HOW TO REPAIR dell dimension 2350 POWER SUPPLY REPLACEMENT

I've heard reports of older Dell PSUs having some of the pins reversed, but that was a while ago. They got some flak over that.

As long as the dimensions fit (which it looks like it's standard ATX), a standard ATX PSU, as I linked above, will work.
 

willis888

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Most cases have 2 screws in back holding the side panel on. Remove the panel (usually the left one gives access).

Look at the picture on this page. That is what your power supply (PSU) looks like.

Unplug all the cords leading from your old power supply to the motherboard and disk drives - remember where the cords go because your new power supply will look almost exactly like the old one.

Most cases have 4 screws in the back holding the power supply in place. Remove the old power supply, and screw the new one into place.

Reconnect the cords, put the side panel back in place, and your computer is fixed.


When shopping for a new PSU, be sure to get one that is the same size and watts as your current PSU. According to the Dell website, the Dimension 2350 ships with a 250w PSU. Replacing it with a more powerful one will likely cause overheating issues.
 


Having extra wattage at the PC's disposal is not going to cause any extra heat. It would be overkill if the system (graphics mainly), has no chance of using the extra power. But it won't do any harm.

I often recommend going higher on a replacement/upgrade PSU. The easiest thing to upgrade on a system is RAM and video card. If you upgrade the video card, you usually get more draw on the PSU. So if you're putting the $$ into a PSU upgrade, you might as well get one that will give a little more room for possible upgrade down the line.
 

willis888

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You are right, but:

--If it gets used primarily for work, and can already do everything it needs to at an acceptable rate, you don't need to upgrade the CPU or GPU and more/better RAM will not pull enough amps to matter.

--Don't go overboard. I once tried to put a 750w PSU and Radeon HD 4890 GPU (parts for a workstation who's other parts had not arrived yet) into a small Pentium 4 box off-the-shelf from HP. The HP had shipped with a 350w PSU and Radeon X1300, and only had one 80mm case fan. The PSU itself generated more heat than standard, the GPU was considerably hotter as well, and the increased bulk of wires the larger PSU's come with restricted airflow significantly more than the standard PSU's wires did inside the small case. The result was system instability within minutes of booting, and would have destroyed the system if I didn't know that it needed to be shut down fast. The case was painfully hot to the touch when I peeked inside.

 
I never mentioned the CPU. And just mentioned that RAM is a popular upgrade (not that it would draw much wattage).

Generally, that's just poor airflow.

Most people aren't going to combine an old system (board and CPU) with a 4890 and new PSU. The CPU will bottleneck the video card making it pretty much worthless. And if the builder was going to put the $$ into upgrading the board and CPU as well, it's not much more to get a new case with better airflow. There wouldn't be much sense in trying to put all new guts into an old case to save ~$45.
 

rockyjohn

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You are all wet on this and only confusing the issue. A PSU with larger watt rating - using the same load and devices as before - will NOT generate more heat, If anything, being better made it is likely to generate marginally less heat. The higher heat from the PSU came from the higher load you put on it with the larger graphics card.

There is no reason not to upgrade the old PSU - the one Afford listed was inexpensive but good. And every reason to upgrade while changing because the old one was so small it limits all flexibility in upgrading. Futhermore, being modular, the cable issue should not be significant. Again you are just confusing the issue by trying to redeem yourself from the first erroneous info you provided. But in trying to cover you are just providing more bad information.

In addition, the larger PSU will likely work more efficiently, not just because it is 80+ rated, but the most efficient range for a PSU is generally near the midpoint and if you are operating near the end most any PSU will be less efficient.
 

jives11

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Sorry - a bit late to this thread , but I have twice replaced the power supply in a dell dimension 2350 , both times with standard ATX units, with no problem. See:

http://mr-ives.blogspot.com/search/label/Dell

I increased the power rating of the PSU to 400 watts. Actually temperature may be reduced as most modern PSU's have a different fan arrangement with a large air intake beneath the fan. The original Dell PSU had no such arrangement