Power supply increase

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Hi-I have a Pavilion a824n desktop: XP Pro, Pentium 4, 200 g hard drive, 2 g
memory, etc.. I'd like to do a small (?) upgrade that maybe I'm capable of
doing.
The power supplies on my last two PCs' were 350 & 400 watts. On this PC
it's 300 watts. Should I increase the power? Would it make a significant
change in any area of performance? And, finally, is it something most folks
can do?
One last item, if the answers to the above questions are yes what is,
not neccesarily the top of the line, but a quite good brand?
As always, thank you-Alan
 
Have you added a bunch of extras to the computer? Each new
hard drive, DVD and even those USB flash drives draw power.
But HP often uses special power supplies that are smaller in
dimension to fit in smaller sized cases. So you may not be
able to find a new power supply that will fit in the case.
If you need to get a more powerful power supply you may find
a new case, that uses a standard size power supply will be
needed.
Unless you have or plan to add more drives, RAM, and other
power using devices and the computer is running properly "as
is" you don't "need" to have more power.


--
The people think the Constitution protects their rights;
But government sees it as an obstacle to be overcome.
some support
http://www.usdoj.gov/olc/secondamendment2.htm



| Hi-I have a Pavilion a824n desktop: XP Pro, Pentium 4, 200
g hard drive, 2 g
| memory, etc.. I'd like to do a small (?) upgrade that
maybe I'm capable of
| doing.
| The power supplies on my last two PCs' were 350 & 400
watts. On this PC
| it's 300 watts. Should I increase the power? Would it
make a significant
| change in any area of performance? And, finally, is it
something most folks
| can do?
| One last item, if the answers to the above questions
are yes what is,
| not neccesarily the top of the line, but a quite good
brand?
| As always, thank you-Alan
| --
| Thanks-Alan
 
Thanks Jim-I've added a virtual disk program & drive, have a cd/dvd drive &
cd/dvd-rw drive, open drives for smart cards, etc., have added a floppy
drive, access to a 256mb scandisk, a new UPS, printer & scanner of course,
external speakers, & an LCD monitor. I don't know if any of those matter but
please let me know. I'm a bit concerned re: your info about the size of the
power supply box but I guess I can open it up, measure, then research.
Thanks again-alan
 
Hi,

What Jim said...

I would only add that the power supply (PSU) has no effect on performance
provided it is of sufficient wattage for the devices in the system. Extra
wattage will not boost the speed, it only allows for the addition of more
powered devices.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Associate Expert - WindowsXP Expert Zone

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
 
odeek9 said:
Thanks Jim-I've added a virtual disk program & drive, have a cd/dvd drive
&
cd/dvd-rw drive, open drives for smart cards, etc., have added a floppy
drive, access to a 256mb scandisk, a new UPS, printer & scanner of course,
external speakers, & an LCD monitor. I don't know if any of those matter
but
please let me know. I'm a bit concerned re: your info about the size of
the
power supply box but I guess I can open it up, measure, then research.
Thanks again-alan
Click to expand...


What have you ADDED since you bought the computer? Doesn't matter what is
*in* the computer when you got it since the manufacturer already accounted
for the power draw of all those *stock* components. So what have you ADDED?

Did the computer come *with* the CD-RW drive, or did you add it later?

Did the computer come *with* the DVD-RW drive, or did you add it later?

Did you *add* the smartcard reader, or did it come already installed?

The printer and UPS obviously have their own power sources. Also just as
obvious is that the LCD monitor has its own and separate power source.
External speakers usually have their own power source (it's been a long time
since sound chips or cards will push enough current to power the speakers
and instead just provide line-level outputs). The only concern about the
power supply capacity *inside* the computer is what you are drawing from it,
not for devices that already have their own independent power source.

The scanner may suck power from the USB port but only if it doesn't include
its own power supply, yet the manufacturer should have accounted for the
maximum power draw allowed on all USB ports while all are in simultaneous
use.
 
If it is powered from the computer PSU, then it does matter.
Some things are powered by external power, such as the brick
that powers a printer or scanner. USB can draw up to .5 amp
or 2-1/2 Watts per port, but things like a flash memory
stick draw little power. Motors, whether cooling fans,
drives (floppy, hard and optical) all draw power and motors
draw a lot of power when starting up, which is why a
marginal system often fails to boot the first time, but will
when it is tried again because the motors are not starting
from dead stop.
There are web sites that can help you select a power supply
that will fit your case or you can easily buy a new case,
with a power supply and often gain better cooling, more
ports and room for extra stuff.


--
The people think the Constitution protects their rights;
But government sees it as an obstacle to be overcome.
some support
http://www.usdoj.gov/olc/secondamendment2.htm



| Thanks Jim-I've added a virtual disk program & drive, have
a cd/dvd drive &
| cd/dvd-rw drive, open drives for smart cards, etc., have
added a floppy
| drive, access to a 256mb scandisk, a new UPS, printer &
scanner of course,
| external speakers, & an LCD monitor. I don't know if any
of those matter but
| please let me know. I'm a bit concerned re: your info
about the size of the
| power supply box but I guess I can open it up, measure,
then research.
| Thanks again-alan
| --
| Thanks-Alan
|
|
| "Jim Macklin" wrote:
|
| > Have you added a bunch of extras to the computer? Each
new
| > hard drive, DVD and even those USB flash drives draw
power.
| > But HP often uses special power supplies that are
smaller in
| > dimension to fit in smaller sized cases. So you may not
be
| > able to find a new power supply that will fit in the
case.
| > If you need to get a more powerful power supply you may
find
| > a new case, that uses a standard size power supply will
be
| > needed.
| > Unless you have or plan to add more drives, RAM, and
other
| > power using devices and the computer is running properly
"as
| > is" you don't "need" to have more power.
| >
| >
| > --
| > The people think the Constitution protects their rights;
| > But government sees it as an obstacle to be overcome.
| > some support
| > http://www.usdoj.gov/olc/secondamendment2.htm
| >
| >
| >
message
| >
| > | Hi-I have a Pavilion a824n desktop: XP Pro, Pentium 4,
200
| > g hard drive, 2 g
| > | memory, etc.. I'd like to do a small (?) upgrade that
| > maybe I'm capable of
| > | doing.
| > | The power supplies on my last two PCs' were 350 &
400
| > watts. On this PC
| > | it's 300 watts. Should I increase the power? Would
it
| > make a significant
| > | change in any area of performance? And, finally, is
it
| > something most folks
| > | can do?
| > | One last item, if the answers to the above
questions
| > are yes what is,
| > | not neccesarily the top of the line, but a quite good
| > brand?
| > | As always, thank you-Alan
| > | --
| > | Thanks-Alan
| >
| >
| >
 
One last thought, all devices get hotter when they are
pushed to the limit, a PSU might be able to put out 450
Watts for a few seconds, but only 250 Watts continuously.
The PSU only produces the power required to run what is
drawing power, if you connect devices that require 100 Watts
to a 500 Watt PSU, it only runs 100 Watts and it also runs
cooler. If you connect devices that need 600 Watts to that
500 Watt PSU, it will supply 600 Watts while it over-heats
and burns up.


--
The people think the Constitution protects their rights;
But government sees it as an obstacle to be overcome.
some support
http://www.usdoj.gov/olc/secondamendment2.htm



message message
| | > Thanks Jim-I've added a virtual disk program & drive,
have a cd/dvd drive
| > &
| > cd/dvd-rw drive, open drives for smart cards, etc., have
added a floppy
| > drive, access to a 256mb scandisk, a new UPS, printer &
scanner of course,
| > external speakers, & an LCD monitor. I don't know if
any of those matter
| > but
| > please let me know. I'm a bit concerned re: your info
about the size of
| > the
| > power supply box but I guess I can open it up, measure,
then research.
| > Thanks again-alan
| > --
| > Thanks-Alan
| >
| >
| > "Jim Macklin" wrote:
| >
| >> Have you added a bunch of extras to the computer? Each
new
| >> hard drive, DVD and even those USB flash drives draw
power.
| >> But HP often uses special power supplies that are
smaller in
| >> dimension to fit in smaller sized cases. So you may
not be
| >> able to find a new power supply that will fit in the
case.
| >> If you need to get a more powerful power supply you may
find
| >> a new case, that uses a standard size power supply will
be
| >> needed.
| >> Unless you have or plan to add more drives, RAM, and
other
| >> power using devices and the computer is running
properly "as
| >> is" you don't "need" to have more power.
| >>
| >>
| >> --
| >> The people think the Constitution protects their
rights;
| >> But government sees it as an obstacle to be overcome.
| >> some support
| >> http://www.usdoj.gov/olc/secondamendment2.htm
| >>
| >>
| >>
message
| >>
| >> | Hi-I have a Pavilion a824n desktop: XP Pro, Pentium
4, 200
| >> g hard drive, 2 g
| >> | memory, etc.. I'd like to do a small (?) upgrade
that
| >> maybe I'm capable of
| >> | doing.
| >> | The power supplies on my last two PCs' were 350 &
400
| >> watts. On this PC
| >> | it's 300 watts. Should I increase the power? Would
it
| >> make a significant
| >> | change in any area of performance? And, finally, is
it
| >> something most folks
| >> | can do?
| >> | One last item, if the answers to the above
questions
| >> are yes what is,
| >> | not neccesarily the top of the line, but a quite good
| >> brand?
| >> | As always, thank you-Alan
| >> | --
| >> | Thanks-Alan
| >>
| >>
| >>
|
|
| What have you ADDED since you bought the computer?
Doesn't matter what is
| *in* the computer when you got it since the manufacturer
already accounted
| for the power draw of all those *stock* components. So
what have you ADDED?
|
| Did the computer come *with* the CD-RW drive, or did you
add it later?
|
| Did the computer come *with* the DVD-RW drive, or did you
add it later?
|
| Did you *add* the smartcard reader, or did it come already
installed?
|
| The printer and UPS obviously have their own power
sources. Also just as
| obvious is that the LCD monitor has its own and separate
power source.
| External speakers usually have their own power source
(it's been a long time
| since sound chips or cards will push enough current to
power the speakers
| and instead just provide line-level outputs). The only
concern about the
| power supply capacity *inside* the computer is what you
are drawing from it,
| not for devices that already have their own independent
power source.
|
| The scanner may suck power from the USB port but only if
it doesn't include
| its own power supply, yet the manufacturer should have
accounted for the
| maximum power draw allowed on all USB ports while all are
in simultaneous
| use.
|
| --
| _________________________________________________
|| ** Reply to the newsgroup. Share with others ** |
|| E-mail: Remove "NIX" and add "#LAH" to Subject. |
||_________________________________________________|
|
|
 
odeek9 said:
Hi-I have a Pavilion a824n desktop: XP Pro, Pentium 4, 200 g hard drive, 2
g
memory, etc.. I'd like to do a small (?) upgrade that maybe I'm capable
of
doing.
The power supplies on my last two PCs' were 350 & 400 watts. On this
PC
it's 300 watts. Should I increase the power? Would it make a significant
change in any area of performance? And, finally, is it something most
folks
can do?
One last item, if the answers to the above questions are yes what is,
not neccesarily the top of the line, but a quite good brand?
As always, thank you-Alan
Click to expand...
Unless you have a problem that can be traced to inadequate power, then there
is no need to replace the power supply.
No, a new power supply will not increase performance unless the computer is
halting as a result of lack of power.
Yes, anybody can replace power supplies. Of course, you need to find one
that will fit your case.
Jim
 
odeek9 said:
Hi-I have a Pavilion a824n desktop: XP Pro, Pentium 4, 200 g hard drive, 2 g
memory, etc.. I'd like to do a small (?) upgrade that maybe I'm capable of
doing.
The power supplies on my last two PCs' were 350 & 400 watts. On this PC
it's 300 watts. Should I increase the power? Would it make a significant
change in any area of performance? And, finally, is it something most folks
can do?
One last item, if the answers to the above questions are yes what is,
not neccesarily the top of the line, but a quite good brand?
As always, thank you-Alan
Click to expand...
-------------------

This comes under the category of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". If the
machine works properly now, then replacing the power supply is only likely to
create problems, not fix any.

Bill
 
Calculate necessary power supply size. http://www.adecy.com/psu/

--

Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!
 
Jim Macklin said:
If it is powered from the computer PSU, then it does matter.
Some things are powered by external power, such as the brick
that powers a printer or scanner. USB can draw up to .5 amp
or 2-1/2 Watts per port, but things like a flash memory
stick draw little power. Motors, whether cooling fans,
drives (floppy, hard and optical) all draw power and motors
draw a lot of power when starting up, which is why a
marginal system often fails to boot the first time, but will
when it is tried again because the motors are not starting
from dead stop.
There are web sites that can help you select a power supply
that will fit your case or you can easily buy a new case,
with a power supply and often gain better cooling, more
ports and room for extra stuff.
Click to expand...


I didn't sound like the OP had any power-related problems with the computer
at all but wanted to know if their PSU was capable of handling whatever
UNMENTIONED upgrade the OP was contemplating. So the OP has a working
computer, wants to do an upgrade, never mentions what is being upgraded
(replaced or added), and wants to know if the PSU needs to be upgraded.
Can't say with the info so far provided.
 
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