Recommendations for Slim Tower Compatible Power Supply?...

[imagazzell]

Hi all,

I've got an older Dell Inspiron 560s (slim tower) here. I'm going to be putting in a newer graphics card that requires a 300 watt or greater power supply with a minimum of 20 amps on the +12 volt rail, but the current PSU is only rated for 250 watts with 17 amps on the +12 volt rail.

If I were working on a PC with a standard case, finding a good new power supply would be no problem. But since it is a slim tower (low-profile) design, I'm having a harder time finding anything.

Can you guys recommend any good PSU's of the appropriate wattage/amperage that would fit in such a case?

Thank you!


PS: Yes, I know I would be well off to save up for an entirely better system altogether, but the budget is very tight here right now, and I'm also not up for reinstalling Windows and all that business in order to switch everything over to a new case. I'd just like suggestions for my current scenario, please

 

[wildfire707]

It does not look like that it is possible to get a power supply that will fit in that case that can carry more than 18A on the 12v rail. The form factor for the power supply that your system uses seems to be TFX, and everything that I see tops out at about 18A on the 12v rail, even when the wattage goes up to 350 or 400. One of the best power supplies that should (I hope) work in that case is the SeaSonic SS-300TGW. It is an 80+ Gold rated 300 watt PSU that has 18A on the 12v rail:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151113

If you are talking about upgrading to an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 ti, the 20A specification is in case you are running something like a 130 watt CPU, along with a couple of hard drives, fans, and accessories. A 750 ti uses less than 6A on the 12 volt rail itself, so if that is the card you are looking at you should be fine with the SeaSonic power supply that I linked to.

Always make sure to get a video card that has a low profile bracket (to fit it in your case) and one that does not have a PCIE power plug on it (some of the overclocked ones do have this connector, but the low profile ones should not have that connector).

Good luck!

 

[imagazzell]

Thank you so much for the reply and recommendation, wildfire707!

I was also looking at this similar model, which I found linked to from a Dell forum thread, that appears to be compatible with my system: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151090

The graphics card in question is the (relatively) older NVIDIA GeForce GT 730. (Like I said, the budget is tight.)

One thing I was thinking about is the fact that the card does not have a separate power connection, but instead gets its power directly from the PCI connection to the motherboard. I may not have a very firm grasp on how amperages work here, but since the card gets its power directly through the motherboard, coupled with these PSU's having (I believe) multiple rails, does that mean that the PSU would supply any combined amperage at all, enough for the graphics card's power needs? Or does the motherboard itself (and therefore anything plugged into it, like the graphics card) only receive one rail's worth of power from the PSU, leaving it insufficient? OR... do I simply not understand how amps work at all? 😛

Thanks again for your input.

 

[wildfire707]

Thank you so much for the reply and recommendation, wildfire707!

I was also looking at this similar model, which I found linked to from a Dell forum thread, that appears to be compatible with my system: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151090

The graphics card in question is the (relatively) older NVIDIA GeForce GT 730. (Like I said, the budget is tight.)

One thing I was thinking about is the fact that the card does not have a separate power connection, but instead gets its power directly from the PCI connection to the motherboard. I may not have a very firm grasp on how amperages work here, but since the card gets its power directly through the motherboard, coupled with these PSU's having (I believe) multiple rails, does that mean that the PSU would supply any combined amperage at all, enough for the graphics card's power needs? Or does the motherboard itself (and therefore anything plugged into it, like the graphics card) only receive one rail's worth of power from the PSU, leaving it insufficient? OR... do I simply not understand how amps work at all? 😛

Thanks again for your input.

No problem!

The different rails from the power supply that are split normally do not combine well. If you are using a video card that only plugs into the motherboard to get power (over the PCIE power pins on the motherboard slot for this type of card), you do not have to worry about power from different rails. I would still recommend going with the power supply that I linked to, as it is more energy efficient (80 Plus Gold) and can handle 50 watts higher output on its 12 volt rails as a result. Plus, it is only $7 more to get it over the one that you linked to (the 80 Plus Bronze version).

Of course, I am a big fan of SeaSonic power supplies and either power supply should work just fine with a GeForce GTX 730. The 80 Plus Gold power supply will run cooler, though, and has higher power output ratings since it is more energy efficient.

From my perspective, I would use this power supply for $47 and this video card for $51:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151113
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127830

If all you are trying to do is hook it up to an HD TV and play movies, then either one of the two SeaSonic power supplies along with a GeForce GT 730 card should do well.

If you want to game on that computer, you should probably just get the power supply now and save up to get an Intel Q6600 CPU, some good thermal compound, and a low profile GeForce GTX 750 ti like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151113
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-Core-2-Quad-Q6600-CPU-SLACR-2-4-GHz-8M-1066-C2Q-Kentsfield-/282083052730
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835154003
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127836

Of course this assumes that you would like to play games on that computer, and the upgrades that I mentioned would make it able to do that (but still at low settings). I am also assuming that it does not currently have a quad core (or at least quad threaded) CPU and for gaming that is a big drawback.

Game on!

 

[imagazzell]

Thank you so much again, wildfire707. Very generous with all of the links and recommendations

I've actually already bought the NVIDIA EVGA GeForce GT 730, so I think I'm set on that as far as the graphics card of choice at this time. And since you brought it up, I have an Intel Q9650.

I'm not a huge gamer (certainly not with the latest releases, anyway). My primary usage (aside from regular tasks and web browsing) is in multimedia applications (photo, video, drawing, animation, and audio programs). The main reason I'm upgrading my graphics card at all is that my current setup doesn't appear to support OpenGL, which I need for one of my new artsy applications.

So with the setup I'm gearing toward, with the aforementioned video card and either of the discussed power supplies, you think I should be in decent shape for what I'll be using everything for?

 

[wildfire707]

Thank you so much again, wildfire707. Very generous with all of the links and recommendations

I've actually already bought the NVIDIA EVGA GeForce GT 730, so I think I'm set on that as far as the graphics card of choice at this time. And since you brought it up, I have an Intel Q9650.

I'm not a huge gamer (certainly not with the latest releases, anyway). My primary usage (aside from regular tasks and web browsing) is in multimedia applications (photo, video, drawing, animation, and audio programs). The main reason I'm upgrading my graphics card at all is that my current setup doesn't appear to support OpenGL, which I need for one of my new artsy applications.

So with the setup I'm gearing toward, with the aforementioned video card and either of the discussed power supplies, you think I should be in decent shape for what I'll be using everything for?

Yes, it should work well for you. The GeForce GT 730 can use OpenGL just fine. With a quad core CPU, you may eventually want to upgrade to a higher end card like a GT 740 or GTX 750 ti.

The only potential problem that I have found with putting in a newer power supply in older slim line computers is that sometimes the screw holes do not line up. Hopefully they will line up for your case.

Good luck!

 

[imagazzell]

Ok, thank you.

And you don't think I should be too concerned with the apparent amperage discrepancy in this case, despite the listed requirements on the video card's packaging?

 

[wildfire707]

Ok, thank you.

And you don't think I should be too concerned with the apparent amperage discrepancy in this case, despite the listed requirements on the video card's packaging?

No, you should be fine. The SeaSonic power supplies will barely notice the load unless you are running a 1080p movie. Even then, they should easily be able to handle it. The 20 amp listing for the 12 volt rail provides NVIDIA with a good safety margin and means that they don't have to worry about running any of the 730 to 750 ti cards on computers that have a massive amount of power draw from a high wattage CPU as well as many hard drives and fans.

Many people run GeForce GTX 750 ti cards on high quality 250 watt or 300 watt power supplies. It is the low quality power supplies or computers that have many accessories sharing the 12 volt rail that can cause problems.