Help, upgrading PSU on Dell Inspron 530

[gregoryvg]

Hi everyone. I'm looking to upgrade the PSU in my fairly new Dell Inspiron 530 - the current PSU is the 300 watter. I am looking for a good but cheap PSU in the 450-500 watt range. I am very price sensitive so no need for frills, but would like something powerful enough that I could upgrade to get a singular top tier video card one day.

So, any recommendations on a good but inexpensive PSU would be welcome. Bonus points if you have actually installed this PSU in your Inspiron 530. Extra bonus points if you can educate me a little about PSU's, as far as if I need a certain form factor or other tips and tricks I need to watch out for.

Thanks in advance for any advice and for reading.

 

[gregoryvg]

I was looking at Newegg and found this Rosewill:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817182075

It's a 450w unit for $39.99 w/free shipping. It's gotten good reviews and Rosewill seems to have good customer service. Is this considered a good PSU? Would this fit in the regular Dell Inspiron 530 case (not the small form factor one)?

 

[newbiepcuser]

I bought 380 version for my old Dell 4600 and it fit fine. I had to buy power adapter cause my mobo was so old. You should be fine.

Antec Earth Watts Deal

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: gregoryvg
Hi everyone. I'm looking to upgrade the PSU in my fairly new Dell Inspiron 530 - the current PSU is the 300 watter. I am looking for a good but cheap PSU in the 450-500 watt range. I am very price sensitive so no need for frills, but would like something powerful enough that I could upgrade to get a singular top tier video card one day.

"Top tier" means GTX 280 or a future 4870x2, which means you'll want to look for something that has a beefy +12v and a 6 pin and separate 8 pin PCIe power connectors.

Why not just save the money (preferably in an interest-bearing account) until the day you need a better PSU? That 300 watter should work fine for you until that day.

As for that Rosewill... no. It doesn't look particularly juicy on the +12v, plus AFAIK the better quality Rosewills are the higher end units (700W+). For cheap and top tier video card worthy, look for AT MINIMUM an Antec EarthWatts 500W (sometimes $50 after savings). Actually, you'd really want to look at a PSU with the 6 and 8 pin PCIe, which these Antec units don't have AFAIK.

 

[gregoryvg]

"Top tier" means GTX 280 or a future 4870x2, which means you'll want to look for something that has a beefy +12v and a 6 pin and separate 8 pin PCIe power connectors.

Hmm, I guess I should state that I don't mean anything that top tier. More like a mid-range top tier - lol. Something that I could use a 8800GT or perhaps 9800GTX and make sure I have some breathing room.

Would the Rosewill be able to handle a 9800GTX? Also, since it is a Dell I will not ever be doing SLI with it.

PS: How can you tell how many AMPS these things put on the the 12v rail? For instance, on the Rosewill it says:
+12V1, 14A; +12V2, 16A; -12V,0.3A. Do you add them all together to get how much AMPS are supplied by the 12V line? In this case 30.3 AMPS?

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: gregoryvg
PS: How can you tell how many AMPS these things put on the the 12v rail? For instance, on the Rosewill it says:
+12V1, 14A; +12V2, 16A; -12V,0.3A. Do you add them all together to get how much AMPS are supplied by the 12V line? In this case 30.3 AMPS?

No, rails do not add up. The "real" number may be printed on the PSU or it may not. Better PSUs usually do, lesser ones usually do not (just observation, not a rule).

I'd get the Antec EarthWatts over that Rosewill.

 

[gregoryvg]

Thanks for the advice. After thinking about it, it is always better to go with the higher quality parts, even though they usually cost a bit more.

 

[gregoryvg]

Okay, I found this Antec Earthwatts at Newegg on sale for $39.99.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16817371005

The only problem is it is only 380Watts. Would this PSU be enough to handle something along the lines of a 9600GT.

Currently running a Dell 430
E2160 (1.8ghz)
3GB RAM
250GB HD
1650Pro
DVD RW

 

[BlueAcolyte]

yea, definitely.