I read the power supply faq and now I'm even more confused than I was before I first logged on.
 
I have a Dell XPS 400 and I think the power supply gave out on me.  My one year warranty expired on 7/5/07 and online chat just keeps telling me to call out of warranty.  Well, I don't have that kind of money so I'm trying to figure out how to solve this problem without them.
 
I was given a part number to replace the power supply and it led me to this.
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna [...] &sku=WM283
 
It's refurbished and I'd like to pick up something locally.  I know absolutely nothing about power supplies (except the things I've read online that have ended up confusing me just when I thought I was figuring it out).  When I did a search on Dell's forum, one person said that any ATX power supply with 24-pin or 20+4 pin main motherboard power connector with a minimum of 2-Sata power connectors will work...  Ah...    
 
This site comes off as very knowledgable so that's why I came here for help.  Does anyone know anything about these Dell XPS 400 systems?  My manual doesn't tell me how to replace the power supply and the cords are going everywhere.  Does anyone know of a diagram online on how to replace this?  I couldn't find one... Yet, I'm still looking.  I went to frys.com and looked at power supplies but they don't provide the details for the power supplies like the details I mentioned above.  For you guru's, can you point me the right direction?
 
I have lots of goodies running on the computer and this is what I have.  I was told I need 375w but what if I go larger?  Would that be a good idea?  The reason I think my power supply is dead is because the computer won't even turn on now.  It just shut off and went silent.  First I got a flashing amber light until I held down the power button, then nothing.  The fan doesn't attempt to turn but a green light inside turns on until a minute after I remove the power cord.  The motherboard looks clean (no goop or any of that stuff leaking) so from my searching, it looks like it's the power supply.
 
Can anyone help?  Oh, here's the specs.  (I can't remember the replacement DVD-R drive without looking it up on that computer)
 
256 MB GeForce 6800 PCI-E x16 Graphics Card
4x2gb(4gb) DDR2 533M 4200
Hauppauge (26552) WinTV-PVR-150MCE  
Media Center 2005
Main Hard Drive 320 GB 7200 RPM SATA2
Secondary Hard Drive 300 GB 7200.9 Seagate Barracuda SATA
Turtle Beach RIVIERA 5.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card
2.8 GHz 820 FSB Smithfield Pentium 4 Processor Duo Core 2mb
16x Toshiba Samsung DVD Drive
Philips 16X DVD±RW Drive
USB Memory Card Reader
PCI Full Height IEEE 1394a Controller Card
2 USB in front
5 USB in back
1.44 Floppy Drive
1x 10/100/1000 RJ-45, 1x 56.6K Modem
 
And on the front I have a bunch of memory card readers that I never use.  They say:
SM
XD
CF/MD
SD/mini
MMC/RS
MS Pro/Duo
 
I hope that's enough info.

You can order a fortron fsp power supply online. Newegg sells them for about $40. Get a 350 or 400 watt model. If you can't install it yourself, I would take it to your local pc shop for diagnosis. If the motherboard is faulty, then it's time for a new case and motherboard-cpu (barebones upgrade). One poster said if you call Dell and tell them you have a safety issue (such as smoke coming from your pc), they will probably replace it for free. Don't know if this works. Slickdeals.net had a brand new Dell vostro model listed with 19 inch lcd for $349 last week. It came to $377 with sales tax and free shipping. That might be the best way for you to proceed if you don't want to put more $$$ into your pc. Dell motherboards are expensive even when sold used on ebay.

well, i have XFX 8800GT Alpha Dog Edition & my rig spec. is:
 
MSI P4N Diamond
P4 3.6/2MB (660 prescott 2M)
2 x 1 GB RAM DDR2 Kingston
1 HDD SATA 160GB
 
and my PSU is ThermalTake PurePower 480W with +V12= 18A + Active PFC
 
is this enough for my 8800 GT? (as XFX states that the card needs 500W PSU or more)
 
help, please?

Am I being made fun of?  I put lots of time and effort into explaining my situation and I'm being serious by asking for help.  I do not want to purchase a new computer, mine is quite new and it was very expensive so why would I replace it since I've done all this upgrading already?  
 

First off, ignore amf1rst.
 
Any power supply of about 400w will be fine for your computer.
 
The guy on the dell forum unecessarily confused you with the talk about connectors as any PS you buy will have the ones you need.
 
The reason o1die was telling you about other computers was [i think] because you only said you THINK its the PS with is the problem. If it turns out to be the motherboard then it will be expensive just to fix it.
 
Im sure someone on here could point you to an acceptable PS on newegg.
 
As for fitting it. Before you unplug the old one, make a note of which cables plugged in where and when you fit the new one make sure the same kind of fitting go into the same holes.
 
Ofcourse, if you dont feel up to it, just take it to a computer shop and they will choose the right PS and fit it for you.

Sorry ramirezi, but i didnt mean anything..I saw the topic has the same  
label of my question..so i put my question here..asking for an answer like u 2..
 
I apologize again.
 
so please people, can any 1 can answer my question?

I researched your pc at the Dell forums. You don't have to get a dell replacement ps. Newegg has an antec 380w earthwatts ps for only $34.99 with free 3 day shipping. I use 2 antec cases with antec ps, and they work fine. I highly recommend them for value and performance. I have also used fortron fsp ps, but the antec is on sale right now and is just as good, maybe better. If your pc exhibits the same symptoms after trying a new ps, then I would search ebay for a replacement motherboard. Dell will replace it, but it will cost you $200 or more with labor, so you may want to take it to a shop and let them give you more options. Pc's are so cheap now that starting over may be less expensive than repairing. If you lived in central texas, I would help you for free. I've been building my own for 15 years, and have actually put a few dells together in their howard lane facility as a contract laborer.

 
I have a BFG8800GTOC and an Antec Earthwatts 500w and I have no problems running it.
 
Just make sure your PS has the required amps on the 12v rail and you'll be fine.
 
EDIT: I just saw that your PS has 18v on the 12 v rail, just look on your XFX box and look for how many amps it needs to run.

 
That Antec PSU at 34.99 w/ free shipping is a good buy and should be a good match for your system, Ramirezi.

It should be about a twenty minute project.
Unplug all the connectors
Unscrew the heatsink shroud and flip it ( along with the heatsink ) to the side, at this point you'll either have to be careful or plan on replacing the thermal paste if you get anything in it. I have replaced several psu's without reapplying the TIM with no change in temps.  
There should be two cable clamps, one at the top of the MB, one on the left side, open them to release the wires.
Remove the four screws from the back, push in the locking tab on the inside case wall and slide the unit in to the case to remove it.
Put the new unit in, don't worry about the locking tabs, they will bend out of the way and the four screws in the back will hold the psu in place, route wiring, replace heatsink.
The Antec 380 that has been mentioned would be a little light at 27 amps, the stock Dell 375 provides 30.