Upgrading your Trident 3

lionvandenbrand

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Hi all,

Since there are so many posts about this topic I thought it would be nice to have somewhat of an overview.

Let me start by saying that upgrading your Trident 3 (whatever Gen) is possible. BUT, there is a catch: it depends on what kind of motherboard and power supply you are using.
Trident 3 now comes in 7 versions:

VersionsChipsetPCB versionsBIOS version(s)PowerProduct page
7th Gen H1101.0/2.1520/A20230Whttps://www.msi.com/Desktop/support/Trident-3
7th Gen ArcticH1102.1A20230Whttps://www.msi.com/Desktop/support/Trident-3-Arctic
8th GenH3101.0/2.1840230/330Whttps://www.msi.com/Desktop/support/Trident-3-8th
8th Gen ArcticH310?840230/330Whttps://www.msi.com/Desktop/support/Trident-3-Arctic-8th
9th GenH310?950230/330Whttps://www.msi.com/Desktop/support/Trident-3-9th
9th Gen ArcticH310?950230/330Whttps://www.msi.com/Desktop/support/Trident-3-Arctic-9th
10th GenH410?800230/330Whttps://www.msi.com/Desktop/support/MPG-Trident-3-10th
Note: This data comes from the datasheets on the specification page within the product page. You can find them in the attachments.

Here is an overview of posts with tested upgrades:
Trident GenWhat's tested?Working?Link
7th GenI7 7700+GTX1060 3G+230w power supply. Two friends with same model but difference in PCB version (1.0 and 2.1). Version 1.0 tries upgrade 1070 GTX (NOT WORKING with 230W and 330W), version 2.1 tries 1080 GTX (WORKING with 330W)NO/YEShttps://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?threads/316727
7th Gen1TB M.2 SSD, GTX1070 Aero 8GB OC graphics cardYEShttps://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?threads/333227
7th Geni7-7700 upgraded with Nvidia RTX 2060-6GB and Samsung 970 Evo NVMe PCIe M.2 250GB with 230W using Throttlestop, later 330W without Throttlestop and with Afterburner. NOTE: PCB version 2.1 and BIOS A20YEShttps://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?threads/313929
8th GenUpgraded with ASUS PHOENIX 1660 SUPER (also noted that 1660 Ti works)YEShttps://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?threads/327434
7th Geni5-7400 MSI GTX 1070 Aero using Afterburner and Intel Extreme Tuning Utility. NOTE: did not fit very good
YEShttps://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?threads/298545
7th Geni7-7700 Gigabyte GTX1080 Mini ITX using AfterburnerYEShttps://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?threads/298545
7th Geni7-7700 Arctic version GTX 1070 upgraded to Gigabyte RTX 2070 ITX versionYEShttps://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?threads/298545
8th GenGIGABYTE GeForce GTX 1660 TiYEShttps://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?threads/298545
7th Gen I7-7700+GTX1060 3G 230w power supply, upgraded to GTX1070 ITX (also tested with 330W)NOhttps://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?threads/298545
9th Geni7-9700f, 16gb of ram and nvme ssd and gtx 1660 ti with a 230w PSU upgraded to 2060 mini ITXNOhttps://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?threads/334433
The next question is: which Motherboards and GPU cards work with 230W without additional programs? Which work with 230W using Throttlestop and/or Afterburner? And which work only with 330W?

I have to work now so I'm posting this now, will update this later on.
Feel free to suggest an improvements!

Lion
 

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Ok. For me it also works now. Solution was to get a original 330W PSU (I asked MSI support where to get one). Do NOT (I repeat: DO NOT ! ) buy cheap PSU from strange china online shops. These things are garbage.
 
No. I ordered 2 new PSU 330W. 1 from cheap (bad looking) china online shop for 80$ and one original for 130$. the cheap china PSU always crashed the computer, the expensive original works
 
Heya there, looking to upgrade my Trident 3 10th gen with a new GPU, and I'm looking to find what my options are. I've currently got a GTX 1650 Super, and I am looking to boost that up to potentially a 3050 or a 3060.

My power supply is a 230W, so if I have been reading this thread right, I would need to upgrade to a 330W, right? I just want to be sure I have a motherboard that can accommodate it. I felt that me having a 10th gen would guarantee that I could go for a 330W, but when I checked the mainboard tab on CPU-Z, my model was specified as "MS-B9321 - 1.0." The thread was saying that a "1.0" board would not work, and me seeing the "1.0" in the field next to the "MS-B9321" is making me second guess whether I can use a 330W or not.

I'm pretty new to this whole "upgrading computers" thing, and me being "Pretty Good At Research"(tm) can only carry me so far. Anyone able to please lend a guiding hand?
 
My 10th gen trident came with gtx 1660 and 230 psu ,upgraded to rtx 3060 with 330 powersupply no problem. Msi tech support confirmed the version 1.0 mainboard can use 230w or 330w. Just make sure you buy a good power supply .
 
Hello,
I own the MSI Trident 3 8th gen with v1.1 - 220 watts motherboard.
Did some research to my limited upgrade capabilities and decided to update my GTX 1060 6GB AERO ITX (120w TDP) to the new RTX 3050 AERO ITX (130w TDP)
When I successfully installed the new card using a 6 to 8 pin power connecter, I tried to power up my system.
However, all I got was a black screen and the fans spinning (both CPU & GPU).
I then used the intregrated graphics HDMI port and got into the BIOS where the system didn't detect the GPU in the PCI slot.

So the first step I did was confirming it was properly inserted into the PCI slot, but no luck.
Then I used another pc to confirm the new card was working properly, and it did.
Went to the internet and found evidence the 3050 AERO does work on the 220 watts v1.0 motherboard by @lukaszdroi154f02d6 on this forum.
Used MSI Afterburner on the other pc to reduce the power limit to 92% which equals 119 watts and then once again it failed to recognize my 3050.
I guess my motherboards needs the requirement of a GPU TDP of 120 watts or less to recognize a videocard.
MSI Afterburner does not hard-save it the GPU is my guess as well.
However I am away from home for a couple weeks so have to wait.

If anybody could help me, please advise.
Thanks.
 
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I would just like to throw in my experience since I wasn't seeing many talk about Trident 3 9th:

I own the Trident 3 9th - 9700 version that came with the 1660ti, motherboard says 2.0 on it (not 2.1). I recently purchased the PNY 3060 mini itx since I found it on sale online. The 6 to 8 pin adapter was too short, but I made it work by having it go under the card, not sure how I feel about it yet, its super tight. So I may buy a longer one.

However I did need to upgrade to the 330w PSU brick. Just like others are saying DO NOT GO CHEAP ON THIS. I bought an $80 one on Amazon with the sticker saying "replacement power supply" and it would crash almost instantly when opening games. I am returning it, lol.

Thankfully I actually had a spare Delta Electronics 330w PSU in storage from an older MSI laptop I owned. So I tested that out and it is working flawlessly now.

Enjoy the upgrades! Not sure if I should have went for the 3060ti instead.

-EDIT-

I had an account already, future replies from me, if necessary, will come from "StoryMode"
 
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Hello,
I own the MSI Trident 3 8th gen with v1.1 - 220 watts motherboard.
Did some research to my limited upgrade capabilities and decided to update my GTX 1060 6GB AERO ITX (120w TDP) to the new RTX 3050 AERO ITX (130w TDP)
...
If anybody could help me, please advise.
Thanks.
To continue on this, I found some time and went to a pc repair shop.
After some time in the shop the conclusion was the bios must be outdated and there's no new update available.
Even the original bios couldn't be found online, however the arctic version does, which seems to have the same motherboard.
The arctic version is 840 dated 2019-03-28 , while mine is 820 dated 2018-12-07.
Done the update to 840, but it still failed to recognize it.

So final conclusion: RTX 30 series isn't compatible with MSI Trident 3 8th generation.
 
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I recently purchased a used 8th gen trident. When I received it, i checked the pcb version and found that mine is a 2.0. I checked the bios version as well and it is an odd version that I have not seen on the forums it is bios version 900 for whatever reason. I connected the 330w power supply from my 11th gen trident to it and stuck a PNY XLR8 single fan RTX 3060 in along with a 6 to 8 pin power cable adapter, pressed the power button and hoped for the best! It powered up and the fan spins, after updating the nvidia drivers, this thing runs flawlessly.
I can confirm that,
8th gen Trident
Pcb version 2.0
Bios version 900 (as strange as it sounds!)
330w power supply
Pny xlr8 single fan rtx 3060
Works just fine for me.
 
@a_triplett158302dd
So did you get the PNY 12GB 3060 with the 170w TDP? Did you have to use Throttle stop or After Burner as when I was looking at that card on some sites it was saying it required a 530w power supply.
This thread is excellent. Well done to all have posted in here and props to Lion for starting it.
I am curious if the 1.0 and 2.1 motherboard issues stopped being an issue after a certain gen seeing as some have been able to upgrade to the 3060 and use the higher power supply. I believe everyone who mentioned doing that were on Gen 11.
I am going to update my sons Trident 3 (7th Gen, i7-700 3.6Ghz CPU and GTX 1060 3GB GPU) and have just been making a plan on what to get for it and what it can handle.
On CPU-Z it says the PCB is 2.0 so thinking that is probably just the same as the 2.1 others have been mentioning. I had the thing open and upgraded the RAM to 32GB recently, should have checked the PCB then, will rip it open later and figure it out. I need to update the Bios to A-20 as its on A-10 still.
It currently has the Delta 230 power supply so will need to buy a 330 and get the 6 pin to 8 pin adapter. Was looking at the power supplies on ebay and might give that a pass after reading everyone on here who have ended up with non working junk cables by the sounds of it.
 
@a_triplett158302dd
So did you get the PNY 12GB 3060 with the 170w TDP? Did you have to use Throttle stop or After Burner as when I was looking at that card on some sites it was saying it required a 530w power supply.
This thread is excellent. Well done to all have posted in here and props to Lion for starting it.
I am curious if the 1.0 and 2.1 motherboard issues stopped being an issue after a certain gen seeing as some have been able to upgrade to the 3060 and use the higher power supply. I believe everyone who mentioned doing that were on Gen 11.
I am going to update my sons Trident 3 (7th Gen, i7-700 3.6Ghz CPU and GTX 1060 3GB GPU) and have just been making a plan on what to get for it and what it can handle.
On CPU-Z it says the PCB is 2.0 so thinking that is probably just the same as the 2.1 others have been mentioning. I had the thing open and upgraded the RAM to 32GB recently, should have checked the PCB then, will rip it open later and figure it out. I need to update the Bios to A-20 as its on A-10 still.
It currently has the Delta 230 power supply so will need to buy a 330 and get the 6 pin to 8 pin adapter. Was looking at the power supplies on ebay and might give that a pass after reading everyone on here who have ended up with non working junk cables by the sounds of it.
The graphics card that I installed was the pny xlr8 12gb single fan. I did not have to do anything with throttle stop. I just plugged it in and went for it. As far as the power supply goes, I purchased my 330w power supply from ebay, but I made sure that it was an oem for the trident 3. It has been working great, with no issues. Thanks.
 
Cheers for the quick reply Triplett. Much appreciated. That is awesome that it is working. Have you been running it long and done much gaming on it?
Your temps are all good?
That is the card that I figured you were referencing. I was looking at the 360 single fan version from PYN (12GB) and the PALIT (8GB). There is barely a difference in price so was leaning towards the PYN but was concerned it might not work due to the power supply it mentions is required.
Not sure if it will let me post this link but on their site here for that card https://www.pny.com/pny-geforce-rtx-3060-12gb-xlr8-gaming-revel-epic-x-rgb-sf
It says it requires 550W or greater so it is great to know it is running fine on your system.
  • PCI Express-compliant motherboard with one dual-width x16 graphics slot
  • One 8-pin supplementary power connector
  • 550 W or greater system power supply
Alan JT had made a comment earlier about watching the voltage to ensure there isn't a hardware failured caused by too much voltage variation under gaming loads.
Have you checked that?

The power supply i was eyeing looks legit on ebay, but no idea if they just make copies. I am going to go for it I think and just give it a go. Thanks again for your reply :)
 
Cheers for the quick reply Triplett. Much appreciated. That is awesome that it is working. Have you been running it long and done much gaming on it?
Your temps are all good?
That is the card that I figured you were referencing. I was looking at the 360 single fan version from PYN (12GB) and the PALIT (8GB). There is barely a difference in price so was leaning towards the PYN but was concerned it might not work due to the power supply it mentions is required.
Not sure if it will let me post this link but on their site here for that card https://www.pny.com/pny-geforce-rtx-3060-12gb-xlr8-gaming-revel-epic-x-rgb-sf
It says it requires 550W or greater so it is great to know it is running fine on your system.
  • PCI Express-compliant motherboard with one dual-width x16 graphics slot
  • One 8-pin supplementary power connector
  • 550 W or greater system power supply
Alan JT had made a comment earlier about watching the voltage to ensure there isn't a hardware failured caused by too much voltage variation under gaming loads.
Have you checked that?

The power supply i was eyeing looks legit on ebay, but no idea if they just make copies. I am going to go for it I think and just give it a go. Thanks again for your reply :)

I haven’t dug that far into the voltages. I have had it all up and running for a few months now with no Issues. I have been running Hogwarts Legacy on it and its a pretty demanding game. It doesn’t run it at its full pace, but it does pretty decent. As far as the pny graphics card, if i remember correct the 550w power supply was just a recommendation, I don’t think it actually draws anymore than 170w. I have an 11th gen trident 3 with the MSI rtx 3060 Aero in it and it runs fine on the stock 330w power supply. Just make sure the power supply is the actual MSI oem one. I really had no idea if this upgrade would even work on my trident 3 8th gen, I couldn’t find anything that said it definitely would or wouldn’t, so I just kind of went for it.
 
msi.jpgThanks for posting that. The one I am looking at has all the right markings on it. I guess I will try it and find out! Ebays return policy isnt too bad so should be okay. And you are correct its TDP is 170w for that card. I am putting the card into a slightly older gen Trident but I have a feeling it will work.
Going to order the card and power supply and will update in here what happens so others will know if it works as well.
 
I haven’t dug that far into the voltages. I have had it all up and running for a few months now with no Issues. I have been running Hogwarts Legacy on it and its a pretty demanding game. It doesn’t run it at its full pace, but it does pretty decent. As far as the pny graphics card, if i remember correct the 550w power supply was just a recommendation, I don’t think it actually draws anymore than 170w. I have an 11th gen trident 3 with the MSI rtx 3060 Aero in it and it runs fine on the stock 330w power supply. Just make sure the power supply is the actual MSI oem one. I really had no idea if this upgrade would even work on my trident 3 8th gen, I couldn’t find anything that said it definitely would or wouldn’t, so I just kind of went for it.
Did you bench mark it before the switch in Hogwarts and after with the new card? If yes what sort of FPS improvement did you get over your previous card?
 
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