Upgrading my PSU

[TekBubs]

We all know that Dells are terrible for upgrading and what I'm trying to upgrade isn't the easiest thing to find. I'm trying to upgrade my current PSU from 300w to 430w for my Dell Inspiron 518.

This is how the story goes:

I finally made money, and I had enough to upgrade my video card, which is old (3450 256MB) to an XFX Geforce 9800GT 512MB GDDR3, well when I got home, I was excited..VERY excited. I unboxed everything, did the video card swap, only to realize...NO! MY PSU DOESNT SUPPORT THE 6 PIN CONNECTOR!!!! AND ITS ONLY 300W!!!!! (I also learned a lesson; do some research before upgrading) and I got very GGGRRRR angry :3

Anyways I'm looking at this PSU:

Thermaltake PurePower 430-Watt Power Supply - ATX, Dual 80mm Fan, 2024-Pin, SATA Ready, PCI-E Ready W0070RUC in Canada at TigerDirect.ca

I also did some research and I found this:

Amazon.com: Thermaltake W0070RUC TR2 Series 430W Power Supply with 2 Fans: Electronics

They're relatively the same thing, same wattage, practically the same look; except for the sticker on the side, and they're the same series made by the same guys (And they're most likely the same thing)

Now, the reason why I'm showing you the amazon PSU is because I found this page:

Review - DELL INSPIRON 518 Power Supply Upgrade | HIGHLOGIC.NET




So would this be a good PSU swap? Im planning on putting the Tiger Direct one into my PC, not the Amazon one because I can't buy stuff online



But I also have another question, my card came with a 6 pin connector (I believe) it looks like this: http://www.playtool.com/pages/psuconnectors/pcie6.jpg

would I need anything else other than the PSU, or do I just need the PSU?


Thanks in advance

(Mak will be the first one to reply because he is the most helpfullestness)

 

[jfenwick]

Seems to me I remember reading a thread on this similar issue recently....

http://www.techist.com/forums/f77/psu-wont-support-new-video-card-204616/

I'm guessing you lost track of your thread???

I would avoid the Thermaltake purpower 430, I've heard back things. Once again, my suggestion: Corsair VX450W 450-Watt ATX 120mm Fan SATA-Ready Power Supply, 80Plus CMPSU-450VX in Canada at TigerDirect.ca

Great little psu, costs more but you get what you pay for in life.

 

[TekBubs]

Lol thanks for the reply, my older topic was dying and the PSU was starting to get off track, anyways, I can probably do $70 but my main concern at the moment is compatibility, I have about 25 more days to return my card for a refund, and I REALLY dont wanna do that T.T (Ill be losing the rebate too)



EDIT: Im reading some review on the thermaltake and its getting some pretty good reviews :3 I'd love to get this one but if its problematic like you said then *sigh*

 

[Thresh25]

Your card should have come with a 6 pin converter type deal so that you could use an older psu. The only problem then would be if 300 watts would be enough to power it. I'm not sure what the minimum is for a 9800

 

[TekBubs]

Hey, thanks for the reply, it does come with a 6 pin connector but theres no place to connect it on the PSU, and the minimum for the card is 400w

I'm gonna be honest though, I have not opened my PSU up yet cause I dont wanna screw my computer over :S, is it even safe to open it and look for a slot?

(PS: The 6 pin that came with the card wont even reach my power supply anyways)

 

[Pinscher]

open your psu? You should never have to, nor should you, ever open up your PSU. The adapter should plug into existing plugs already coming out of your PSU so you can use the power from those lines for your GFX card

 

[TekBubs]

ty o.o I was actually thinking about doing it, but back on track, is it compatible>?

 

[philbar71]

+1 to that corsair PSU.

Newegg.com - Antec earthwatts EA500 500W Continuous Power ATX12V v2.0 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Power Supplies

Newegg.com - Antec EA650 650W Continuous Power ATX12V Ver.2.2 / EPS12V version 2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply - Power Supplies

Newegg.com - CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Power Supplies

Newegg.com - OCZ StealthXStream OCZ600SXS 600W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready Active PFC Power Supply - Power Supplies

if you dont want to spend that much moneys then these are some good ones too.

Newegg.com - Rosewill RP500-2 500W ATX12V v2.01 Power Supply - Power Supplies

Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER eXtreme Power Plus RS-500-PCAR-A3 500W ATX12V V2.3 Power Supply - Power Supplies

Newegg.com - OCZ StealthXStream OCZ500SXS 500W ATX12V / EPS12V Active PFC Power Supply - Power Supplies

and yes any of these PSU's will fit and work in your dell

 

[TekBubs]

So would this be a good PSU swap? Im planning on putting the Tiger Direct one into my PC, not the Amazon one because I can't buy stuff online

And I'm asking if the PSU I showed you guys is compatible

Thanks for the options though , you gotta make sure it will work in my dell too

 

[philbar71]

the thermaltake you listed will work with your dell, so yes ^

but i would advise against that thermaltake PSU. see my recommendations above. thermaltakes lowend PSU's have low end components and can fail taking out the mobo, cpu, that new gfx card you just bought and anything else hooked up to it.