power supplys

[A Nerd]

Will any old power supply fit into any old PC tower? Or are there different ones for different towers? I need to put one of these in too. Is it difficult? Require any tools? I took a look at my power supply when I opened the case awhile ago, but didn't think to note how it is fastened. Any opinions would be welcomed! :)

[Scienter]

Will any old power supply fit into any old PC tower? Or are there different ones for different towers? I need to put one of these in too. Is it difficult? Require any tools? I took a look at my power supply when I opened the case awhile ago, but didn't think to note how it is fastened. Any opinions would be welcomed! :)

AT and ATX towers use different types of power supply, they have different connectors. Swapping one out isn't hard, I've done it before. The only tool I used was a screwdriver. The tough bit for me was hooking it up because I have a lot of junk inside my tower.

If you play a lot of games, I'd get one that puts out at least 550W. Probably more. I think mine is 600W but I can't remember.

[Lemur]

The vast majority of cases and motherboards take ATX power supplies. All bets are off if you're fixing a Dell, however.

No special tools required. It only gets funky when you have a lot of high-draw components and you have to think about how many devices you want riding which rail. Probably not something you're going to encounter.

[A Nerd]

I have an HP. So an ATX would be fine? 600w would be what I am looking for. Nice to know that installing one won't be too difficult! :)

[Lemur]

I'll do you a favor, JuJuBee, you get me the model of your HP and I can probably get you specs for everything. Doubtless they've got documentation on it floating around, waiting to be found.

[A Nerd]

OK, thanks! I have a HP Compaq dc7900 Convertable Minitower.

While I have you here I have another question. My TV has an HDMI port to hook up to my PC so I tried it. It runs a resolution of 1360 x 768 but will let me go up to 1920 x 1080. 1360 x 768 looks great, but anything over that looks awful. It is blury and the text is hard to read. Is this a limitation of my graphics card? The card is a ATI HD 4550. My current power supply is 240w :P so I wanted a more powerful one and a better graphics card for PCI express. Would this help my resolution issues or should I switch back to my smaller monitor?

[Lemur]

I have a HP Compaq dc7900 Convertable Minitower.
Okay, here are the instructions for replacing the power supply (http://bizsupport1.austin.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?objectID=c01637456&printver=true). They claim you will need a torx 15 screwdriver. You can bop down to the hardware store and pick up a set of torx screwdrivers for a few bucks, if needed. Oh, and they include a helpful video (http://h20464.www2.hp.com/media/D734934C-E563-410C-8084-C829D9047241/pla_CMT_fru_video_powersupply.htm).

As for the model, since your PC is an "ultra-slim desktop," you are out of luck. Gonna have to order a part directly from HP, looks like. From their support docs (http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&taskId=110&prodSeriesId=3785404&prodTypeId=12454&objectID=bph06788):


HP Slimline computers use power supplies that fit into cases that are smaller than ATX. These power supplies are either micro-atx or are of a special design. When ordering a power supply for a slimline PC, make sure to use the original part number (or PC model number) when searching for a replacement or upgrade.

-edit-

Doing a bit of Googling (http://www.google.com/search?q=dc7900+power+supply+replacement+part&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a#q=dc7900+power+supply+replacement+part&hl=en&safe=off&client=firefox-a&hs=k5C&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&prmd=ivns&source=univ&tbm=shop&tbo=u&sa=X&ei=iaCtTYqbHKTL0QHEocSxCw&ved=0CDwQrQQ&biw=1920&bih=950&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=30e0fb8dc28dda8), looks like the best you can do with that PC is a 365 watt power supply, which is going to run you a minimum of $60 or more (http://www.serversupply.com/products/part_search/pid_lookup.asp?pid=130550). Looks like some sites call this a "CFX" power supply.

[A Nerd]

I have a regular sized tower. I went to hp and I saw the pc I think you are talking about. The ones that lie flat, right? I hope so anyway. Mine is vertical. Hold on, I'll see if I can find a picture.

here is a link instead

http://search.hp.com/query.html?charset=iso-8859-1&lk=1&la=en&nh=10&st=1&rf=0&qs=&tridion=0&hpvc=sitewide&uf=1&qt=HP+Compaq+dc7900+Convertible+Minitower+PC+convertable&ocoldqt=hp+compaq+dc7900+convertable+minitower&oc=3785037

[Lemur]

Hmm, okay, I think maybe the thing to do is find and post the support tag (should be next to the serial number). From there we can see exactly what's configured on the machine, and maybe I won't go barking up the wrong part tree.

[A Nerd]

Would that be listed as p/n: ? If so it reads: KR685UT#ABA

Service tag? If so it reads: KW040AV

Other than that some strange thing that begins PROMO...

[Lemur]

Got it, although I'm still having a hard time seeing what form factor the PS is. Here's the link (http://h20141.www2.hp.com/hpparts/%28S%281x3r1e2bllr2a155psk3eqb2%29%29/Search_Results.aspx?mscssid=D0D57CE9D0BB490FA6BB17EACF23A746&SearchIn=Product). Still looking.

Okay, a little more searching, looks like that is, in fact, an ATX part. Which would imply that you could substitute any ATX power supply you like. Details here (http://www.google.com/search?q=HP+437799-001+ATX&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a#q=HP+437799-001+ATX&hl=en&safe=off&client=firefox-a&hs=cYD&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&prmd=ivns&source=univ&tbm=shop&tbo=u&sa=X&ei=h6etTbvbNZKK0QGg4J22Cw&ved=0CDMQrQQ&biw=1920&bih=950&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=30e0fb8dc28dda8).

Last step, however: Call HP (http://welcome.hp.com/country/us/en/contact/phone_assist.html) and confirm this before you sink cash into a PS which may or may not work. It's 95% probably that it will, but make sure there's nothing strange, funky or custom that your HP motherboard needs.

[A Nerd]

Thanks! Could I get any PCI express graphics cards that the power supply can handle, or are my options limited?

[Lemur]

The highest-rated HP model is 365 watts, which ain't much, so if you're stuck with their PS you should look for a low-power card, such as the Radeon 6670 (http://www.anandtech.com/show/4278/amds-radeon-hd-6670-radeon-hd-6570/15). I think your PS could handle that.

If, on the other hand, you can use whatever ATX PS you like, it's all about budget and heat. Have at it!

-edit-

Interesting, we've having this chat and then I stumble across this (http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/19/amd-elevates-the-low-end-with-trio-of-sub-100-cards-radeon-hd/). Looks like AMD has the low-power low-cost gaming market cornered. If I ever decide to become poor, I will be very grateful that someone is making PC gaming affordable.

[A Nerd]

Thank you very much for the info! I might pose some processor questions later. Be warned! :)