bdcrlsn :
Dell used proprietary power supplies, which they claimed were more reliable. I don't know if they've changed their attitude about it since. I know that PC Power and Cooling have a couple Dell-compatible power supplies, might want to check with them.
I was going to let this comment slide, but then someone else quoted it.
So, Dell has RARELY used proprietary power supplies, ever since they made the conversion to STANDARD parts with the introduction of ATX12V. Yes, Dell was completely proprietary prior to ATX12V, but who still uses a Pentium III or earlier system?
Dell has a few proprietary units, mostly for servers and workstations, but they used one of those workstation power units in their big gaming system as well. Other than rare exceptions like this, Dell uses standard power supplies.
Now for the PC Power & Cooling thing: The newer parts supported Dell cases by having the power plug in a specific location. It seems that Dell, HP and Compaq have the power plug in one place, and most "generic" units have it in another. If the back of your case has a small hole around the power plug and a bigger hole around the air outlet, a standard power plug might get covered by the sheet metal. Yet, these are still "standard" power supplies, it's the case that's the problem. You can put a Dell ATX12V PS/2 form factor PSU in any system that takes a PS/2 form factor PSU.
Of course there are the SMALLER units, which was what this particular guy was asking about. Fortunately, DellUser1 knew that his particular compact system used TFX, which is a non-proprietary industry standard.
So, for the most part Dell does not use proprietary power supplies.
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