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Daughter's idiotbox has been "randomly shutting itself off" according to her. Her GeekPet reinstalled Windows so I don't think its a cootie--thinking that if I remember right, that is a symptom of a failing power supply, right?? Last time she had it home, the case made a little buzzing sound, too.

Anyways.....I did some Googling so I could see what a power supply looks like and one quote was,

"If you've ever changed a memory card, you can change your power supply"

Is this right??? I know the Geeks here change power supplies all the time, but remember, I'm no Geek! :blush:

And, how does one go about buying a power supply? Does it have to be ordered from Dell, does it need to be specially compatable with the computer like Memory is, or are they "one size fits all" that can be bought at a Best Buy type store? I remember reading about different sizes/wattages/juice when it comes to power supplies--I don't see anything on her invoice that hints at what size power supply she already has.

Confused yet? :)

Dell E310,P4,521(2.80gGHZ), 1MB,SKTT

256MB Ram *

80 GB hard Drive*

Windows XP Media Center

*-her invoice has a bunch of letters and numbers with these items, I'll include them if they're important....

And anything else you need to know, if it's listed on her invoice, I can post it!

As always, thanks in advance,

Liz

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Their is no reason to buy a PSU from Dell. They all use the same standard ATX supply. I would not recommend buying one from bestbuy. They will charge her a small fortune for a low quality unit. For the price, this one is great. She could pay as low as $15 plus shipping for something cheaper. I have used quite a few of these. They are not the best quality, but for the price they are decent. For what its worth, bestbuy would sell the same quality(as the $15 dollar one) or worse for $70

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Thanks, Shanenin, that is cheaper than I expected and a rebate to boot! Now, as far as replacing it.....how complicated? I looked at the photo with all those cables and plugs and went a little pale.

Liz

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From what I know of you, you are very handy :-) I don't think you would have any problem with it. Like me, you only suffer from lack of confidence. Just take notice of what plugs you remove then plug the same ones in from the new supply. My only word of warning, make sure all the wires are away from the fan. With Dell computers, that is not even an issue, since the heatsink fan is at the back of the case. Just be confident and take your time, and you will do good.

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Thanks, Shanenin, that is cheaper than I expected and a rebate to boot! Now, as far as replacing it.....how complicated? I looked at the photo with all those cables and plugs and went a little pale.

Liz

One thing to consider with Dell boxes are that SOME of them are oddly sized, even though they say they are ATX.

I had that problem years ago with a Dell Dimension "L1000" . In order to fit a standarsd sized PS into the case, you had to do some surgery.

Your Dell may not be that proprietary, but you never know until you open it up.

Good luck,

Joe

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Errr, did anyone think about a dirty processor? Heh, or even cleaning out the machine? Dang! I clean mine twice a year and the fluff and stuff is unbelievable. My Dell has a duct for the case fan that draws over the processor heat sink. Well had, because I added a fan and removed the dang shroud.

PM me, A'Liz.

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Dustbunnies is also something I am going to have her (OK, her brother or her GeekPet) check, as the idiotbox is in a carpeted bedroom which likely hasn't been vacuumed since August :D

But....when we replaced the memory in my old-now Son's computer, there was virturally NO dust inside (I was shocked, but pleasantly shocked)--and that computer is 3 years older than Kate's. But Kate, as sweet as she is, she is a slob......

Liz

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To find out if that Dell uses a proprietary power supply check the link below. If it has the extra connector you can buy the adapter and use a standard ATX power supply.

http://www.endpcnoise.com/cgi-bin/e/std/sku=dellconverter

I have had great luck using the Sparkle (Fortron made) ATX power supplies in the OEM PCs that I have replaced the PSUs in. In fact the power supply below is running my home built system.

SPARKLE FSP300-60PN ATX 300W / $37.02 S&H inc.

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You definitely want to check what TT said, but I think those were used in older dells. I think anything newer then 5 years old uses the standard PSU. As to the sparkle power supply, they have a great reputation for quality.

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