Dell Dimension 4100 - 200 Watt power supply sufficient for fully loaded system?

[AL77]

Hi,
I know that a lot of you build your own systems, but Dell makes good systems in general and their Dimension 4100 is a good value if you get the bare components and upgrade other things yourself (e.g. video card, monitor; so you can still be picky about certain parts).

My friend has just purchased a bare-bones Dell Dimension 4100 P3-933MHz system for a reasonable price. I advised him somewhat in choice of configuration, however, the 200 watt psu just annoyed me, and can't be upgraded by Dell (I imagine it's a good quality 200 watt psu, but I still feel it's on the low side for power output) . In fact, I suspect the ATX power connector to the mb is proprietary.

Anyway, I would like to hear from anyone who is using a fully stacked 4100 or other recent Dell series desktop (e.g. L series, XPS B) with their 200 watt psu.

For e.g., is anyone running below config or something similar:

• two 7200 RPM HDDs
• 12x/10x/32x CDRW
• standard 48x CD-ROM
• two nics, sound card (negligible power I suppose)
• Voodoo 5 5500 AGP

If you are, please post here with regards to stability, ie., have there been any problems which you feel might have been caused by a lack of power. Thanks very much.

Regards,
Al

 

[AL77]

Alright, there has to be someone out there with a fully stacked 200 watt psu Dell Dimenison system along with a Voodoo5 5500 (or comparable in terms of power needs, e.g. original GeForce). Your comments please.

 

[TMTCC]

Dunno if you consider this "stacked", but take a look at what I have below in my Dell Dimensions system. Runs like a charm.

 

[AL77]

Thanks TMTCC, that's the kind of info I was looking for. Although my friend will be getting a 933MHz system (i.e. more power), it's nice to know that the low-wattage Dell psu can handle an original GeForce. I assume you have no problems?

I think I'm going to recommend either the Radeon 32 Meg DDR or the Voodoo 5 5500 to my friend. My concern is just the combination of the 933MHz CPU, a Voodoo 5, CDRW, and two 7200 RPM HDDs. Hopefully, there will be no power-related problems. These can be difficult to get to the bottom of in terms of wondering if it's the drivers, defective hardware, etc., instead of the root of the problem - insufficient power.

 

[TMTCC]

In case you want more reassurance, I have a brother running a dell dimensions system with the following specs. He hasn't complained too much about problems either with his system.

P2 333, 128 megs ram, Diamond Viper II, 40x CD-Rom, Plextor 8/4/32, 8.4 IBM 5400 RPM & 20 WD 7200 RPM HD, Ultra-ATA 66 Card, 3COM Nic, USR 56k Modem, Int Zip Drive, Built in Sound in MB.

So we have 2 hard drives, 2 Cd-ROM drives, a semi-powerful graphics card, and 3 PCI slots used. Enough for ya?

 

[ElFenix]

i have a dimension with two 7200 rpm maxtors, 256 megs, a 48x cd (burner is in the other comp, sorry, but they only draw lots of power when they're spinning up anyway) a couple NICs, and that 16 watt-should-have-a-molex-connector geforce. watts isn't the only way of measuring power supply ability. that extra connector that dell has makes it better, like the xtra connector that p4 power supplies have. they may even measure watts different ways. (watts = I^2*R, so theres some room to fiddle)

 

[lhampel]

Honestly I wouldn't worry about the PSU in the DELL.

I previously ran a 235Watt PSU with
Abit BP6 dual 366s@550+
256 MB PC100 Ram
Hollywood + Decoder
Diamond 56k Modem (hardware)
SBlive
10/100 Intel (PCI)
two HD's (ata66)
CDWR
DVD
ZIP drive (Internal)
1.44 floppy
Tnt2 Ultra
two Voodoo2s (SLI)

Edit: almost forgot all the fans! (1) 120mm intake ,(1) 92mm circulation, (2) 60mm CPU coolers, (1) 40mm-BX chipset & (2) 80mm exit 12vdc fans. (didn't count the small fan on the TNT2 ultra)
7 Fans total!!

ALL on the same PSU

And everything worked like a charm, never had any power related issues.
The same PSU is still running the BP6, but I've relocated most of the other componuts. The PSU came with the generic desktop ATX case. (I had to add two y-cables to split the power for all the devices.

 

[RossMAN]

AL77 - That's funny because when I ordered my Dell Dimension 4100 I couldn't but to think that I was giving up my trusty (loud) Antec KS282 with 300w PS, AMD Athlon 650 system. Here's my configuration:

Dell Dimension 4100
Pentium III 866 MHz CPU
256MB PC133 SDRAM
40GB 7200 RPM WD Hard Drive (wish it were Maxtor or IBM)
Netgear 10/100 NIC
3.5" Floppy drive
19" (17.9" viewable, .24 -.25AG) P991 FD Trinitron® Monitor - Recommend this monitor to your friend!
32MB DDR NVIDIA GeForce2 GTS
Plextor PlexWriter 12x/10x/32x CD-RW
SB Live! Value Digital with Music Match Software

Just about the only thing I hate is Windows ME, so I'll probably install Windows 2000 Pro someday.

If your friend can order before midnight Monday 12/11 they can save 20% off their Dell Dimension 4100 system.

One immediate observation of my 4100 is that it is WHISPER QUIET, you and your friend will be amazed. It's weird but of all things I like about my $2,000 Dell are 1) the monitor and 2) how quiet it is.

 

[ElFenix]

i love that monitor. and this thing is really quiet. the 933 and 1ghz ones i've heard were loud, but not nearly as loud as the 80 mm generic case fan i have

 

[Kingofcomputer]

see the ps label about actual output,
count the total power requirement from all of your components.

 

[sciencewhiz]

Are these options all being bought from dell? If it is, then dell should guarantee that those work together, and if need be, do whatever it takes to make it work. If you are trying to add those to a dell system, then I would not personally try it.

My Dell PIII 500 has a dvd drive and a cdrw, a radeon (recently added), a 7200 rpm hard drive, a network card, modem, and sound card. Not really tricked out, but everything works fine.

 

[robg1701]

MSI K7Pro
.25micron Athlon 550
128MB Generic RAM (very soon, ie TODAY, going to breed )
7200rpm HD, also had an old drive in once for a day or two)
Geforce SDR (also had a mates V3 2000 PCI in at same time for a bit, trying dual monitors. then got me a crappy PCI card, but it has since ben removed for being f*cked up )
PLEXTOR 8/4/32A
Pioneer DVD-114 (10x/40x)
SB Live!
Sh*t PCI Diamond modem

All this on a 235W non AMD-Approved Sparkle PSU. Although, i believe Sparkle have a 250W approved one so im sure they cant be that bad

 

[alfresco51]

I agree...the 4100 is very quiet. Maybe the quietest I've owned.