Hi William.
I left a complete reply to HH's post.
I want thank you for your detailed answer.
Fortunately, my original Compaq power supply from 2000 did not fail. I
replaced it only to be sure I had enough wattage for the hardware I
added last year. The original PSU actually has the "Compaq" brand on
it, so I don't know if it is a Bestec or not. All I know is, it was
still going strong when I replace it (and... I never heard any fan noise
from it!)
Nancy
On Thu, 26 Nov 2009 05:51:19 GMT, William R. Walsh wrote in
alt.sys.pc-clone.compaq news:qHoPm.150233$la3.140464@attbi_s22:
Hi!
Would the following power supply work in my PC? (If not, do you have
any suggestions for a different power supply that would work?)
Sure, but it's overkill. That PC is never going to need a 500 watt power
supply. It won't hurt anything to use it, but you'll end up paying more than
you would for a smaller unit that is still perfectly adequate.
I'd recommend a 300-400 watt supply, with 400 nearing the border of more
power supply than you will ever need with this computer. If you've got a
nearby computer parts store, look for power supply brands such as Enlight,
HiPro, AGI, or PC Power and Cooling (premium quality supplies--not cheap but
worthwhile if you demand especially reliable power for your computer). Avoid
no-name supplies and ones that seem to be very light when you handle
them--there are lots of dishonestly specified power supplies out there that
will not provide the power you need. Check this:
http://greyghost.mooo.com/psuthoughts/
Scroll down to where you can see a Bestec supply like the one that was
probably in your Compaq system when it was new. Even the inexpensive and
failure prone Bestec supply is better built than the allegedly "400 watt"
unit.
The PSU has the correct dimensions and says it will work with either
PATA or SATA drives (I've got two PATA drives).
The dimensions are pretty well standard. An ATX style power supply is pretty
much an ATX style power supply. Sometimes you have to watch for switches and
stuff that might get in the way or not fit the cutouts in the case. That is
unlikely to be a problem--Compaq did not get particularly "inventive" with
these systems.
Will it connect to the Compaq motherboard?
Yes.
Will the PSU work with the single-core Duron processor? It says it works
on dual-core and I have no idea if it will also handle single-core.
Yes.
Are there enough connectors?
Any power supply is likely to have a few extras, which will not hurt
anything. If you want to, you can count up the types of plugs and look for a
power supply that comes as close as possible without going too far over.
There's no real need to do that, since the extras can be left disconnected
and unused. You can even bundle them up together if you'd like.
The power supply fan was very loud (like an airplane engine!) but I
lived with it until the fan started to malfunction in September.
That is typically a sign of a cheaply made power supply. I would not get one
from them again. Not being familiar with the company, I don't know what
their reputation is. A well made power supply should have a fan that lasts a
long time and runs reasonably quietly. It should move air but not sound like
a tornado when doing so.
It is good to know that your system is still operating. Sometimes the
failure of the factory provided power supply (typically from a company known
as Bestec) will take out the motherboard in your computer. The result is a
system that acts dead even with a new power supply in place.