Upgrading Video and Power Supply on an Dell XPS 400

[Josh]

I have a question. I was just on the phone with a dell support representative and he advised me that if I wanted to upgrade the power supply to a 3rd party supply (Dell doesnt offer one that supports the GeForce 8800), I wouldnt be able to as dell didnt offer a model that supported my system. He also advised that third party supplies would not work with the dell system. Does anyone know if this statement holds water or if I can in fact upgrade my 350W power supply to support a higher end graphics card?

[Darwin]

Reading between the lines, it sounds like what he is really saying is that you'll void any warranty that remains on your computer.

[Josh]

I already told him that my warranty expires in a month and I didnt care to extend it.

[Darwin]

Sounds like bunk to me, then... It's not like Dell uses proprietary MB's and components (is it?!).

[oldfart]

Dell does use proprietary connectors on some of their computers.  After market power supplies will not work with these units.  I'm not sure about voltage requirements or if you could make your own pigtail to get around this problem but I suspect they've got you cornered.

[Darwin]

Thanks for clarifying that, oldfart, I had no idea.

[mouser]

i would have said same thing as Darwin, but oldfart's comments are worth considering..
just open up your pc and take some pics of any connection from the power supply to the motherboard and any strange devices and post them and we can tell you for sure.

personally it seems highly unlikely to me that they would be using proprietary power connections.

[Lashiec]

Personally it seems highly unlikely to me that they would be using proprietary power connections.

Well, I once considered a Dell computer, but after looking at the components layout, it looked absolutely non-standard to me.

Besides, a Google search shows some people complaining about third-party PSUs not fitting in Dell computers, Dells claims they don't have a more powerful model for Josh's computer... basically, they're shouting: "You should buy another computer!", either because it's true or they're trying to confuse the costumer (after all, they sell GeForce 8800-equipped computers).

[Carol Haynes]

Couple of articles:

Dell Power Supply Converter
Converting a Dell (proprietary) power supply for use with a standard ATX motherboard

[mouser]

wow.. i stand corrected.  at least it sounds like josh could buy one of those adapters and be ok.

ps. on the basis of this i would not buy a dell desktop.

[f0dder]

Also, Dell have started to use BTX in a bunch of computers - that's quite a different layout (motherboard as well as case) than standard ATX, and I believe the PSU is also different. But you should be able to buy aftermarket BTX PSUs... dunno if Dell does more customization than that?

Btw, I have a GF8800GT/512meg, 2 x 74gig 10.000rpm raptor drives, a quadcore Q6600 overclocked to 3GHz, and 8 gigs of ram... and my system totals at ~210W under load. You might not actually need more than a 350W PSU after all, as long as it works stable under load

[Carol Haynes]

Personally I think it is madness on Dell's part but presumably it provides good evidence of warranty invalidation if you fry your mobo with an ATX PSU and acts as a real disincentive to tinker !!

[Lashiec]

Josh, perhaps this may be of your interest.

[Josh]

Awesome! Thanks!!!

[Josh]

Just a note that 25 days out of warranty, the PSU on this unit finally failed. Just ordered the one lashiec recommended. Thanks again lashiec

[techidave]

If you have an old or even a new standard ATX PSU laying around, you could plug it in and see if the computer will boot.  If it does, then you could see if it is the same size as the old one.  That would be a bit more work though, especially if it doesn't fit.

[40hz]

If you have an old or even a new standard ATX PSU laying around, you could plug it in

As has been noted above...

Do not do that until you check the pinout on the wiring harness plug. Dell does not use standard pinouts on their power supplies. You'll either need a plug adapter or a Dell compatible PS. Otherwise you run the risk of frying your mobo.

[4wd]

If you have an old or even a new standard ATX PSU laying around, you could plug it in and see if the computer will boot.  If it does, then you could see if it is the same size as the old one.  That would be a bit more work though, especially if it doesn't fit.

That's not a good idea if the manufacturer of the PC is known to use proprietary plugs/sockets, (as Dell was), you could end up with a totally dead motherboard.

Dang it!  40Hz snuck in ahead of me

[Innuendo]

Some Dells have proprietary sockets for the PSUs, but they were supposed to have gotten away from that and use standard pin-outs. The words is anything around the time of the Dimension 8400 and newer use standard pinouts.

However, a lot of their models still use proprietary form factors so while a standard PSU will work, you aren't going to get an exact fit into the case like the old one.