Dell Dimension 4700 - need advice on new power supply

[greener2]

Hi all,

I was wondering would anyone have any advice re: buying a replacement power supply for a Dell Dimension 4700?

At the moment, I have the measly 305W PSU (I think...) that came built in to the machine. With the following componenets in my system:

• Graphics Card - GeForce 8600GTS 512MB
• 2.5GB RAM
• Original Sound Card (Creative Audigy 2 I think...)
• and a small PCI slot cooling fan

everything runs hunky dory. However, when I inserted a PCI-E x1 sound card that I just bought (another creative, x-fi or something), the machine starts, but nothing comes up on the screen.

I'm assuming it's a power supply problem. If so, could anyone recommend a type of PSU to buy for my PC? Something in the range of 500W maybe, perhaps more if you's think I need it. Don't really want to spend more than €100, whatever the equivalent is in dollars/pounds.

Any advice would be much appreciated. I thought I'd ask before I bought anything, in case I buy something incompatible or something that doesn't fit!

 

[X DarthMonkey X]

Well, I don't think it's a power problem, and here's how I plan to make sure:

Remove a device. Seriously, just pull something out of the case. I'd remove the video card, specifically, but that's assuming you have onboard video (sorta important to have a display).

If it boots, then it's a power problem. If it doesn't boot, it's something else. What else could it be? Well, most likely, it's a bad soundcard, but we'll blow up that bridge when we come to it.

 

[greener2]

Mkay, I took out the sound card, and it boots. I've no onboard video so i left that in. Is that good enough of should I take something else out?

 

[X DarthMonkey X]

Uhm... my bad. I meant anything other than the soundcard. Hehe.

Just try removing the power from a hard drive or something.

 

[greener2]

Uhm... my bad. I meant anything other than the soundcard. Hehe.

Just try removing the power from a hard drive or something.

That's not going to mess anything up will it? I assume it wont boot if the hard drive is off?

I'll have to try that later, I'm in work now, with no access to my wonderful machine!

 

[X DarthMonkey X]

If you remove the hard drive, your computer will boot, POST and try to load windows - and fail. But if it powers up and you see the POST screen, then it proves there is a power issue.

When you plug the power back into the hard drive, then it will return to normal.

 

[greener2]

If you remove the hard drive, your computer will boot, POST and try to load windows - and fail. But if it powers up and you see the POST screen, then it proves there is a power issue.

When you plug the power back into the hard drive, then it will return to normal.

Oh good news! My, you are quite knowledgeable! If I ever meet you, expect a pint to be bought for your enjoyment!

Will post up the results of this test later today.

 

[X DarthMonkey X]

Glad to help. =)

But remember, this is just step one. I'll tell you now what the results could mean though;

If it boots, POSTs, and doesn't find windows, then it's a power problem. You would need a better power supply (Or just don't use the X-Fi card, if you don't want to spend the extra dough)

If it does nothing, then it is a problem with other hardware, presumably the soundcard. In this case, you should first exchange the card at the store for a fresh one (or test it in another computer, but this generally has mixed results).

In the case that the replacement card has the same problem, then you may just have to live without it. The cost of repairing or replacing whatever component is at fault may not be worth the awesome sound. But we'll blow up that bridge when we come to it.