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Gaming Power supply question

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Well, after taking in a bit from folks here on the forum regarding the subject of upgrading my graphics card, I think I'm simply going to cave and upgrade my power supply as well, so that I can power a GeForce 9500 GT. However, how will I know if a power supply is compatible with my PC, or are they a general item that will work with any computer?

My PC is a SR1900NX.

Thanks
 
rip the case off your PC... now, follow the big mess of wires (not the ones going to your HD/CDVD) till you get to your MoBo.

unplug it (dear god, I hope your computers off, and unpluged by this point), and take note of the plug configuration... take a picture, and print it out... take it with you to the store your going to, and open the box of the PSU you wanna buy... match it up... if it's the same, your golden... if not, try again.

Note, if it's the same model PSU, no matter how many boxes you open, it'll always have the same plug to the MoBo
 
MoBo?
unsure.gif


Anyway, I'm looking to shop online (maybe NewEgg or something), so is there a more straightforward approach perhaps?
 
Okay, well, I did find this, and according to the page, this power supply is compatible with my computer. Of course, I don't want this particular PSU, nor do I want to make a purchase from the site. What parts of the power supply do I need to match up from this page?

Thanks
 
There are essentially two types of power supplies. The kind that has 4 pins (ATX12V) and the kind that has 8 pins (EPS12V). The 4 pins are for older motherboards. The 8 pins are for the newer motherboards and are backwards compatible with the older motherboards.

Here's an example:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...p;Tpk=bfg%20450

That is a ATX12V. If you look at the pictures you'll see that it only has one 4 pin connector for the motherboard along with the 20+4 connector.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817702010

That is a ATX12V+EPS12V. If you look closely you'll see that it has two 4 pin connectors that can be put together to make an 8 pin for the newer motherboards along with the 20+4 connector.
 
Technically, both as the EPS12V is backwards compatible. However, I don't think you'll need the power of a EPS12V power supply, which are usually found only on power supplies of 500W or more. Your computer is pretty old so it's probably using an ATX12V power supply. It probably won't be using more than 450W.
 
make sure it conforms to the ATX standard
alot of PC makers like to use proprietary PSU's like dell >_>
 
Argh! Looks like I'm foiled again. I have no clue how to figure that out, and this really seems to be such a complicated process just to upgrade a video card.
cry.gif


EDIT: I remember finding this link: http://www.power-on.com/atx12vhp300bt.html

To the best of my knowledge, that's what's currently in my machine.
 
You need a minimum of a 350 watt power supply for that video card. If you open up the side of your computer case, the power supply should have a sticker on the side with all the specs. According to Compaq's website, your computer has a micro atx form factor so if you do decide to upgrade the power supply, look at your current power supply to see if it is a regular ATX or Micro ATX power supply, it should say on the side. Micro ATX power supplies are smaller in size but you can find those at Newegg.com also.
 
robbr3 said:
You need a minimum of a 350 watt power supply for that video card. If you open up the side of your computer case, the power supply should have a sticker on the side with all the specs. According to Compaq's website, your computer has a micro atx form factor so if you do decide to upgrade the power supply, look at your current power supply to see if it is a regular ATX or Micro ATX power supply, it should say on the side. Micro ATX power supplies are smaller in size but you can find those at Newegg.com also.
Click to expand...

Please refer to above post.
 
Make sure you get a good PSU, if you get a cheap one and it decides to go boom it very well can take everything else with it!

GOOD BRANDS:
Antec
Corsair
PC Power & Cooling
Seasonic
Ultra(Well I never had a issue with them, but many people claim their PSU's suck.)
 
OH OH!

Get the corsair! =D

Or you can buy my Ultra 550W modular PSU for $50. lol

PROTIP: Modular means that cables that are not being used can be taken off the PSU.
 
Joe88 said:
cooler master put out some good and some very bad PSU's
the eXtream series is the bad one, you should avoid it
and HEC is just a bad company all together

if you want a good PSU in the price range
you are gonna have to sacrifice some wattage
around 400w

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817139008 (400w)

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817703018 (370w)
Click to expand...

Thanks, man. The first one looks like a doer. I actually wasn't necessarily look for anything too powerful -- just enough to cover me with the 9500GT, which this looks like it should be enough.

Since we're discussing brands...are there certain brands to look for when it comes to the GeForce cards? I've noticed tons of different companies that make the same model card.
 
Yeah, I'm gonna go with the 400W model. Looks like it matches up okay with the 9600 GT card, and has some amps to spare.
 

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