dell power supply

[Cacolaco]

I just ordered a radeon 9500pro and some more ram for my system, and I am concerned about the power supply. I am having some trouble finding the adapter to connect the dell mb to an atx power supply.
My system (after upgrade)
P4 1.5
512Mb pc800 rdram
Radeon 9500 pro
WD 20gig 7200
WD 40gig 7200
SB Live value
DVD
Cd-rw

I have read in some places that my 250w dell power supply will handle a lot more than 250 watts, it is only rated at 170w on 3.3v&5v.....do I need to upgrade to the recommended 300 for the Radeon 9500 pro?

 

[Scitex]

Power & PC Cooling sells a Dell 300 watt supply

 

[dexvx]

No, you probably dont need a new power supply. Its more like a RMS rating on the PSU. 170W on the 3.3V and 5V is a lot more than some generic company's 350W PSU.

 

[Cacolaco]

Originally posted by: Scitex
Power & PC Cooling sells a Dell 300 watt supply

I actually saw that one, but it's only 150w on 3.3v&5v......I guess I will stick with what I have until I find that adapter. Thanks for the input.

 

[Jhhnn]

Late model p4 dells apparently don't use the proprietary 20-pin arrangement as did older dells. You may not need an adapter if installing a new psu. Check out the info at www.formfactors.org.

 

[Cacolaco]

Well, the ps looks like it's definitely proprietary....I found a 300 watt powers supply made for dell, but it is 14A at 3.3v, same as my current supply, and to top that off, it has 150w at 3.3v&5v, while my current one is 170....am i mistaken in thinking that my current supply might handle the extra stress better than the 300w?

 

[Tom]

The current Dell models 4550 and 8250 come with Radeon 9700s and I believe they use a similar 250watt power supply, so I don't think you need to worry about adding a 9500 Pro.