PSU for Dell pc's

Zumpel

Greetings All ,

would appreciate you input on the following:

I got a Dell Dimension 5000, which I'm (finally) going to upgrade
with 1 GB Ram and a Radeon X1900 GT.
Lookinng at the Gfx card requirements it states a power supply of 400 Watt
or summin.

Afaik the power supply coming as standard with the Dell is approx 300 Watt.
Looking into buying a new power supply there's a lot of confusion on the net
re the following:

- You can't be sure that a standars PSU will fit into the Dell case
- You might need a adapter, as Dell sometimes uses PSU's with different
cable coding

...ermmmm..... I just wanted to buy a nice, quite, PSU for starters..
now I'm wondering
if I might need to join @the cult of dell@ or summin in order to get the
right PSU...

Is that crazy, not quite ATX Dell thing still a reality, does anyone know ?

ta
Zumpel

8T8

That is true Dell for a while at least used custom power supplies with different pin outs than the standard off the shelf parts making them incompatible, however it is possible to get an adapter that will make regular PSU's usable with such Dell systems.

However the Dimension 5000 was made after the year 2000 to which Dell has stopped using custom pinouts in it's PSU's and reverted to the industry standard. So your in the clear in that area at least I would say but...

Dell have one other tactic which they still use & that is using custom sized power supplies built specifically to fit inside their chassis so regular sized PSU's wont always fit or at least not without cutting into the case.


I have not replaced a PSU in a Dimension 5000 before so I cannot say if regular PSU's will fit but it does look like they will from the pictures in the documentation. (If anyone has done this do chime in)

You could try a PSU like this it's good enough and cheap enough so it's low risk instead of buying a fancy expensive high end PSU.

Zumpel

Thanks a million for your really helpful answer and the links !
I'll get the Black Diamond PSU and take it from there.

again, thnx a bunch and all the best !