THE COMPUTER THREAD

[RVR II]

From what RVR II wrote, I do tend to keep a lot of programs active at one time (often picture editing, video, audio, plus at least 4-5 others) with USB-linked plug-ins common (e.g. external Blu-ray burning drive powered by the USB), so sounds like a larger supply might be worthwhile.  But I think MartyS's right, I've not had any problems other than the fan itself, so just bumping from 520 peak to 600 peak should be enough (and save me about $35).

That's understandable.
My main computer uses a 1000 watt power supply and it powers 2 video cards, 3 monitors, 3 hard drives, i5 processor with 16 gigs of RAM and I multi task a lot while working on video software for YouTube and it doesn't skip a beat.
So yeah something mid-watt range sounds like that would be good enough for your computer.

[LucasM]

From what RVR II wrote, I do tend to keep a lot of programs active at one time (often picture editing, video, audio, plus at least 4-5 others) with USB-linked plug-ins common (e.g. external Blu-ray burning drive powered by the USB), so sounds like a larger supply might be worthwhile.  But I think MartyS's right, I've not had any problems other than the fan itself, so just bumping from 520 peak to 600 peak should be enough (and save me about $35).

That's understandable.
My main computer uses a 1000 watt power supply and it powers 2 video cards, 3 monitors, 3 hard drives, i5 processor with 16 gigs of RAM and I multi task a lot while working on video software for YouTube and it doesn't skip a beat.
So yeah something mid-watt range sounds like that would be good enough for your computer.

Yeah, I have a Core2 Quad processor (2.5 GHz), only 8 GB RAM (WTF? thought I had 16), one video card, one monitor, a single internal platter hard drive with an SSD for the boot drive, but five individually-powered external hard drives.  The Blu-ray burner is the only drive using computer power to run, all others have their own transformers.  So yeah, mine's a dinky little thing by comparison.  I do multi-task on it, but when - for instance - I'm copying a large video file to a USB to make it easy to watch downstairs, the whole thing comes to a screeching halt while the computer checks what it's already copied (and that's a processor issue more than power one, I'd imagine).  Otherwise, I don't notice anything amiss with it.

[LucasM]

I thought I had clicked on the prime button when doing my searches, I hate when you add a search term that it usually unchecks the prime button, must have happened when I sorted by review rating and the Thermaltake one showed up.

Actually both the ones you suggested were Prime eligible.  But unless I paid an additional $15, the one RVR II suggested wasn't.  And without that extra, its shipping time would get it here in a week or more, on top of its pricier state... so, to have it here Wed it would've actually been $50 more than the Corsair.

[MartyS (Gromit)]

Since your mother board is that old, the big connector with a lot of wires on it might be slightly different than newer ones.  The Corsair has a backwards compatible plug, but you'll have to configure it.

Basically the plug has different parts that slide on or off to make it compatible with the last 3 types of ATX power sockets. 

[MartyS (Gromit)]

Looks like that Dynex has the same 20+4 plug as the Corsair, so you should be able to simply copy the way the Dynex plug is configured for your MB.

[LucasM]

Looks like that Dynex has the same 20+4 plug as the Corsair, so you should be able to simply copy the way the Dynex plug is configured for your MB.

                              *WHEW!*

As one might guess from the ambiguity of a previous comment (implying the Thermaltake wasn't Prime eligible), my brain functioning is 'iffy' at best right now (within the last 4-6 weeks: two vet visits with my annual physical sandwiched between has left my brain electrical stability untethered).  So knowing it's a 1:1 swap is a big relief.  Thank you very much for looking into that for me!

[LucasM]

Y'know, it is times like this when the fact that I took a high school electronics class (covering everything from learning how to read the colors on transistors to wiring a house) - so that I have a long-standing familiarity and comfort with electronics - is handy for relieving a lot of the stresses that otherwise might occur.  I know neither my dad nor my brother have ever been comfortable enough to work with electrical stuff (my dad was great with mechanical, just shied away from electrical), and would balk at the idea of doing something like this themselves.

[Wrote other stuff best put in the Random Thoughts thread.]

[Parker_Hylton]

Yeah, missed all this...don't read the boards on the weekend.

Anyway Lucas, you are correct.  Total is a better estimation than peak.  The "peak" is meant to absorb spikes and not to be used as an end calculation of total wattage.

420/520 is fine for a pre-built or brand name computer, provided you don't have a modern video card but I would agree with the recommendation that you get a 750w power supply.  That should be plenty, even running your multiple internal storage drives.  Anything higher than that the expense skyrockets and really isn't worth it unless you're planning on going for dual cards, are overclocking, or have a ton of resource sucking devices.

You got lucky kid...I did hardware work for years and there was roughly a 50% chance if the PS went it would take something else with it.  Hope you get your new supply up and running soon.

[LucasM]

Turned computer off last night, what with noise and intermittent fan.

This AM turned on VERY briefly to check e-mails, off again almost immediately because the fan was not turning at ALL.  On more than a couple minutes and it would start to heat up.

Same tonight.  So one VERY brief e-mail check tomorrow, otherwise I'm keeping it off til I change the power supply (should be here Wednesday).

Thanks, all, for the assistance with this!

[LucasM]

[This is from my laptop.]

OK... there's a problem.

The power supply arrived a day  early.  I was pleased that I could change it out.  But the very first connector I looked at and tried to connect doesn't have a match.  On the motherboard, there is a socket that has a four-prong plug (stacked 2x2) where the two diagonals are the same: one pair is square, the other pair is rounded on one side.  The smallest plug on the new power supply has a six-prong plug.

I'm guessing this won't work, and don't know where to go from here.  Any ideas?

[d00hickey]

[This is from my laptop.]

OK... there's a problem.

The power supply arrived a day  early.  I was pleased that I could change it out.  But the very first connector I looked at and tried to connect doesn't have a match.  On the motherboard, there is a socket that has a four-prong plug (stacked 2x2) where the two diagonals are the same: one pair is square, the other pair is rounded on one side.  The smallest plug on the new power supply has a six-prong plug.

I'm guessing this won't work, and don't know where to go from here.  Any ideas?

Is this on a desktop?

If yes does it look like this?


Or this?


If your PSU has a plug that looks like the second one but your motherboard only has a four pin it will work just fine with an adapter. Over the last few years the CPU power has moved from 4 pin to 2X 4pin, and now 8 pin.

For example my power supply came out during this transition so it has 2X 4 pin connectors so it's compatible with old and new mobos. Most power supllys that only have the 8 pin usually come with an adapter/splitter in the box for legacy support.

[d00hickey]

You may be able to fit that 8 pin onto the 4 pin receptacle (with 4 pins sticking out over the edge) or you will need one of these,

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812123316

It's out of stock but I suspect you can find one if you hunt around.



If you're confident in yourself you could also modify it pretty easily in numerous ways.


Edit: there are also Molex to 4pins but that may get complicated if your molex and CPU connectors are on different rails in the PSU.

[LucasM]

[[Written in response to the first of your two helpful posts.]]

Yes, the power supply is for my desktop computer (now out of commission).

And, yes, there's an eight pin on the new power supply (like the second pair of pics you have).

I called the 'local' computer supply place (about a 1/2 hour drive from my home) initially to ask if they were still in the same place and if they had the proper adapter.  The service person was quite nice (given that they would not be making a sale) and explained that newer power supply plugs like that have the capacity to slide apart/in half to fit older sockets.  So, while he was on the phone, I tried and sure enough, it split into two fours!  So I don't need to make a one-hour round trip, thank goodness.

I'd best double-check the rest of the connections, to be sure that they are compatible also, but since they are things like hard drives, the chances are about nil that they've changed (given that my HDs are already SATA).

Thank you for giving me the lead to find out what was do-able, d00hickey.  Without your lead, I wouldn't have checked - or known  it was a simple shift - and would have likely given up trying to do it myself (at great expense).  [With the head injuries, unexpected events can quickly shift to 'insurmountable overwhelm' if not easily addressed.   This new info prevented that. ]

[d00hickey]

Cool, those other four pins are superfluous for all but the most power hunger and/or overclocked CPUs. So long as you have enough power in the PSU you will not have a problem.

[MartyS (Gromit)]

I missed the part of the post that the slide apart connectors were already figured out, so what I wrote isn't needed...