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- HP Community
- Desktops
- Desktop Hardware and Upgrade Questions
- Upgrading power supply and graphics card

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01-09-2019 05:11 AM
Hi, I am intending to upgrade my power supply and graphics card on my HP Pavilion 550-121nd Desktop.
I have read many posts on this forum pointing out things to take into account when upgrading.
I am assuming I can insert a Geforce GTX 1050 TI 4G when also replacing the power supply with 550 wattage.
I have seen many HP employees recommending popular power supplies like Corsair. This type of power supply is quite different however compared to the integrated one (180 W uATX Energy Star 6.0 internal power supply), which has its fan pointed to the back, releasing its air out the back of the tower.
When using the Corsair type of supply, this would not be possible, meaning the fan would have to face down into the interior of the tower, blowing its hot air over the motherboard and against the inserted video card.
My question is, is this kind of replacement possible and is it wise, could that not cause overheating issues inside the tower?
Considering many HP support employees suggest the Corsair brand, they seem to assume it should not be a problem, but I would like to be sure.
Thank you for any response.
Regards,
Tez
01-09-2019 07:37 AM
IMHO the fan that is pointing down is the air intake and the fan runs to push air out the back
I'm not an HP employee.
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01-09-2019 11:09 AM - edited 01-09-2019 11:11 AM
Thank you for your help.
That would make sense, I already was wondering if the air is going in or out at the fan, but could not read about it anywhere.
It does mean the two power supplies have reversed airflows. In the built-in HP branded one the hot air goes into the tower, since it pulls cool air in from the back, photo example:
https://www.centralpoint.nl/power-supply-units/hp/power-supply-output-rated-at-240-watts-12vdc-92-ef...
I just now stumbled on this article, which explains it nicely:
https://blog.nzxt.com/which-way-should-a-psu-fan-point/
So you conclude it shouldn't be a problem, right?
Thanks again.