guys, new to "modding" my PC. I just purchased a nice (refurb) unit from Dell but was cautioned that in running extra memory, RAID1 a high end video card with self cooling and other that I may need a higher output power supply. Where can I learn about what draw I have on my system, what my current (dell i assume) power supply puts out and what I would need to upgrade to? Can I simply upgrade to a higher wattage power supply even if it may be overkill? Will it self regulate and provide enough power or do I need to match the power supply to the system? I have a Micro Center down the road - will have a chat with them but sometimes they know sometimes you get an employee who doesn't know.
Just get higher wattage on your power supply. You don't need to match them. You can get overkill if you can afford it. Usually don't have to replace power supplies very often. I haven't replaced mine in 4 years. Mine is an Antec, they are supposedly pretty decent quality for the price. Try newegg.com and read reviews of power supplies you're interested in
looks like these things go by wattage - I can just get a higher wattage than I have currently? Will they all fit into the machine (standard size)? Also - want to make sure that if I upgrade I don't upgrade and still be under wattage. Is 750watts overkill enough that I won't run in to any issues?
Most powersupplies are all the same size and screw positions. You really should be fine with 750watts. I'm only using 380watt, have 2 harddrives, dual core AMD, 3gig of RAM and a pretty decent graphics card.
Mostly depends upon the video card(s). If you're going to run 2 in SLI or Crossfire, you probably need to check into total wattage used. Otherwise, the stock PSU is probably OK. From Dell, it's either 375W or 525W. Most modern computers use about 150-180w at idle, so there is still plenty of capacity available for most peripherals. But high-end video cards can consume a lot of watts.
http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=58&name=Power-Supplies learning center, on left, along with wattage calc
finding out more details... Matrox says that the cards draw 40-50W and they reccomend that you add 10W to play it safe. Called Dell - they said that the box comes with a 305W power supply. They also said that the PSU is built to supply that PC with RAID (up to 3 HDD's) as well as 4GB RAM and an external (off the motherboard) video card... I have no idea what the system draws normally so it makes me nervous. Just spent 35 minutes on the phone with Dell and they said that I should be fine... Do you guys have any suggestions?
yes..let me repeat one more time-check wattage calculator on link i provide. or- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16882715001&Tpk=Kill A Watt also sold in many retail stores with all above-you should be fine with 300W PSU symptoms- http://www.windowsbbs.com/hardware/1183-power-supply-symptoms.html http://www.squidoo.com/power-supply-failure-symptoms