to one 3.5" and one to a 2.5," or one to a 3.5," one to a 2.5" and a power extension cable to one of the two power connectors that run to the 2.5" drive slot. So one can run two 2.5" and one 3.5" or 2 3.5" and one 2.5". I am all in all appalled at the extreme reduction in quality of this XPS.
In the video at 36 seconds , the two slots are shown with one labelled in Yellow "An extra 3.5" slot" and the second labelled in Red "3.5" HDD slot is horizontal
I just bought one of these last week from Amazon and it has extra RAM and an SSD. Only problem I'm having is if I plug in a USB 2.0 device like a Thumb Drive and eject it the computer won't recognize it again unless I reboot the computer. I bought a 3.0 USB Thumb Driver and it works just fine. Anyone have the same problem or fixed it if you did?
Ah nice. Yeah I was just surprised you found 1 that fit the XPS. That's usually the problem with these. One has to usually wander what is going to work. Say do you happen to know if the Blu-Ray Burner dell uses can even read UHD BDs? I just orderd an 8940 and added the 50$ Blu-Ray Burner. Just don't know if it'll read UHD BD. Not that I yet have any but I'd like to start getting some.
@@hamitcampos4989 The firewire card was for a tenner so easy to take the risk. Worked out well. I didn't go for a Blu-Ray but since you have already added it to your system, you will find it shortly if UHD BD works :)
@@OvalShelf Lol! True that. I was just thinking about that. When I check out what moddle it is then yeah we'll see if UHD BD works or can be made to work. See again though the Dell problem? They don't tell you the moddle. It's just tray load BD writer or something and that it's $50. They don't even give you a link. Well what ever for now. I like I said don't even have UHD BDs. But they indeed are in the plans.
Hi, I am planning to buy this xps 8940. Does anyone know how you would connect the power to the MSI gtx 1660 super that requires an 8-pin connector? the Dell sale reps do not seem to know sh** about it. Does it come with an 8-pin, or 6 (+2) or a single 6-pin. Do I need to buy any power cord adapter for this?
Thanks a lot for the video. Looking at the video, it seems system is shipped with 1 sata cable for 2.5" HDD/SSD, or did you install it ? Because I remember in their previous model, they never gave sata cables for additional sata HDD/SSD.
The system did ship with 1 sata cable for 2.5" HDD. But if you buy a configured system with pre-installed 2.5" drive then probably there will be no spare cable
You can also install the optional VRM heat sink that shows up in the manual illustration but not on the actual motherboard. At least not on the XPS 8940 I got yesterday. Deal4GO VR Voltage Regulator VRM HeatSink Cover Replacement for Dell XPS 8940 OptiPlex 7080 G5 SE 5000 0612F7 612F7 Manufacturer Part Number(s): 0612F7, 612F7, CN-0612F7 About $23.
Hi I purchased a 8940 i7-10700. I need to upgrade from 16 to 32GB. Would PNY XLR8 32(2x16GB) DDR4 3200MHz CL16 work or is there a specific brand I need to purchase? According to the manual the RAM speed is 2933MHZ.
The 8940 doesnt support XMP profile. So I think the PNY will run at its default non XMP speed of 2400MHz. I believe the default voltage supported by motherboard is 1.2v. I am not sure if the PNY in non xmp mode will run at 1.2v. Worth checking that
Hi, I installed 1TB SSD. Now I need to install 16gb ram. My RAM configuration is Hynix 3200Mhz. Runs at 2666 1.2v. My PC is I5 10400. I bought CORSAIR DDR4 2x16 3000MHz set. It is 1.35v. Is it OK for 8940? Can I use 1.35v Ram instead of 1.2v? I do not see anything that says XMP on RAM box. I see only VENGEANCE LPX
If this is the one you bought , www.corsair.com/uk/en/Categories/Products/Memory/VENGEANCE-LPX/p/CMK32GX4M2B3000C15#tab-tech-specs ,then it shows XMP 2.0 and an SPD voltage of 1.2v and SPD speed of 2133MHz. What this means is that the RAM will run at 1.2v/2133MHz by default but will support Overclocking to the higher values if Motherboard supports XMP profiles. However best to check with Dell support
@@OvalShelf Thank you for your quick reply. Dell does not support XMP in addition DELL does not give any information or support for non Dell component. I found another one which I hope will work for me. www.corsair.com/eu/en/Categories/Products/Memory/Vengeance-PRO-RGB-Black/p/CMW32GX4M2Z3200C16#tab-tech-specs I understand that if you have XMP you can overclock your RAM and it will run at 1.35v and higher speed. If you do not have XMP than it will default to 1.2V and it will run at 2666. Is it correct assumption? Thanks in advance.
I went for a Corsair Vengeance DDR4 2666MHz C16 XMP. However in hindsight would have gone for a non XMP card. The one that shipped with the desktop is Hynix 3200Mhz 8GB CL22
The motherboard will run RAM at max 2933MHz. If you buy a RAM with frequency higher say 3200MHz the board will automatically downgrade it to 2933MHz. So try and find a RAM with DDR4, 2933MHz or more. Make sure it doesn't say XMP. Something like Crucial 8GB DDR4-3200 UDIMM CL22 or similar 16GB
Don't forget you'll also need to buy a decent CPU cooler for it as the stock one in this unit causes the CPU to throttle down because it's overheating all the time (which causes some of those other upgrades to be not as effective). _Or just don't buy a Dell at all. They're "customer support" is horrible and if you have issues with your computer it's going to be a nightmare to get anything fixed / replaced._
The desktop comes with a prepopulated m2 slot and there is only 1slot. Whether its an SSD or HDD the install process is the same for a 2.5" drive so individual choice. Floppy drive? never heard of it!
You would install HDD’s from a previous computer that contain backup data most likely. Why would you spend money unnecessarily on any new storage if you already have made the investment?
Never got one since the design of the premium XPS today is as screwed up as could be. For the life of me I can't understand all these upgrades needed on Dell's best model. I have a XPS 8700 that I'll struggle with till Dell gets their priorities right.
I'm obviously a complete idiot. I can't even get my new UDIMMs that I bought for mine to work after installing. Computer just ignores them. Frustrating. Also, I bought a pcie FireWire card, too. Will only some of the pins actually get plugged into the motherboard? Been working with computers for years, but I feel like a noob with this thing.
The motherboard has a 1x PCI-e slot in which the firewire card pins should all fit in.. There is a spare 4xPCI-e slot which a 1x card will probably not fit
I think you were supposed to put the RAM in the other slot with white tabs, DIMM2
Yup you are right and I had already mentioned it in the video description
@@OvalShelf show why show it like that, it's misleading
I have also enforced subtitles to highlight.
This is a good gaming prebuilt if you get it with a gpu built in or buy one
Thanks for the great video. I just purchased this machine yesterday (description stated 2 X 2.5" slots & 1 x 3.5") then downloaded the manual today, where on pg. 17 it stated it shipped with 2 x 2.5" slots, no mention of a 3.5" slot. I was concerned they only put in the 3.5" slot if you included a 3.5" HDD with your order (hey, it could happen). I have all my data on a 2nd 2T HDD that I plan to use in the new machine. Your video made it clear that I can do that.
Glad the video helped
Thanks so much, just installed a 3.5" HDD along with you! Excellent
Hey fantastic. Glad it helped
Isn,rt it better to install it in the other bracket more above the perforations?
Possibly but Dell service manual shows this bracket to install
what screws are needed for the hdd?
Generally M3x5mm for 2.5" HDD and for 3.5" HDD 6/32 - 5mm or 6mm should do
Where can I but the screws needes for the hard drive install?
I got mine from Amazon and should be available from ebay/similar sites or computer hardware store. www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08375VPR2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
That Vengeance memory didn't work in my XPS 8940 purchased from Dell in May 2022. Sent the memory back and ordered a 16MB (2x8) from Crucial
I got this pc recently and this Video helped in installing a ssd thanks
Where did you put the ssd
I have this computer too and I’m trying to add more storage. Is there 2 ssd slots?
yes you can install 2 ssds and 1 3.5 HDD. It comes with cables to install 2 drives and may need buy a data cable for the third drive
@@josephkirvida6173 there is only 1 nvme slot but I was using a sata ssd
I tried Vengeance and Crucial and neither worked. I called Crucial and they recommended taking out the CMOS battery which reset the system...upon reboot I went into the BIOS setuo and it showed the additional memory. Exited BIOS, rebooted, and everything is working now.
What screwdriver would take out the four screws of the cpu cooler to completely remove it?
On Dell service manual site Phillips screwdrivers #1/#2 are listed. www.dell.com/support/manuals/en-uk/xps-8940-desktop/xps-8940-service-manual/recommended-tools?guid=guid-ea979cc8-84ec-4827-86c4-c80a8c31f4bf&lang=en-us
great video, should not have this many down votes!
Thanks!
@@OvalShelf Will adding a 3.5 HDD cause overheating? Should I add a case fan?
I have added a 2TB 3.5hdd and no issues with heating
Great video - thanks! I added a firewire card as well but none of my software sees my camera input. I even installed the legacy driver. any ideas?
I used a old utility called dvio.exe which didnt require any other software to download from the camera. I have used that on the XPS 8940 and it was able to detect the camera and download raw content. Found it here www.carr-engineering.com/dvio.htm . Hope this works for you
Is installing a 2.5" SSD the same process? Thank u so much for the video btw
Yup exactly the same. Just didn't have it when i did the video
Thanks for this video. I am considering buying this machine rather than build something myself and would also like to be able to install a FW card. Don't know if I can find my old one but if not, what are the specs for a FW card that can be installed on the MB? Cheers.
Hi I got the one with these specs from Ebay - 1394A Firewire Card Adapter PCI-e 1X IEEE 4 Port (3+1) With 6 Pin To 4 Pin Cable. www.ebay.co.uk/itm/402311305329
Where did you get the 2.5" drive caddy (the light blue adapter)? Mine did not come with one and I cannot find one on the Dell website (or anywhere else for that matter).
Mine came with the desktop. It was a challenge to find one for the second slot. I bought one from ebay which was a slightly different form factor. Was a very tight fit but did the job. Was an old drive but would be slightly worried to squeeze a brand new ssd
If I have a Single 2T SSD Drive, do I still need an additional Hard Drive?
Not really. Additional hard drive will only be based on your storage needs or if you want to use cheaper HDD drives for least accessed files
Do you have any overheating issues ? I have bought mine xps 8940 two days ago and I’m dissatisfied with how hot in runs. When i do 3d renders the cpu goes up to 97 celsius. I have the 10900k procesor.
I don't have any over heating issues on mine you may have to get inside the computer and check to see if the fans are running good
Currently I have the dell xps 8940 but with the 10700k and rtx 3070 and it can’t handle 100% load as it goes to 93 or so degrees then will eventually just shut down on idle it’s 66 degrees
Try replacing the cup fan and add a Case fan in the casing
Great tutorial, thanks. Do you know if this PC works without the Graphic card mounted on the PCIe slot? Because I need the all the 3 PCIe to mount others cards.
All though there is an integrated graphics card the only hdmi output port available to connect the monitor is on the graphics card. I had a situation where the graphics card was not seated properly and was not detected in device manager. Still was able to connect and work on the pc using Windows remote desktop.
Can it run Minecraft with ray tracing without the upgrades? It is on its way to my house and I was just interested.
Not tried it and my one is with 1650 Super so although it does support ray tracing it will most probably struggle. Hope it works for you. It does though handle Star Wars Squadrons on Oculus Quest with no issues
It will run rtx if you chose to put a rtx 2060 or up
Is this a good pc to add a 3080 in?
I dont believe the PC supports this card
@@OvalShelf This wouldn't really be a "support" thing; any modern PC with a PCIe 16x slot would support an RTX 3080. This is more of a "will it fit" thing. I'm looking to potentially install an EVGA 1080Ti SC2 in one of these, and my card is ~270mm in length.
@Pro Dev Although this PC has the proper 16x PCIe slot for an RTX 3080, I don't think that the included 360W power supply would be able to provide enough juice. That said, Dell offers up to an RTX 2070 Super with this build, so maybe they offer heftier power supplies? UPDATE: Checking Dell's site, you can upgrade to a 500W power supply. The 3080 alone requires 350W, so it would still be a pretty close call.
Yup which is why I think Dell has listed the supported cards which can fit within the 500W power supply. The newegg website has a psu calculator. A general config takes power requirement upto 520W
no. Will not fit and the power supply is not enough
Ok, so I’m a bit confused. I got mine 2 days ago and it came with the ssd and an hdd. I want to add another 3.5 hdd and I see the extra slot but I don’t see another power cable. There’s one extra SATA port that I assume is for the extra 3.5 bay, but I think it also might be needed for a second 2.5 hdd. Could I theoretically have the ssd, 2 3.5 hdd’s and 2 2.5 hdd’s? There appears to be 2 power cables (on the same run) over to the bay where the 2.5’s are, but only one SATA cable runs over there. And where is the SSD? This is my first computer with a solid state and I can’t find it.
The SSD which you are looking for is in M.2 format and will be between the fan and the graphics card. Check this link www.dell.com/support/manuals/en-uk/xps-8940-desktop/xps-8940-service-manual/installing-the-system-board?guid=guid-25d14fe1-5fc7-4b24-939b-56aa714aa638&lang=en-us . This also shows the number of data and power ports available. You should be able to use a Y cable to put another device on the Power run. There is an Optical SATA drive port(SATA3) which i think can be used for either the 2nd HDD or an Optical drive. So I think if optical drive is configured then we cant use the 2nd 3.5" slot and In the service manual as well that slot is not shown as an option for installing a 3.5" HDD
@@OvalShelf thanks for the help. I appreciate it. I had no idea it was so small.
Followed your advice with the firewire card upgrade. I have an old 1999 sony mini DV camcorder (DCR-PC3E) and wanted to upload all my video from 2000-2015 captured on it. The card went in ok and in device manager I can see the card is being recognized. When I check properties it says it is working properly, it also says its got the required driver and wont select any alternative if you click update driver, it says it has the correct driver installed (seems to be a Microsoft one from 2006). Furthermore when I attach the camera with the firewire cable I get the usual windows system sound you get when you add or remove a device or flash disk so I know its recognizing to a certain extent that somethings just been attached. The problem is on my old computer this was followed by a camera icon for the device appearing in My Computer and the camera appearing in the option list of drives/devices for uploading video files into my video editing software. Unfortunately on my XPS 8940 no such icon appears, it seems at the final hurdle the camera is somehow invisible to the computer. Like you say it was very cheap off amazon so no big deal but was a shame to fail at the final hurdle; when I heard the system sound on plugging in the cable I thought Id done it!
May be your old PC had the software which came with the mini DV installed. I remembered there was a old utility called dvio.exe which didnt require any other software to download from the camera. I have used that on the XPS 8940 and it was able to detect the camera and download raw content. Found it here www.carr-engineering.com/dvio.htm
Dell's OEM 1650 Super is ~6.3" long and ~3.6" high if anyone is wondering, 0.5" shorter than the Zotac 1660 TI mini, but still about the same height. This is the 6 pin version, not the Alienware 1650 which only runs on PCI slot power, and shorter.
Optical drive is slim size or regular size? Also mobo only got 3 sets of sata and power cables right? And you can add up to 5 things (2 2.5, 2 3.2, 1 optical) So 2 drives won't have cable to connect if you max it out?
I believe the Optical drive is slim size. The power cable can be daisy chained so that will not be a problem. For Sata cable the desktop comes with 3 sata cables and you can add 1 extra sata cable to the mobo. So can connect 4 out of 5 devices
@@OvalShelf So mobo got 4 sata connections? I tho it's 3, how about power cable for the 4th device? mobo also got 4? also My xps 8940's latest bios update shows "urgent" in dell.com, if desktop is working fine should I update the bios when it shows urgent?
There is a spare SATA port. You can buy a 46cm SATA cable. I currently have 2 x 2.5" + 1x 3.5" and a DVD drive. The power cable can be daisy chained from an existing power cable by using a Y splitter cable. This link will show the system board layout www.dell.com/support/manuals/en-uk/xps-8940-desktop/xps-8940-service-manual/removing-the-system-board?guid=guid-5623e814-fb64-486d-b5b4-835b861db37f&lang=en-us. Its always better to stay up to date as the updates may have security patches. Its straightforward however key is not to remove power while bios update is going on
how do i install an SSD ???
Exactly the same process shown for the 2.5" HDD. Instead of the HDD use your SSD
@@OvalShelf oh thank you
Why you mix ram modules
It was demonstrating the process of upgrade. This particular model doesn't support XMP profiles so sourcing a compatible one is important
Does it matter which dim slot you put it in because people put it on 1 and 3, or 2 and 4 and they work perfectly fine. Am I able to do 1 an 2 or use all of them
I have updated the notes to recommend putting in same coloured slots so 1 and 3 to get dual channel performance. putting them side by side you might lose some performance
Hola , tengo una dell xps 8940, quier instalarte esta tarjeta grafica NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 TI 8GB GDDR6, pero no se cual elegir por el tamaño, ya que varia y me preocupa que luego no entre en la pc o dañe algo, me podran ayudar?
Th only thing available is the information on Dell site. www.dell.com/support/manuals/en-uk/xps-8940-desktop/xps-8940-setup-and-specifications/gpu%E2%80%94discrete?guid=guid-d6248aeb-4661-44f3-84d0-9c79f6dcd32c&lang=en-us . Best is to see the dimension of the card you want to buy and compare against the current card you have
Which FireWire card did you use?
I used on from ebay with following details 1394A Firewire Card Adapter PCI-e 1X IEEE 4 Port (3+1) With 6 Pin To 4 Pin Cable
Whats the power supply part number?
Not aware of the part number but when I bought the system only 360W option was available. These are dell custom PSUs to fit in the profile and to some is a drawback as cannot be replaced with standard PSUs
I bought this computer with RTX 3070. But I have in my computer a Mellanox ConnectX-2 for 10Gbit network. Can I plug in my new PC ? Thanks for your help
It has 1 x 4x and 1 x8x pci-e slot free. If your card is a x4 then it should fit but if its a x8 i am not sure if it will have enough space next to the graphic card. If removing from your current PC is easy then it will be a very simple exercise to try and see if it fits
@@OvalShelf it’s a pci 8x
I will test when I received my Dell PC but it’s not before one week and I forgot to check that before my order.
Will be interesting to know if it fits as the graphic card does reduce the space fo the x8 slot
Is it possible to add a 2.5" HDD and a second 3.5" HDD (if your system already came with one 3.5" HDD installed) at the same time? I can find a power cable and a SATA cable for the 2.5" no problem but the second 3.5"... I can only find a SATA cable for it, how do I power it? There doesn't appear to be any more power sources.
I don't get why they'd have an empty SATA slot to add a HDD that you can't power? What am I missing?
You should be able to buy a power cable Y splitter and connect it to the Power cable you used for 3.5" HDD. And then connect each of the Y end to the HDD
There is a "SATA Power" cable -- but it only has two power leads, one to one 3.5" and one to a 2.5," or one to a 3.5," one to a 2.5" and a power extension cable to one of the two power connectors that run to the 2.5" drive slot.
So one can run two 2.5" and one 3.5" or 2 3.5" and one 2.5".
I am all in all appalled at the extreme reduction in quality of this XPS.
Where and how did you mount the second 3.5?
In the video at 36 seconds , the two slots are shown with one labelled in Yellow "An extra 3.5" slot" and the second labelled in Red "3.5" HDD slot is horizontal
Wow, I just posted literally the same question.
I just bought one of these last week from Amazon and it has extra RAM and an SSD. Only problem I'm having is if I plug in a USB 2.0 device like a Thumb Drive and eject it the computer won't recognize it again unless I reboot the computer. I bought a 3.0 USB Thumb Driver and it works just fine. Anyone have the same problem or fixed it if you did?
Wait a fire wire card? How did you get 1 that fits?
Hi I got this one from Ebay - 1394A Firewire Card Adapter PCI-e 1X IEEE 4 Port (3+1) With 6 Pin To 4 Pin Cable
Ah nice. Yeah I was just surprised you found 1 that fit the XPS. That's usually the problem with these. One has to usually wander what is going to work. Say do you happen to know if the Blu-Ray Burner dell uses can even read UHD BDs? I just orderd an 8940 and added the 50$ Blu-Ray Burner. Just don't know if it'll read UHD BD. Not that I yet have any but I'd like to start getting some.
@@hamitcampos4989 The firewire card was for a tenner so easy to take the risk. Worked out well. I didn't go for a Blu-Ray but since you have already added it to your system, you will find it shortly if UHD BD works :)
@@OvalShelf Lol! True that. I was just thinking about that. When I check out what moddle it is then yeah we'll see if UHD BD works or can be made to work. See again though the Dell problem? They don't tell you the moddle. It's just tray load BD writer or something and that it's $50. They don't even give you a link. Well what ever for now. I like I said don't even have UHD BDs. But they indeed are in the plans.
@@OvalShelf Hi. I too have many miniDV tapes. Can you tell me exactly what Firewire card you have?
Hi, I am planning to buy this xps 8940. Does anyone know how you would connect the power to the MSI gtx 1660 super that requires an 8-pin connector? the Dell sale reps do not seem to know sh** about it. Does it come with an 8-pin, or 6 (+2) or a single 6-pin. Do I need to buy any power cord adapter for this?
Thanks a lot for the video.
Looking at the video, it seems system is shipped with 1 sata cable for 2.5" HDD/SSD, or did you install it ? Because I remember in their previous model, they never gave sata cables for additional sata HDD/SSD.
The system did ship with 1 sata cable for 2.5" HDD. But if you buy a configured system with pre-installed 2.5" drive then probably there will be no spare cable
@@OvalShelf will there be a spare cable for a HDD if you only order SSSD?
I am not sure but i bought an additional 45cm length SATA cable subsequently to populate the 2nd 2.5" enclosure with EVO 1TB SSD
You can also install the optional VRM heat sink that shows up in the manual illustration but not on the actual motherboard. At least not on the XPS 8940 I got yesterday.
Deal4GO VR Voltage Regulator VRM HeatSink Cover Replacement for Dell XPS 8940 OptiPlex 7080 G5 SE 5000 0612F7 612F7
Manufacturer Part Number(s): 0612F7, 612F7, CN-0612F7
About $23.
She installed the 2nd RAM stick in wrong slot. First the white slots have to be occupied for dual channel benefits.
Thanks. Have clarified in the comments and subtitles
Just got one of these with 3060 rtx. Haven't even opened it.
And how is it performing for you? I'm considering this desktop PC too but there are mixed reviews and most complain about overheating, etc.. Thanks!
for the RAM, it is better to use Crucial RAM that supports 1.2v voltage, otherwise, it may only run at 2100Mhz.
The RAM in the video didnt work for my brand new machine. Sent it back and ordering crucial
Hi I purchased a 8940 i7-10700. I need to upgrade from 16 to 32GB. Would PNY XLR8 32(2x16GB) DDR4 3200MHz CL16 work or is there a specific brand I need to purchase? According to the manual the RAM speed is 2933MHZ.
The 8940 doesnt support XMP profile. So I think the PNY will run at its default non XMP speed of 2400MHz. I believe the default voltage supported by motherboard is 1.2v. I am not sure if the PNY in non xmp mode will run at 1.2v. Worth checking that
Hi, I installed 1TB SSD. Now I need to install 16gb ram. My RAM configuration is Hynix 3200Mhz. Runs at 2666 1.2v. My PC is I5 10400. I bought CORSAIR DDR4 2x16 3000MHz set. It is 1.35v. Is it OK for 8940? Can I use 1.35v Ram instead of 1.2v? I do not see anything that says XMP on RAM box. I see only VENGEANCE LPX
If this is the one you bought , www.corsair.com/uk/en/Categories/Products/Memory/VENGEANCE-LPX/p/CMK32GX4M2B3000C15#tab-tech-specs ,then it shows XMP 2.0 and an SPD voltage of 1.2v and SPD speed of 2133MHz. What this means is that the RAM will run at 1.2v/2133MHz by default but will support Overclocking to the higher values if Motherboard supports XMP profiles. However best to check with Dell support
@@OvalShelf Thank you for your quick reply. Dell does not support XMP in addition DELL does not give any information or support for non Dell component.
I found another one which I hope will work for me. www.corsair.com/eu/en/Categories/Products/Memory/Vengeance-PRO-RGB-Black/p/CMW32GX4M2Z3200C16#tab-tech-specs
I understand that if you have XMP you can overclock your RAM and it will run at 1.35v and higher speed. If you do not have XMP than it will default to 1.2V and it will run at 2666. Is it correct assumption?
Thanks in advance.
Where did you put your ssd
You can install the SSD in any of the 2 x 2.5" slots
John - Which memory modules did you get to work?
What ram did you buy for this?
I went for a Corsair Vengeance DDR4 2666MHz C16 XMP. However in hindsight would have gone for a non XMP card. The one that shipped with the desktop is Hynix 3200Mhz 8GB CL22
OvalShelf what should I buy?!?
/ do you like the desktop?
The motherboard will run RAM at max 2933MHz. If you buy a RAM with frequency higher say 3200MHz the board will automatically downgrade it to 2933MHz. So try and find a RAM with DDR4, 2933MHz or more. Make sure it doesn't say XMP. Something like Crucial 8GB DDR4-3200 UDIMM CL22 or similar 16GB
Yes so far so good. Easy to upgrade and compact at same time.
Don't forget you'll also need to buy a decent CPU cooler for it as the stock one in this unit causes the CPU to throttle down because it's overheating all the time (which causes some of those other upgrades to be not as effective).
_Or just don't buy a Dell at all. They're "customer support" is horrible and if you have issues with your computer it's going to be a nightmare to get anything fixed / replaced._
ram should be in same color slots = much faster ddr rate
Yup I mentioned it in the notes as well
I wouldn’t have thought any HDDs are a key upgrade, most people are ripping them out for SDDs, m2 preferably. You forgot the 5 1/4 inch floppy drive!
The desktop comes with a prepopulated m2 slot and there is only 1slot. Whether its an SSD or HDD the install process is the same for a 2.5" drive so individual choice. Floppy drive? never heard of it!
You would install HDD’s from a previous computer that contain backup data most likely. Why would you spend money unnecessarily on any new storage if you already have made the investment?
You know the screws are captive
The screws are not captive and come out completely
@@OvalShelf you don’t need to take it out fully to open it
Ah ok. Thanks
Never got one since the design of the premium XPS today is as screwed up as could be. For the life of me I can't understand all these upgrades needed on Dell's best model. I have a XPS 8700 that I'll struggle with till Dell gets their priorities right.
You installed the RAM wrong
Thanks Have clarified in the comments and subtitles
@@OvalShelf 👍
I'm obviously a complete idiot. I can't even get my new UDIMMs that I bought for mine to work after installing. Computer just ignores them. Frustrating.
Also, I bought a pcie FireWire card, too. Will only some of the pins actually get plugged into the motherboard?
Been working with computers for years, but I feel like a noob with this thing.
The motherboard has a 1x PCI-e slot in which the firewire card pins should all fit in.. There is a spare 4xPCI-e slot which a 1x card will probably not fit
I'm looking up upgrade memory too. Did you finally get the memory module to work with the system?