Question 280 watt or 400 watt?

[Skypup88]

Hello all, i recently received my new (refurbished) computer thru amazon....i confirmed with 3rd party seller if ps was 400 or 280 watt, and he assured me it was the 400 watt flavor....upon opening the side panel of the tower case (a HP elitedesk 800 g2 tower) i was dismayed to see ps labelled 280 watt. After contacting customer support rep, he says it can provide up to 400 watts and "PFC (power factor correction) will be activated when pc needs more power."...As far as i know this model comes either with 280 or 400 watts...if this ps can provide up to 400 watts though its labelled 280, then how much can the ps supply that's labelled 400 watts?...he then directs me to a link for the hp elitedesk 800 g2 tower datasheet....is this guy honest or snowing me with a bunch of malarkey!!??....if anyone knows, pls suggestions welcome....i was researching for weeks on the best memory, cpu and ps i could find in a tower system...the only gripe is the vertical dvd drive, thanx

 

[DSzymborski]

You were scammed.

 

[Karadjgne]

The cpu/gpu dictates the psu in those models. If it's the original of both, and the cpu is upper class (not i3 or low end i5 etc) and the gpu has a 6pin/8pin connector, it'll be the 400w psu in that model. If it's the low end stuff with a straight no additional power gpu, it'll be the 280w psu.

That's what should be in there. Meaning if you got an i7 and gtx970, and got the 280w psu, you got scammed, whether intentionally or not.

The label states the wattage, period. It's not labeled a 280w that can be pushed with active power correction to 400w. That's a bold faced lie. Active pfc allows for more useful use of power, raising efficiency, so less power is pulled from the wall and less is lost to waste heat. Got nothing to do with the output rating.

In a word, 'scammed'. Up to you now whether to contact Amazon and possibly get a return/refund and the hassle that goes along with all that, or just deal with it and chalk it upto experience.

Personally I'd do the latter and just replace the psu anyway, it's of unknown age or use or abuse, so there's no real reliance on its longetivity or even usefulness or stability. A 400w replacement is cheap insurance if bought from a reliable source. Or even forgo that and get a decent psu as HP is generally atx compliant, depending on the case and fitment.