240 Watt Power Supply Configuration

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
P

pccollector

Reputable
Oct 23, 2014
5
0
4,510
Hello!

I have a quick question today. I have a small form factor PC that has a 240 watt power supply, and PSU upgrades seem rare for my model PC (HP dc7800). I would like to put the following parts inside of the computer:

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 @ 2.83 GHz or Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 2.4 GHz
8.00 GB DDR2 RAM (4x2GB DDR2)
AMD Radeon HD 6450 512MB PCI Low Profile
DVD-RW SATA Drive
1TB Western Digital Black 64MB Cache or 64GB SSD
Media Card Reader

There are also around 6-8 USB ports in use all the time, as well as one of the PS/2 ports. It would be great if you guys could verify if this configuration can happen on low wattage, OEM, and old PSU. According to a power supply calculator, the minimum wattage is 210W and the recommended wattage is 260W. I also believe this calculator assumes the PSU is brand new as well.

Thanks for your help!
 
Solution
hang-the-9
I woud not spend that much to upgrade to old parts.

Get a video card for it if you want to get better HD video and that's it. A 2 gig or so Core 2 Duo with 4 gig RAM can do HD video without issues. That motherboard should have a PCIe slot, don't use PCI if PCIe is there.

A new A6 or A8 setup is not much more than what you will spend on all the upgrades if you change out all the parts.
Sort by date Sort by votes
Eximo

Eximo

Titan
Ambassador
May 27, 2010
25,982
4,261
139,340
Not really, Q9550 is still quite a potent CPU, so is the Q6600. Overclocked and you can put those things up in the tier 2 or 3 range on Tom's hierarchy.

HD6450 on the other hand could use a serious upgrade.

USB devices would pull from the 5V, power supplies are generally rated on their 12V and 5V output combined. (Good supplies are rated only on their 12V essentially) So you would need to look at the maximum output of the 5V rail, and add up the consumption of all your devices to be sure rather then using a calculator, which is just guessing on the consumption of the devices you have.

Getting a new supply may be tricky. A lot of OEM machines like that one had proprietary supplies and motherboards.

If it is a standard 20 or 24 or 20+4 ATX connector, then any supply that physically fits in the case will work. Or you could replace the case for a larger one at a minimal cost.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
P

pccollector

Reputable
Oct 23, 2014
5
0
4,510


The computer was acquired for a very low price with some components, and the upgrades mentioned would cost around $200, and its already a decent PC, but it just needs a few upgrades to catch up with some standards today. It has a low workload every day that usually consists of only web browsing and sometimes 1080p video. The current config on it has a mid-range Intel Core 2 Duo, 4GB RAM, and Intel GMA 3100. As far as I can tell, the integrated graphics seems to be the main problem in the config since a new Windows Vista install stutters quite a bit in Aero animations.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Eximo

Eximo

Titan
Ambassador
May 27, 2010
25,982
4,261
139,340
Hmm, tricky. I doubt that is a standard ATX form factor.

If you can check the power plug that goes into the motherboard to see if it is standard, then migrating it to a larger case is an option. If not, I would say start looking into upgrading.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
hang-the-9

hang-the-9

Titan
Mar 25, 2010
60,387
1,081
152,940
I woud not spend that much to upgrade to old parts.

Get a video card for it if you want to get better HD video and that's it. A 2 gig or so Core 2 Duo with 4 gig RAM can do HD video without issues. That motherboard should have a PCIe slot, don't use PCI if PCIe is there.

A new A6 or A8 setup is not much more than what you will spend on all the upgrades if you change out all the parts.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Solution
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom