Can I put in a new psu safely

[foxstar]

Hello, so i recently got a new video card that will not work with my power supply as it is too low. I've thought about getting a 500 w power supply to run the card but i was advised against this by Dell. This is what the tech told me:
Dan, we do not recommend to upgrade the power supply on this computer, as the motherboard, processor, RAM and other parts inside the tower are designed to work with 300w power supply only
My tech friend said this is bull and I should be able to put in a new psu without issue, so my question is who's right? I can't really afford to blow my computer but if the tech is full of it i will get a new psu and keep the card instead of returning it
Oh and my computer is an inspiron 620 i5 3.0 quad 8 gigs

 

[AlderonnX]

Dell is lieing, Your fine with a 500-650 watt PSU

 

[Deleted member 217926]

The Dell phone support guy has a list of things he has to say. I imagine not replacing their power supplies with aftermarket models are something on that list he has to go by.

To answer your question it's completely safe to upgrade the power supply. In fact you would be fine putting a 1500 watt power supply in a computer that only need a 300 watt power supply. That would not be very cost effective or efficient but your components would only draw the power required from it. There would be nothing dangerous about it except to your wallet.

Stick with a quality brand. Corsair, Seasonic, PC Power and Cooling, XFX, Silverstone, Enermax, OCZ and Antec are all high quality brands.

Here is a list of recommended wattage by graphics cards. If you stick with the brands I listed you are fine sticking to the recommended chart even if it's less than you think it might be.

http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm

 

[Rugger]

What is the model of the Dell PC? Some of the older models had proprietary power wiring.

 

[delluser1]

What is the model of the Dell PC? Some of the older models had proprietary power wiring.

OP says he has an inspiron 620 i5 3.0 quad, not very old
The proprietary wiring pretty much stopped with the introduction of the Pentium 4

 

[Rugger]

Reading is fundamental...I need to do more of it. oops

 

[foxstar]

Best answer selected by foxstar.