upgrading power supply...uATX form factor?

[beaulanger]

My Vista graphics Index is only 3 which is holding back my system and I would like to upgrade my video card due to some gaming needs.
HP tells me I have a 300w form factor uATX PSU with input voltage: 100v-240v and output of 300w.
I think I read somewhere that the only difference between the ATX and the uATX is size; the uATX being 1.5" shorter. I see no problem with the extra 1.5" inside my case. Are there any other differences?

I can't seem to locate any uATX PSUs. I'm assuming I will need something like a 450w PSU. The only other device I would consider in the distant future is a second SATA HD. As for the video card I need something mid-range but I don't know if I need to hold off until the DX10 cards come out in a month or so. Price and quietness are major considerations.

Any help and ideas would be appreciated.

HP Pavilion a1700n
AMD 3800+ dual-core
2 GB RAM
NVidia GeForce 6150LE onboard graphics
250GB HD
DVD writer
onboard sound

 

[magreen]

There's no such thing as a uATX PSU. It reminds me of when I was in the Boy Scouts and we used to send tenderfoots around the lake to ask the other campsite for a left-handed smoke bender and 50 feet of shoreline. 🙂

Now, what kind of video card upgrade are you planning? There's a very good chance you don't need to upgrade your PSU at all. There's two reasons to upgrade the PSU:
1) your new card will be high-end and draw a lot of power -- many midrange gaming cards don't draw all that much power
2) your new card needs the 6-pin PCI-e power connection AND your current PSU doesn't have that connector. Not all cards need the connection. And there's a chance your current PSU has that connector anyway.

Barring those two reasons, you don't need a new PSU.

 

[beaulanger]

The HP tech, likely in India, e-mailed definitely do not install any other PSU than an uATX.
Must be playing a trick on me. LOL

By looking inside my case I don't see why any standard ATX PSU won't fit. Over the years I built my own systems but when my motherboard started getting flaky I bought the HP on impulse. Big mistake! First machine had a dead #4 memory bank and the DVD burner immediately destroyed my backup disk and a broken part came out of the drive. Wish I had waited and built my own again.

I just ordered an EVGA 256-P2-N550 -T2 GeForce 7600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail. Should be adequate for my needs and not require a PSU upgrade as you mentioned.

Thanks.

 

[Zepper]

PSUs for micro ATX PCs are usually called SFX form factor. But if you need a PSU, you can tell what you need by taking measurements. Standard ATX are 5.9" across the back, 5.5" deep and 3.4" thick. SFX are a lot smaller. But go ahead and try your new video card before buying any PSU. If you have anywhere near a true 300W psu with stout 12V rails (more than 60% of the total output available on the 12V rail(s), you should be fine. If you turn out to not have enough PSU, check out the iStar 400W unit on Newegg or the Enhance ENP-5140GH on eWiz.com . Also the newer vid cards may have their own power connection and you may need to get a new PSU if your OEM PSU unit lacks the needed connector.

 

[yh125d]

7600gt's lack a pci-e connector, so with that psu, you'll be fine if you have ~13a or more on both rails (if its a dual 12v) or ~25a on a single.

You may not even need that much, 7600gt's are very efficient.

 

[beaulanger]

Those standard ATX measurements are exactly what my HP 300w PSU is. 🙂

I was wondering if the 7600GT used a pci-e connector. I assumed it didn't, therefore less power draw.

Sorry I have been cross posting.

Beau