Dell XPS 420 PSU

[thewingnut13]

Hey everyone, I have a Dell XPS 420 with the stock 375w dell psu. I want to upgrade it to at least a 750 so i can throw in my GTX260. Can i throw in any aftermarket PSU? I didnt know if i would have to cut a hole in the back for the power switch on the newer PSU or if they make them without the switch? Thanks Everyone.

 

[o1die]

Looks like (from the photos) any standard atx ps should fit. Your choice might include a cable select ps, since some premium ps have extra long cables, which may have to be tied down out of the way. If you live in the states, I would wait for black friday deals before buying. I always find a ps or case nearly free after rebate at Fry's. I try to use only the following brands: antec, enermax, corsair, seasonic, or pc power and cooling. A quality unit of about 600 watts should work fine for any single video card. Check fatwallet, slickdeals, newegg, and fry's for deals.

 

[thewingnut13]

Wow, thanks alot that really helps.

 

[bobbknight]

All I can add to that great advice is to google black friday and look for other sales sites.
Retail is hard hit this year and prices will be as low as they can get them.

 

[blkg35sport]

I have the same PC but DELL told me i could only upgrade to a 420watt psu.

 

[liascm]

I have the same PC but DELL told me i could only upgrade to a 420watt psu.

hi, you said that dell told you you could only upgrade to 425w on your psu on xps 420, i have this same computer and want to get the 9800gtx+ in my syetm but for this i need a better psu

so i was wandering did you go ahead and upgrade past 420w and if so what did you upgrade too and have you had any problems

please email me with you responce at: liascm@hotmail.co.uk

thanks

 

[blkg35sport]

No i haven't made a move as fas as a upgrade because currently I only have a 375 watt psu and the video cards i like need 500 watts.

 

[Guest]

Hey guys,

I have the same PC. What I did was ordered from http://www.pcpower.com/ and went under Dell compatible power supplies and ordered the 500 watt one that's capable with the XPS 420. Then ordered the GeForce 9800GTX +. Hope this helps.

 

[delluser1]

Hey guys,

I have the same PC. What I did was ordered from http://www.pcpower.com/ and went under Dell compatible power supplies and ordered the 500 watt one that's capable with the XPS 420. Then ordered the GeForce 9800GTX +. Hope this helps.

If you ordered this 9800 GTX+ you didn't need to order a psu.
And as far as Dell compatible power supplies almost any standard ATX unit would be compatible, thanks to the open back design of the case.

 

[shata]

Looks like (from the photos) any standard atx ps should fit. Your choice might include a cable select ps, since some premium ps have extra long cables, which may have to be tied down out of the way. If you live in the states, I would wait for black friday deals before buying. I always find a ps or case nearly free after rebate at Fry's. I try to use only the following brands: antec, enermax, corsair, seasonic, or pc power and cooling. A quality unit of about 600 watts should work fine for any single video card. Check fatwallet, slickdeals, newegg, and fry's for deals.

Yeah here is one example that may fit your needs.
http://www.pcpower.com/products/power_supplies/dell/

There is also a tab for MB Compatibility.

 

[newyorkdolluk]

All,

Can I please encourage you to get onto Dell about this. I have been arguing with them for a while now that the PSU they provide is inadequate. i have a 425W PSU that came with my XPS420 and my 3870 X2 GPU crashes due to lack of power on certain games like Flight Sim X. THIS IS THEIR FAULT. Only now have they escalated it to the hardware department

PLEASE PLEASE get onto them as they are underselling you all and I was told by them that i was the only person who had complained !

 

[jetengine7]

I've been arguing with Dell too about the power supply in my XPS420. I ordered an 8800GT and only got a 375W PS. It clearly says on Nvidia's website that the minimum PS requirement for the 8800GT is 400W. I can't even overclock the card let alone upgrade. I just can't convince them that they're wrong! Not to mention, it also has a quad-core, sound card, tv tuner, 3 fans, etc. Is 375W enough to run all this hardware at its full potential?

 

[delluser1]

Is 375W enough to run all this hardware at its full potential?

Yes

 

[DellXPS420]

If you have an ATX case an ATX power supply should work. Because ATX is a standard, all companies must go by. Just like TCP/IP protocols.

I have a Dell XPS 420 as well that had Vista 32-bit but now has Windows 7 64-bit. It still has Dell 375w power supply but going to upgrade to a 750W PS from Newegg and put in Ballistix DDR2-8600 1066MHZ (2x2GB) Lat. 5-5-5-15 up to 8GB of Ram from Crucial.

Crucial has a compatibility check for the RAM.

If your running 32-bit windows you only go up to 4GB of RAM, 64-bit can allow up to 8GB.
Now why am I upgrading the PS and RAM? Because I got a free video card that requires a 450W PS from a friend and want to maximize the RAM. But at least with the stock video card that came with it I can play World of Warcraft but not Guild Wars.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139021
http://www.crucial.com/store/mpartspecs.aspx?mtbpoid=D3E2364AA5CA7304