Adding a PSU to a minitower

[Sadinar]

So I am ordering the Dell Inspiron 620 MT(http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=dddajq3&cs=19&dgvcode=ss&c=US&l=EN&dgc=SS&cid=247371&lid=4282319) are the specs. I wanted to upgrade the PSU and add in a graphics card to that computer, however, being a minitower, I'm not sure how good of an idea that would be. Do minitowers like that have easily replacable PSU's, or do I need to look for a specific type? Thanks for the help!

 

[CaedenV]

they are easy enough to replace, the issue is finding a PSU of the same form factor that has more wattage than the original that would support a real GPU... these things are not exactly meant for upgrading.

 

[CaedenV]

oops, forget what I said, most of the 620 units I have worked on have been slim units, the full desktops take good old fashioned ATX PSUs. Some of the cable lengths will be a little odd, but it should not be a problem.
Keep in mind that these cases do not breathe easily, so get a GPU that has a good exhaust fan. Also when it arrives be sure to check if the case will take a double wide GPU. I just put together a Frankenstein dell for work, and had to mod the hell out of the poor thing to get it to take a GTX460... but it was all worth it in the end because now I have a nice little PC, and enough horsepower to properly do work on 2 cinema displays that were laying around the office Big upgrade from the laptop!

 

[deadlockedworld]

Why are you buying a new dell then immediately upgrading? Why not get a custom PC with the parts you want?

Could either build it yourself, or make a custom build from someplace like cyberpower or another custom building vendor.

 

[Sadinar]

Hmm, from another thread that I found (http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/325021-28-dell-inspiron-power-supply) it seemed to suggest that the form factor was Mini Tower Micro ATX, but I have no idea what that means and what I should look for in my PSU as a result.

Edit: I seem to have missed your previous reply, so do you mean to say most power supplys will work well?

 

[Sadinar]

Why are you buying a new dell then immediately upgrading? Why not get a custom PC with the parts you want?

Could either build it yourself, or make a custom build from someplace like cyberpower or another custom building vendor.

There are a couple reasons I don't want to build on my own, in part due to my lack of experience, I don't want to risk messing up the motherboard or processor by making a mistake, and in part because I don't have the time or patience to troubleshoot every problem. I would much prefer a warranty were something to go wrong and not have to deal with each individual warranty and try to troubleshoot to figure out which part caused the problem.

The custom builds I found all tended to be far more expensive than buying a new pc and upgrading. The PC I linked has a coupon to bring the price down to 450, which means for that price, I can buy a Radeon 7770 and a power supply for a little over 600, I couldn't find any reasonable build on those sites that were close to that.

 

[deadlockedworld]

OK - just to demonstrate that its possible I put an idea together quickly, It totals $888. Personally I would spend more in some areas for high end parts, but the below already has a better processor and GPU than the dell idea.

Most users here think that these "build it for you" companies are a waste of money BUT if you are considering doing it half way -- this is much better than trying to do it with a Dell.

Configuration#: 1EBC9C (http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/saved/1EBC9C)
Case: Thermaltake Commander Mid-Tower Gaming Case [-12] (Black Color)
CPU: Intel® Core™ i5-3470 3.20 GHz 6MB Intel Smart Cache LGA1155 [+80]
Motherboard: Biostar H61MH Intel H61 Chipset DDR3 mATX Mainboard w/ Onboard Video, HDMI, 7.1 HD Audio, GbLAN, USB 2.0,
Memory: 4GB (2GBx2) DDR3/1600MHz Dual Channel Memory (Corsair or Major Brand)
Video Card: AMD Radeon HD 7850 2GB 16X PCIe 3.0 Video Card [+226] (Major Brand Powered by AMD)
Power Supply Upgrade: 500 Watts - Corsair CX500 V2 80 Plus Certified Power Supply [+24]
Hard Drive: 500GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD (Single Hard Drive)

I am not, however, vouching for Cyberpower as the best company to do this. I've bought one prebuilt from them, and it never broke down, but dont know if there are better companies out there.

 

[Sadinar]

Best answer selected by Sadinar.