PSU upgrade for a Dell E520

Spike

Diamond Member
Aug 27, 2001
6,770
1
81
I gave my old 7800GT to my dad to put into his Dell E520. The card barely fits due to the odd BTX layout and the motherboard being "backwards". We eventually got it in but found out the psu contains no PCIe cable and better yet, is only the 305w model. I'm looking for a decent, cheap psu to power this machine with longish cables and hopefully around the $40 range. I have some models listed below but I have no idea how much juice the 7800gt really needs so I don't know which way to go. What are your opinions on the following PSU's?

Earthwatts 430 Probably one of the the best choices but kinda pricey at $50 shipped and I have seen them for much less on sale. Seems a little weak on the 12v but I assume it will work fine.

Cooler Master eXtreme Power+ 460 Now sure on CM, I have had only one psu from them and it worked well for about a year before going out, thankfully it took nothing along with it. My brother has been using a similar model for 3 years no with no issues. The price is nice though after shipping comes to around $44. 12v seems to be about the same as the EA 430.

Antec True Power Trio 430w I personally like these since I have one powering my HTPC with no issues though it has only been a few months. The 12v rails seem more than enough though after neweggs awful shipping the price is $52.

FSP SAGA+ 450w Not sure about this one. I have heard good things about FSP but have never used one yet. 12v rails seem very weak and I have no idea on the cable length.

Cooler Master eXtreme 500w Another CM, seems ok but again, weak on the 12v.

FSP AX400-PN This is one I have just sitting around. I bought it for $15 to use as a tester but so far it has stayed in it's box. It also seems rather weak on the 12v lines but again, I have no idea what the 7800GT really needs.

Of all those listed above I prefer the CM's simply due to the price. If it helps this pc is used mainly for picture viewing and general spreadsheet use, the only gaming that will ever happen will be some flight sim x which is the entire reason I gave him the card.

Thanks for your help.

 

dangman4ever

Member
Nov 17, 2006
98
0
0
Ditch the Coolermaster PSUs. The 460W can only provide 430W reliably and safely while the 500W costs too much IMO considering your other choices.

The FSPs are meh quality. I have that AX400-PN in one of my systems. However I would not recommend it to anyone else since its +12V rail is kind of low (26A) and I'm not 100% sure if it can actually provide its rated 350W power. Also. I'm getting a clicking sound coming from the PSU from time to time. Probably a piece of wire or plastic hitting the fan or something.

The Antecs are the better buys. IIRC, the Trio is made by Seasonic while the current EA430 is made by Delta. AFAIK, the quality of both PSUs is almost the same. Oh and the EA430 and Trio 430 has 30A and 32A respectively on the +12V rail.
 

OCNewbie

Diamond Member
Jul 18, 2000
7,596
25
81
The Dell unit you already have installed would probably work fine with a 2x molex to PCIe adapter. Or you could just use your FSP PSU which should be fine too. No point in shelling out an extra $50 if you don't need to and that seems to be the case here.

Edit: The 7800GT only pulls 57w full load according to this chart Here. I'd be shocked if your Dell PSU (which are said to generally be pretty decent) wouldn't have enough juice for it.
 

Spike

Diamond Member
Aug 27, 2001
6,770
1
81
Originally posted by: OCNewbie
The Dell unit you already have installed would probably work fine with a 2x molex to PCIe adapter. Or you could just use your FSP PSU which should be fine too. No point in shelling out an extra $50 if you don't need to and that seems to be the case here.

Edit: The 7800GT only pulls 57w full load according to this chart Here. I'd be shocked if your Dell PSU (which are said to generally be pretty decent) wouldn't have enough juice for it.

Hmmm, if thats the case I may try using his stock PSU and seeing if I can find one of the many Molex -> PCIe adapters I know I have floating around. Whats the best way to tell if the psu is being strained too much?

I could always bring over the FSP 400 just in case the dell unit does not work though I'm a little worried about the fan noise Dangman4ever is reporting. My dad is brilliant with networks but he does not keep up on non-networking pc hardware so I want to set him up with something that he won't have any issues with (he lives on the other side of the state from me).
 

OCNewbie

Diamond Member
Jul 18, 2000
7,596
25
81
The fan noise is probably just his particular unit. Fire yours up and see if it has the same noise, most likely it will not. There's a way to fire up a PSU without actually having it in a case or attached to a motherboard. Here's a Link. Just take a paper clip, bend it, and have it touch the green terminal and a black terminal at the same time.

Check the link for a better explanation, and there are other articles on how to do it on Google too I'm sure. It is super easy though, so not much research involved.