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I am in the process of buying a 460 Watt PSU (Cooler Master eXtreme Power Plus RS-460-PCAR) to upgrade my computer and be able to run a stronger graphics card. The specs of the PSU is somewhat different from my current PSU and I am scared that it might damage some of the components.

I am running a Dell Optiplex GX270 Pentium 4, 2400 Mhz, 3072 MB (DDR SDRAM) with a standard dell factory PSU.

Please see the difference and tell me whether or not this will be suitable. I have taken this down from my current PSU and as stated by the following website link

Specs:

AC Input:

Current/Old:

100 ~ 127V~/ 6A 200 ~ 240V~/ 3A 50~60Hz

New:

115V/230V; 10A/6A; 60/50Hz

DC Output:

Current/ Old:

  • +3.3V : 18A (Max Output: 150W)
  • +5V : 22A (Max Output: 150W)
  • +12V : 14A
  • -12V : 1A
  • +5Vfp : 2A
  • MAX OUTPUT POWER 250W

New:

  • +3.3V : 22A (Max Output: 165W)
  • +5V : 25A (Max Output: 165W)
  • +12V1 : 18A (Max Output: 312W)
  • +12V2 : 18A (Max Output: 312W)
  • -12V : 0.5A (Max Output: 6W)
  • +5Vsb : 2.5A (Max Output: 12.5W)

Please assist me in buying the correct PSU. Will this new one damage my current components?

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2 Answers 2

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All these power/amperage ratings are maximums, your system will only draw the current it needs.

Think about the normal mains electricity from a wall plug. Here in the UK it is normally 230V / 13A (effectively). A 13A kettle will draw 13A, while a 50mA phone charger will just draw 50mA - no risk on damage. The principle is the same here.

So no, higher maximum amperage output will not cause damage.


If you are going to also upgrade your machine make sure the new PSU has a maximum output above that of your new set of components, because too little power will cause you problems (crashing / restarts / PSU blow-out ).

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  • 13A kettle and 3A phone charger? Ahem, that's far from real. I'd say 2A and 200mA. (Yes, it is not important for example, but posting obviously wrong data is... uh... not very good.)
    – Catherine
    Aug 25, 2010 at 13:02
  • @white erm, a 3000W kettle at 230V = 13A, so it's spot on! And 200mA?! How slowly do your phones charge? Remember USB provides 500mA! (PS: that kettle is a random search item, just to prove 3kW kettles exist ;) (PS2: I did make up the phone charger amperage, but 3A is probably a bit high...)
    – DMA57361
    Aug 25, 2010 at 13:10
  • Tell you what, found a 2A device charger here. 3A is probably still a bit high, but not insanely inaccurate...
    – DMA57361
    Aug 25, 2010 at 13:17
  • Ok, I was partially wrong: the kettle is ok (my fault), but phone is absolutely right: e.g. if charger can provide 3A to phone, that would be 3A*5V=15W, and 15W/230V=65mA (I assume that charger is 100% effective), so 3A was a great overestimation.
    – Catherine
    Aug 25, 2010 at 16:01
  • @white ah ha! That's it, I'm thinking about the wrong side of the transformer for phone chargers. Doh!
    – DMA57361
    Aug 25, 2010 at 17:21
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The power output numbers are good, higher maximum power numbers are never a problem. The only thing I'm concerned about is that I know in the past Dell used power supplies that looked like ATX at a casual glance but which had different pinouts in the plugs that would result in fried components if used. I don't know when Dell stopped doing that.

Fortunately all the wiring is color coded. You can check if your Dell uses a standard PSU by comparing the colors of the wires with those in a standard layout. The clip is on the side with pins 13-24.

http://pinouts.ru/Power/atx_v2_pinout.shtml

The 20 pin layout is here:

http://pinouts.ru/Power/atxpower_pinout.shtml

If you have a 20 pin motherboard you'll need to make sure your PSU has a 20+4 connector that lets you snap the +4 section of the cable off leaving a 20pin section free to plug into the mobo.

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  • Dan, please have a look at my connector and tell me what you think: tiny.cc/g9sad It is a 20 pin power supply connector. Aug 25, 2010 at 13:35
  • Motherboard Name: Dell OptiPlex GX270; Motherboard Chipset: Intel Springdale-G i865G; BIOS Type: Phoenix (06/26/06) Aug 25, 2010 at 13:51
  • I can't do so now. your image host is blocked at work. I added a link to the 20 pin connector layout. Aug 25, 2010 at 14:53
  • The link you posted is spot on with my 20 pin connector. :-) Aug 25, 2010 at 14:59
  • Then you should be good to go with the new power supply. Aug 25, 2010 at 15:13

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