Guide for Selecting a Power Supply

[DjPhaze]

i really need some help on choosing a higher wattage power supply. i have a... 

HP Pavilion Elite HPE-350t PC
• Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-860 quad-core processor [2.8GHz, 1MB L2 + 8MB shared L3 cache]
• FREE UPGRADE! 8GB DDR3-1333MHz SDRAM [4 DIMMs] from 6GB
• FREE UPGRADE! 1TB 7200 rpm SATA 3Gb/s hard drive from 640GB
• Microsoft Office Starter 2010
• Norton Internet Security(TM) 2010 - 15 month
• 512MB ATI Radeon HD 5450 [DVI, HDMI, VGA adap

My reason for the more wattage power supply is because i would like to buy a nice video card. Most of them have minimum power supply requirements. i have a 300 watt psu. I was wondering if i can get some help choosing a psu with atleast 500watts. Any help would be much appreciated.

[rdopso]

I do not know if the case supplied with your later model HP computer is the same as the one for my HP Pavilion Elite HPE 180t, but I suspect it is; and if so, the very high quality and incredibly quiet Corsair TX650W 650-watt PSU will fit and provide all the power you will need for a high-end single-graphics card upgrade.   I am running the Corsair above with my system which is similar to yours except I have 12 GB of RAM, three 1-T HDDs, 2 BD optical drives, and a single NVIDIA GeForce GTX-260 graphics card.

[DjPhaze]

im thinking of getting this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006

The dimensions of my bestec power supply unit is 6,5.5,3.5 Im trying to find out if this Corsair will fit. i beleive these are the dimensions of the corsair...3.40" Height x 5.90" Width x 5.50" Depth. please let me know. thanks!

[rdopso]

The dimensions of the Corsair PSUs that have been mentioned here are (according to the User's Manual for my Corsair PSU) as follows; althought the dimensions on the shipping box for my TX650W are shown as the W and L being the same at 5.9" which I believe is incorrect -- I believe the correct dimensions for the TX650W are those shown below.

TX650W is 5.9" (W), 3.4" (H), and 5.5" (L) -- (150mm x 86mm x 150mm)

TX750W is 5.9" (W), 3.4" (H), and 6.3" (L) -- (150mm x 86mm x 160mm)

By my measurements the 460-watt PSU that I replaced in my HP computer is  5.8" x 3.3" x 5.4"

The Corsair 750-watt PSU would not fit in my HP case, but the 650-watt Corsair does fit my case and is happily living there as I type this.  The longest dimension of the original HP PSU and the Corsair replacent is actually what I would have termed the length, but they label it width, and I believe that longest dimension is why the Corsair 750-watt unit would not fit my HP case.  I bought my TX650W at Best Buy for $104.99.

[DjPhaze]

sry i meant to say this one...http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005 not the 750. So it should fit right?

TX650W is 5.9" (W), 3.4" (H), and 5.5" (L) -- (150mm x 86mm x 150mm)

My dimensions of my psu are 6", 3.5", 5.5"

[rdopso]

The specs for the Corsair TX650W in the link you provided shows dimensions of 5.9 (W), 3.4 (H), and 5.9 (L); which is what is shown on the box in which my Corsair 650 was shipped -- but as I stated in a previous email, the owner's manual for my 650 shows this specific model as having dimensions of 5.9 (W), 3.4 (H), and only 5.5 (L), so there is clearly a descrepency here that needs to be resolved before you will know if what you wish to purchase will fit your case.  OK, you have now fully perked my curiosity so I will open my HP case and measure my TX650W to settle this once and for all -- stay tuned for late breaking news on this.

[rdopso]

OK, the Corsair TX650W in my HP Pavilion Elite HPE 180t measures 5.9" (W), 3.4" (H), and 5.8" (L).  That L measurement does come very close to matching the factory spec for L of 5.9".  The L dimension is not critical in my HP case because there is at least another half inch of room in that direction within the case (but the mass of power wires coming out of the TX650W pretty much fills up that space), but the other dimensions are critical and any PSU larger that above would likely not fit.  So, it appears the PSU of interest to you will fit your HP case if your case is the same as mine, and I believe it is.

Again, the PSU swap is not difficult so long as you know how to get into the HP case (only three screws need be removed to slide the plastic top back and off, and to slide the left side (as one is facing the back of the computer) metal side panel back and off.  And the best way to make sure you get all power cables from the new PSU back on the MB and other related places correctly is to remove the old PSU from the case but keep all the power cables attached to the computer, and then to attach each of the new PSU power cables one at a time while you can check how and where each was attached from the old PSU (and be careful not to push on the MB cable connectors too hard when attaching them, and also be aware that some of the MB cables have a tiny release tab that must be pressed while gently but firmly pulling the connector off).  It is usually best to not drink heavily until after you have finished the job and have successfully fired up the computer with the new PSU.

Richard Olsen

Green Valley, AZ

"retired and happy"

[DjPhaze]

thank you for your help. It sounds like it will fit my PC. I think im going to take a picture of where the psu is at and maybe we can get a clear view and determine if indeed it will fit. But no matter what i still think due the the dimensions of the Corsair its gotta fit right? Unless it doesnt sit up the same way like my psu is in my comp i should be fine

[DjPhaze]

Here is a pic of my psu sitting in my computer. i have drawn the specs to see if the Corsair will fit.

[IMG]http://i53.tinypic.com/wnq7r.jpg[/IMG]

[rdopso]

---

@DjPhaze wrote:

Here is a pic of my psu sitting in my computer. i have drawn the specs to see if the Corsair will fit.

[IMG]http://i53.tinypic.com/wnq7r.jpg[/IMG]

---

Below is a link to a photo of the Corsair TX650W in my HP computer which appears to have the same case layout as your HP computer, and the PSU is apparently in the same location and same orientation, except that your PSU apparently draws it's cooling air from inside the case while the Corsair draws outside cooling air from the opposite or top side of the PSU where it is not sucking hot air from inside the case (my case has ventilation slots and vents to allow the corsair PSU fan to draw outside cooling air through the PSU, and it always runs very cool and at a low and essentially silent fan speed).  Likewise, my CPU cores all run relatively cool, as does my NVIDIA video card, even during long heavy-duty video rendering sessions.

http://miata-website.rdopso.com/images/Corsair%20PSU%20in%20my%20HP.jpg

Another thing I think I notice in your computer case is that at least some of the drives use non-SATA power connectors, while all the drives in my computer are SATAs.  That will not be a serious issue if that is the case because I believe the Corsair has both SATA and nonSATA power connectors -- and even if the Corsair should have only SATA power connectors for the drives (I believe it comes with 8 or more SATA power connectors), SATA to nonSATA conversion cable links are available and will take care of any apparent incompatibility with the power connectors for nonSATA drives.

My HP computer case is considerably more cluttered than yours due to having the very large NVIDIA GTX-260 graphics card, two internal HDDs and two internal optical drives as well as all the extra unused Corsair power cables which must be stuffed somewhere safe within the rather small computer case.  Nonetheless, everything operates just fine with this compact setup powered by the Corsair PSU.