new power supply
 

need to upgrade my 300w dell psu for gpu upgrade

which one would be the best for powering a single 8800?

Newegg.ca - COOLER MASTER eXtreme Power Plus RS-500-PCAR-A3-US 500W ATX12V v2.3 Power Supply
Newegg.ca - KINGWIN ABT-450MM 450W ATX 12V Ver.2.2 SLI Ready Power Supply
Newegg.ca - COOLER MASTER Elite 460 RS-460-PSAR-J3 460W ATX12V V2.31 Power Supply

Are all atx power supplies the same length? how long would they be(inches)? I need to know if my case has enough room

I would recommend neither of the 3 options that you've listed. CM does not make their own PSU and most of the time their quality is substandard. I would recommend other companies that actually produce their PSUs. Here are a few which I think would be a lot better for your computer in the long run.

Newegg.ca - Antec EarthWatts EA-500D Green 500W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

Newegg.ca - FSP Group SAGA+ 450R 450W ATX12V v2.2 Power Supply

Newegg.ca - FSP Group SAGA+ 500R 500W ATX2.2 Power Supply

Newegg.ca - SILVERSTONE ST50F-ES 500W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply

You could go with the 450W but usually 500W is a good range which gives better flexibility for upgrades. Do check the size of the current PSU in your Dell though as I am not too sure whether it would fit a standard sized ATX.

It would help if we had your system specs and what upgrades you plan in the near future. It would also help if you tell us what games you play (if any). The 8800gt hasn't been manufactured in some time and is basically EOL except maybe for physx. How much are you paying for the card? If you are getting it dirt cheap (less than $40) go for it. Otherwise, try to scrape together a little cash and try to get a second hand gtx 260.

It would be good if you provide us with the model number of your Dell.

In some cases, Dell doesn't use ATX-sized PSUs which could be problematic.

It's an inspiron 530. He mentioned it in the motherboard section as he's looking to upgrade that too.

According to this post standard ATX PSUs should fit, although I can't verify these claims: Inspiron 530 PSU upgrade question. - Desktop General Hardware Forum - Desktop - Dell Community

The other option is to measure your power supply and make sure it matches the dimension on section 4.2 of this document: http://www.formfactors.org/developer...public_br2.pdf

Although I do agree with you selection, just note that: Antec is made by Delta, and Silverstone is a few OEM's depending on the model, they use FSP and Enhance primarly.

to the OP - I would like I said in the other thread take a picture and also ensure there are no special connectors that are uniquie to dell's in there. Or take the advice above and see if your PSU falls in he same form factor.



Regards,
ST

The statement where I said that I only recommend PSU manufacturers was referring to FSP. The others were there to just add more choices for OP. I do like FSP PSUs a lot as they are cheap in price but have very reasonable performance. I do use a FSP SAGAII 500W as well and it has been great so far.

heres the pics, and my goal for this upgrade is to spend $100 and be able to play some of the older games like cod4, css and maybe some mw2. Link to my cpu-id validator for specs CPU-Z Validator 3.1

18amps times 12 give you 216 watts on the 12v. thats plenty for a lower end gpu and your system, if the psu can hold those watts steady

else, the above mentioned earthwatts will fit in,from the looks of it :)