Upgrading the power supply on a dell xps 420

N

Night Slayer

Active Member
well recently my best friend was so nice to give me two graphics cards for free. He gave me a geforce 7900 gs and a 7800 (I have no idea which model). I decided to install the 7900 into my dell xps 420 and when I did and had all the drivers installed my computer said it did not have enough power from my 375 watt power supply to supply sufficient power to the graphics card. Sadly disappointed I realized that I would have to upgrade this.

to cut the story short, I have heard that I need a 400 watt power supply yet I hear that it all depends on the psu. Seeing as I don't understand such things I come to you guys for your recommendations. Being the cheap guy that I am I have found a 430 watt graphics card for $39.99, but I do not know if it will give me what I need ([URL="http://www.bestbuy.com/site/]http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Thermaltake+-+430W+TR2+ATX+Power+Supply/9827301.p?id=1218179698427&skuId=9827301[/URL]). ) If it is not what I need, what are my other choices for replacing the power supply for little cost at either bestbuy or other online sources?
 
It's a decent power supply unit. 4/5 ratings from buyers on newegg.com

With power supplies, you get what you paid for means a LOT. A PSU is oftentimes the most common PC hardware where people don't pay for the best as possible, not realizing that the worse the brand, the more likely the PSU will fail (and take as many other PC hardware with it!) So when people are saying it depends on brand name, they mean reliable PSU makers: Sunbeam, PC Power & Cooling, Seasonic, Hipro, and a few other brands are the major makers. You'll want to look online and do some researching. Often times PSUs are divided into three main categories: Junk, Average, Excellent, with some models falling in between. You can tell a junk PSU by two tests: How much power does it give, and what's it price? If you're looking at two models of PSUs, say a $70 650watt PSU vs a $125 650watt PSU, don't immediately assume the $70 is the better bang for the buck. Likewise, in some cases, the more expensive PSU isn't always the better PSU to buy. In the latter case, that's the grey area of PSU buying; when you start talking PSU's costing more than $115, the size of PSUs are +550 watts, and they're more reliable products. The brands that I mentioned earlier are typically between Average -> Excellent.

One thing about PSU's, buying a good PSU means it can last for several years, moving from one PC build to the next (and then acting as a backup if you get a new one later). Couple of main things to pay attention to with PSUs: Connections. Does it support PCI-E and how many? How many SATA connections are there (for power). Is it a 24-pin, 20+4 pin, or 20 pin power connection? Sorry if I wrote a lot more than you needed, but hopefully, some of this stuff will give you a better idea overall what you should be looking for in PSU's down the line.

P.S. I'd look at raidmax or cooler master PSU's for a 450 watt model for a sub-$50 PSU. They're pretty reliable and affordable as well.
 
S12II 430W.
Get that. I think it's about $60. It's a SeaSonic (I believe, perhaps Silverstone. Pretty sure it's a SeaSonic OEM, though), so it's pretty good.
 
Seasonic is a good way to go.

Also, if you can find one below 500W, get a modular PSU. It makes a huge difference in cable management inside you case and is generally easier to work with (since you can remove the cables you dont need and add them back when you do). My 2 cents
 
This is what I am now running - it runs very cool and relatively quiet.. the price:performance was also nice - it is a semi-modular PSU - comes with a zipper storage bag for unused cables.
ocz_netzteil.jpg


ocz-500w-700w-modxstream-pro-box-content.jpg


http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4362114&CatId=1483
 
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The Cooler Master unit. It's higher quality overall, including the power itself that it is providing.
(Yes, I just read reviews about both, so that's the truth)
 
I'm going to agree with Phobus. Go with the Cooler Master PSU.

Side Note: Newegg has a nice deal on this PSU with promo code EMCYTZT121 bringing the price down originally $159 slashed to $129, then promo reduced to $105.
 
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