[VividHazE]

Hey everyone,

This is my first post here, just thought I would say hi to everyone!

Recently I purchased a Dell Dimension 5150 computer. I bought the Elder Scrolls game, Oblivion, and the card with it wasn't up to scratch. So I bought a nVidia 6800GS DDR3 Extreme Edition GFX card.

The graphics card needs 350W min, but my power suppy is only 305W max. Can I upgrage my power suppy to 350W or higher, without it overloading or destroying my computer? It says on the Dell website that it can only handle 305W.

Sorry if this sounds like a stupid question but I'm really stuck and I don't want to shell out for another power suppy if it isn't going to be any good.

Thanks again,
VividHazE.

[happyrck]

you cant have a power supply thats to big...it will only use what it needs ...go for bigger than you need so adding things later doesn't put you in the same spot

[StumpedTechy]

Before buying a PS make sure your system does not require a propritary power supply. You don't want to shell out $ to find out that what you buy is no good.

[apcviewer]

You will also want to check for power supplies with a good amount of current in the 12V rail(s). From what I gathered when I was searching for a PSU, the wattage doesn't tell much and can be useless. A 500 Watt PSU will be pointless if it only supplies 22A in the 12V rail. Also, you will want to watch for single vs. dual 12V rail PSU's. I don't know the difference but I suppose sticking to the type you currently have (you have single, find a single...) will be better. Look at your current PSU label. You should see one or two +12V. If you see one, it should be single. If two, it should be double and possibly labeled +12V1 and +12V2. This information may further confuse you in your PSU searches but the last thing you would want is to buy an over rated PSU that is no better than your current one.

[happyrck]

dual 12 v rails will work...you will just have another 12v rail for future upgrades...another thing to consider....the cheap PSU might say 500 watts but only be able to supply 70% of that...the good PSU have PCF and are v2.0 or2.2

[photolady]

I know this is almost a month old, but needed to post here. Dell does not use Propietary power supplys. Those can and have shown up in HP/Compaq' and some Gateways. So, you can use any standard power supply in your Dell as long as it is not the box/book kind and is a normal tower configuration.

[loserOlimbs]

Photolady, you are right, Dell does not Currently use a proprietary PSU, and has not for years.

[kiwiguy]

They stopped using proprietary PSU's in 2002

[InfernoReaper]

the problem in the first place is that its a Dell
Second is that u bought it
In all seriousness just buy bigger and work with that

[hewee]

Dell even has a big 1 Kilowatt PS.

Power Supply
Memory scalable to 4GB on 32 bit operating system with 750 Watt or 1 Kilowatt. Memory scalable to 32GB on 64 bit operating system with 750 Watt. Memory scalable to 64GB on 64 bit operating system with 1 Kilowatt.
750 Watt Standard System scalable to Single Graphics Cards and Dual Monitor configurations
1 Kilowatt Enhanced System scalable to Dual Graphics Cards supporting NVIDIA® SLI.

http://catalog.us.dell.com/CS1/cs1pa...463&l=en&s=bsd