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#1
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replacing power supply
I currently have a 250W power supply in my system. I am thinking about
wanting to upgrade the video card in my system to a ATI 9800 PRO. It is my understanding that there will need to be a bigger power supply in order to handle this video card. Is changing out the power supply something that is easy to do? The only thing I have done inside the case is remove and replace the system cards as well as add memory modules. I don't have any experience with the power supply. Will the pins from the new power supply fit onto the main connection pin on the motherboard or will I have to get a new motherboard? |
#2
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Charlie Brookhart wrote:
I currently have a 250W power supply in my system. I am thinking about wanting to upgrade the video card in my system to a ATI 9800 PRO. It is my understanding that there will need to be a bigger power supply in order to handle this video card. Is changing out the power supply something that is easy to do? The only thing I have done inside the case is remove and replace the system cards as well as add memory modules. I don't have any experience with the power supply. Will the pins from the new power supply fit onto the main connection pin on the motherboard or will I have to get a new motherboard? Changing the power supply is very simple. 250W is fairly low, especially if you will be adding power hungry equipment into the PC. You will not need a new motherboard. PSU's are pretty much one size fits all so to speak. If you find it hard, make a note of where the plugs from the old PSU go before you put in the new one. If you get stuck you can just refer to that. You will generally have 2 plugs going into the motherboard, and the others into the hardware (V/C, HDD etc) |
#3
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On Sun, 28 Nov 2004 22:46:52 -0500, "Charlie Brookhart"
wrote: I currently have a 250W power supply in my system. I am thinking about wanting to upgrade the video card in my system to a ATI 9800 PRO. It is my understanding that there will need to be a bigger power supply in order to handle this video card. Almost certainly yes, you should upgrade it. Is changing out the power supply something that is easy to do? Yes, unplug all the plugs, unscrew 4 or 5 screws, then do the opposite with the new one. Rarely you'll find the rear switch for AC voltage needs changed to your location, so check that too. The only thing I have done inside the case is remove and replace the system cards as well as add memory modules. I don't have any experience with the power supply. Will the pins from the new power supply fit onto the main connection pin on the motherboard or will I have to get a new motherboard? If you have a standard ATX motherboard (which is very likely to be planning on a Radeon 9800), not a very, very proprietary PC-clone or workstation, odds are great it'll "fit", be compatible. If yoy posted details of your motherboard make/model (perhaps a link to it online) and current power supply model, we could confirm that. Another consideration is cable routing, try to secure cables out of the way such that there's no chance of one getting into a fan, and try to use all the cables, not bunching up a bunch of devices on the same cable until it's necessary. |
#4
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On Sun, 28 Nov 2004 22:46:52 -0500, "Charlie Brookhart"
wrote: I currently have a 250W power supply in my system. I am thinking about wanting to upgrade the video card in my system to a ATI 9800 PRO. It is my understanding that there will need to be a bigger power supply in order to handle this video card. Is changing out the power supply something that is easy to do? The only thing I have done inside the case is remove and replace the system cards as well as add memory modules. I don't have any experience with the power supply. Will the pins from the new power supply fit onto the main connection pin on the motherboard or will I have to get a new motherboard? The plugs are standardized and its pretty hard to plug them in wrong though Ive actually seen posts where some have plugged things in wrong .. You really have to be determined to plug them in wrong cause they are shaped to fit in a certain way. Basically you use common sense and take a close look at the shape of the plugs - if they are angles at a certain corner etc and fit them in the way they are designed to fit in The only thing is if you have a 250 watt - is it an AT system or ATX ? Is it an ancient system or not? Cause if its too old you might as well spend a bit a get a newer system. If its OK then its generally not hard at all to swap out the PS except you have to do a lot of plugging in and out of components. The other problems is if you have a proprietary case thats unusual in some way and if you have a dinky case that may not easily accept some types of PSes. Ive seen an emachines that was OK 2000 XP Athlon that had a 250 watt PS. |
#5
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I have a Dell Dimmension 8300 Desktop that I purchased in July of 2003. As
far as the systemboard, it is a planar G0728 model according to the system configuration page at dell. I have noticed that all the power supplies have an on/off switch in the back. How does this work when there is an on/off switch in the front of the computer? Here is the current system configuration: Dell Dimension 8300 250W power supply (unsure of the model) Planar G0728 motherboard (according to configuration page at dell.com) 512MB memory P4 2.6G " wrote in message ... On Sun, 28 Nov 2004 22:46:52 -0500, "Charlie Brookhart" wrote: I currently have a 250W power supply in my system. I am thinking about wanting to upgrade the video card in my system to a ATI 9800 PRO. It is my understanding that there will need to be a bigger power supply in order to handle this video card. Is changing out the power supply something that is easy to do? The only thing I have done inside the case is remove and replace the system cards as well as add memory modules. I don't have any experience with the power supply. Will the pins from the new power supply fit onto the main connection pin on the motherboard or will I have to get a new motherboard? The plugs are standardized and its pretty hard to plug them in wrong though Ive actually seen posts where some have plugged things in wrong . You really have to be determined to plug them in wrong cause they are shaped to fit in a certain way. Basically you use common sense and take a close look at the shape of the plugs - if they are angles at a certain corner etc and fit them in the way they are designed to fit in The only thing is if you have a 250 watt - is it an AT system or ATX ? Is it an ancient system or not? Cause if its too old you might as well spend a bit a get a newer system. If its OK then its generally not hard at all to swap out the PS except you have to do a lot of plugging in and out of components. The other problems is if you have a proprietary case thats unusual in some way and if you have a dinky case that may not easily accept some types of PSes. Ive seen an emachines that was OK 2000 XP Athlon that had a 250 watt PS. |
#6
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"Charlie Brookhart" wrote in message ...
I currently have a 250W power supply in my system. I am thinking about wanting to upgrade the video card in my system to a ATI 9800 PRO. It is my understanding that there will need to be a bigger power supply in order to handle this video card. Is changing out the power supply something that is easy to do? The only thing I have done inside the case is remove and replace the system cards as well as add memory modules. I don't have any experience with the power supply. Will the pins from the new power supply fit onto the main connection pin on the motherboard or will I have to get a new motherboard? You gave no details about your system that would give a clue about 1) whether you need a PSU upgrade and 2) how easy it would be to replace it. 250W is rather low for a modern system, but if it's a good quality unit and the rest of your system has modest power needs, you may still get by with 250W. Replacing it with at least a 300W PSU (preferably more) will ensure that it'll have enough juice to run your system w/o problems. However, as has often been said before in other threads here, you can't just take the stated power rating of just any old PSU at face value. Get a reliable brand. Replacing a PSU is no more difficult than replacing the cards and memory modules. You have to remove and refit the screws that fix the PSU to the case and the various connectors to the motherboard and other devices. If you have a branded computer with a proprietary (non-standard) PSU, you'll have to get a suitable unit. Unless you have a rare proprietary product for which it's impossible to get a suitable PSU, you won't have to get a new mobo. |
#7
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"Charlie Brookhart" wrote in
: The only thing I have done inside the case is remove and replace the system cards as well as add memory modules. You should be fine. The PS isn't any more difficult. As previously stated you may want to note how the cables are routed now and route them that way again, just to speed up the process. Just try not to get them too tangled, don't block fans, airflow, or vents and keep them off heatsinks. Its mostly just common sense. To make sure the screw holes match up you can measure yours and check the spec sheets at the manufacturer sites. I'm talking about spacing and pattern and not so much screw size. Screw type and size should be the same. Look for a mechanical drawing of the candidate PS's. This might be overkill but this will ensure that if Dell did something non-standard you won't get bit. Also measure the physical size of your power supply for an idea if the new one will fit in your case. I have noticed that all the power supplies have an on/off switch in the back. How does this work when there is an on/off switch in the front of the computer? The switch in the back, on the power supply itself, switches AC power to the supply itself. If this switch is 'OFF', then your PC cannot be turned on. If the PS switch is 'ON' then the PC, using the front panel switch and power-management software/firmware, control what happens. The switch on the front of the PC is monitored by circiuts on the motherboard. These circuits, along with power management software/firmware control turn-on, standy-by, turn-off, and possibly other functions of your PC. Check out the Power Management applet in Control Panel for an idea of what I am babbling about. Yes, this does mean that if the PS is plugged in and the PS switch is on that part of the motherboard is receiving power. There is a '5volt standby supply', +5vstby or something like that, to provide this power to the motherboard. Here is the current system configuration: Dell Dimension 8300 250W power supply (unsure of the model) Planar G0728 motherboard (according to configuration page at dell.com) 512MB memory P4 2.6G Check the video card manufacturer site to determine the new video cards' power requirements. Video card manufacturers frequently recommend a minimum PS power rating for their newer cards. For long term upgradability look for a supply with a separate 4-pin connector for the CPU. Just in case you upgrade your motherboard later. Newer motherboards use these 4-pin connectors. Adaptors are available so its not absolutely necessary. Also possibly look for a supply with power connectors for SATA if you think SATA hard drives are in your future. Lastly look for lots of 12volt amps. I have seen recommendations for a minimum of 20Amps (20A) on the 12volt supply. This is because newer motherboards power the CPU from the 12v supply. Video cards may also do this, I am not sure. good Luck |
#8
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Here is a link that I received from Dell support that has all the
information about the power supply. It appears that it is in fact a 250W PSU. As far as the systemboard, this is how Dell describes it: Dell ELX "flat" standard based on the Intel Canterwood (875)P chipset. It uses the Canterwood (875)P Memory Controller Hub (MCH), the I/O Controller Hub (ICH5), and Intel Pentium 4 (P4) processors. Here is the link: http://support.dell.com/support/edoc...ov.htm#1102452 "Zotin Khuma" wrote in message om... "Charlie Brookhart" wrote in message ... I currently have a 250W power supply in my system. I am thinking about wanting to upgrade the video card in my system to a ATI 9800 PRO. It is my understanding that there will need to be a bigger power supply in order to handle this video card. Is changing out the power supply something that is easy to do? The only thing I have done inside the case is remove and replace the system cards as well as add memory modules. I don't have any experience with the power supply. Will the pins from the new power supply fit onto the main connection pin on the motherboard or will I have to get a new motherboard? You gave no details about your system that would give a clue about 1) whether you need a PSU upgrade and 2) how easy it would be to replace it. 250W is rather low for a modern system, but if it's a good quality unit and the rest of your system has modest power needs, you may still get by with 250W. Replacing it with at least a 300W PSU (preferably more) will ensure that it'll have enough juice to run your system w/o problems. However, as has often been said before in other threads here, you can't just take the stated power rating of just any old PSU at face value. Get a reliable brand. Replacing a PSU is no more difficult than replacing the cards and memory modules. You have to remove and refit the screws that fix the PSU to the case and the various connectors to the motherboard and other devices. If you have a branded computer with a proprietary (non-standard) PSU, you'll have to get a suitable unit. Unless you have a rare proprietary product for which it's impossible to get a suitable PSU, you won't have to get a new mobo. |
#9
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On Mon, 29 Nov 2004 11:53:00 -0500, "Charlie Brookhart"
wrote: Here is a link that I received from Dell support that has all the information about the power supply. It appears that it is in fact a 250W PSU. As far as the systemboard, this is how Dell describes it: Dell ELX "flat" standard based on the Intel Canterwood (875)P chipset. It uses the Canterwood (875)P Memory Controller Hub (MCH), the I/O Controller Hub (ICH5), and Intel Pentium 4 (P4) processors. Here is the link: http://support.dell.com/support/edoc...ov.htm#1102452 That linked power supply is electrically a connector-compatible standard ATX power supply. The problem is that it appears to be a unique form-factor, different from standard ATX, but not mATX either. The picture might be deceiving, it might be a mATX-L (mATX that mounts on the long side) but if the picture's semi-accurate then it appears to be wider than an mATX, which would make sense as typically only overrated mATX are called "250W", generally their casing is too small to afford over 200W output. You might measure the available space your case has in the PSU mounting area, the mounting holes used to secure the power supply, then compare to the following dimensions (in mm). http://www.pcpowerandcooling.com/pro...dimensions.htm |
#10
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According to Dell, size does not matter. I talked to them about this
particular issue as far as what size the current psu is and how it might be different from the standard sizes. They assured me that this was not a problem, but they are probably leading me in the wrong direction. I will try the most recent suggestion listed and see what I get out of that. "kony" wrote in message ... On Mon, 29 Nov 2004 11:53:00 -0500, "Charlie Brookhart" wrote: Here is a link that I received from Dell support that has all the information about the power supply. It appears that it is in fact a 250W PSU. As far as the systemboard, this is how Dell describes it: Dell ELX "flat" standard based on the Intel Canterwood (875)P chipset. It uses the Canterwood (875)P Memory Controller Hub (MCH), the I/O Controller Hub (ICH5), and Intel Pentium 4 (P4) processors. Here is the link: http://support.dell.com/support/edoc...ov.htm#1102452 That linked power supply is electrically a connector-compatible standard ATX power supply. The problem is that it appears to be a unique form-factor, different from standard ATX, but not mATX either. The picture might be deceiving, it might be a mATX-L (mATX that mounts on the long side) but if the picture's semi-accurate then it appears to be wider than an mATX, which would make sense as typically only overrated mATX are called "250W", generally their casing is too small to afford over 200W output. You might measure the available space your case has in the PSU mounting area, the mounting holes used to secure the power supply, then compare to the following dimensions (in mm). http://www.pcpowerandcooling.com/pro...dimensions.htm |
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