PSU for a Dell pc

Printable View

08-03-2008, 01:07 PM
Guille_Expat

PSU for a Dell pc

Hey I just returned from vacation. I picked up a used Dell E521 for $75.00, which I thought was a good deal. The only issues was that it didn't have an OS and a hard drive. I thought this was perfect for my niece's needs. It did come with the driver discs, which did help. I had an extra hard drive as well as XP home, which I installed this weekend.

And it's working fine now, no problems. The only problem is that the power supply unit is only 300 watts. I've read that this is one of the problems with Dell pc's, that they are under powered. But I've also heard that they are propriety and hard to find? I've searched the internet for compatible psu's and I get a link to PC Power & Cooling. I'm not to keen from buying from them, they are just way too overpriced.

Does anyone have any information about finding a compatible psu for a Dell pc. Hopefully I can get this taken care of quickly, so I can give this to my niece.

Thanks :t
08-03-2008, 02:56 PM
Ol'Tunzafun

That is a BTX PSU which will be very difficult to upgrade without going to PC Power and Cooling. That said, the stock PSU seems to have lots of headroom as there are many reports of it running bigger vid cars like 8600s and 7900s with no problems. I would leave it alone; it should be fine.
08-03-2008, 03:20 PM
Guille_Expat

Hey thanks for the info. If that's the case, then I figure it should be fine for her. So I'm going to take this down to her in Baja. This will really help her a lot. I figure if the psu does go belly up later. I can replace it later for her. All I can is that after looking at the layout of the case inside, wow! I guess Dell doesn't like to make their pc's user friendly to do upgrades, etc. But this unit will fit her needs perfectly.

Thanks again!
08-03-2008, 03:20 PM
Sterling_Aug

Take a close look at the power supply. There should be a white sticker with a part number on it. Do a google search for that part number and you should find plenty of places to buy a replacement if you ever need it.

$75.00 wasn't the best of deals for a system that old. You can get a new barebones system for under $300 and that includes a warranty.
08-03-2008, 03:25 PM
Guille_Expat

Yeah, but this wasn't for me and her parents don't have the $$, for even a barebones system. She's currently using an old 386 her parents found a swap meet a few years ago. So this will be like brand new for her! And since I had an extra 80gig hard drive and XP Home, it was worth it for me to get for her.
08-03-2008, 03:47 PM
Rocketmech

I'm pretty sure any ATX12V v.2.2 psu would meet or exceed the specs of that BTX board if your set on an upgrade. It just needs to support an AMD64 cpu + PCI-E and whatever else you throw in. I'm with 'Tunz though, no sense upgrading if the 305w psu will get the job done. FWIW, Dell's psu's are usually bugeted well, its Emachines you have to look out for.
08-03-2008, 06:05 PM
Ol'Tunzafun

Quote:

WIW, Dell's psu's are usually bugeted well, its Emachines you have to look out for.

That is my experience as well.
08-03-2008, 07:03 PM
Midknyte

It could be that Gateway/Emach PSU are just rubbish, rather than being underpowered. :p
08-03-2008, 11:36 PM
Sterling_Aug

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rocketmech

I'm pretty sure any ATX12V v.2.2 psu would meet or exceed the specs of that BTX board if your set on an upgrade. It just needs to support an AMD64 cpu + PCI-E and whatever else you throw in. I'm with 'Tunz though, no sense upgrading if the 305w psu will get the job done. FWIW, Dell's psu's are usually bugeted well, its Emachines you have to look out for.

I doubt he will be able to use any PCI-E cards. Isn't that machine older than that?
08-04-2008, 12:12 AM
Ol'Tunzafun

They have one x16 PCIe, one x1 PCIe and one PCI)