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I have an HP Pavilion 6604y desktop. It is a dual core 2.8GHz, 6GB, 1TB HDD. I updated to Windows 8.1. My problem came before I upgraded though.

A few months ago I was on my computer when it randomly shut off. It restarted just fine, and didn't do it for a while. Then it started to do it frequently... I could go 4-6 hours on it and not have a problem (I do web design as a side hobby) and then other times it could literally go an hour and then shut off. I do believe its the PSU, because one day I had opened the case after it power failed. When it wouldn't turn on, I slapped the PSU out of frustration and it fired on only failing seconds later! :) But when it fails now, I can't just restart it. I have to unplug the cord, wait a few minutes and then plug it back in.

^^ This does sound like a PSU issue.. right? Just so you know, my Power Supply is very quiet, never any noises. My mother board doesn't have any voltage monitors built in, and I don't own a multimeter.

Either way, it only has a 250w power supply (stock) and needs to be upgraded anyhow. However, I don't want to upgrade it if the motherboard is shot.

Product Details

This is the PSU that I want to get, I just want to know if it's compatible. It appears to be a slim case, so I need to make sure it will fit of course. But the one inside the box right now doesn't look 'small,' it looks pretty standard to me.

---Edit---

I found that if something stops the CPU fan, it will throw out a random BSOD (w8.1) alarm and restart. I removed heatsink and there is still clean thermal paste. Placed it back on and it fired up, so far so good. So I guess the CPU is the issue right? and what are the chances it damaged the motherboard? I know how to add a CPU, but never had to replace a CPU before.

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  • I don't think there's enough evidence to point to the PSU as the issue. The system could just simply be over-heating, and the delay you're experiencing could just be time for something to dissipate some heat.
    – ernie
    Dec 6, 2013 at 19:47
  • All my fans are spinning (case is open now) and everything is nice and cool. All my plugins are secure.. I do notice that sometimes when I'm loading up something heavy that it will shut off (but not always). So I didn't know if that could have been a CPU issue, or PSU issue due to lacking of getting enough power.
    – MrJustin
    Dec 6, 2013 at 19:49
  • Just that the fans are spinning doesn't indicate everything is nice and cool - maybe your CPU is overheating? I don't have a source for this, but I recall reading somewhere that once a CPU has had several thermal failures/overheats, it becomes more and more likely to do so. For all you know, the fans are spinning slower than they used to, moving less air due to dust in the fans or the intakes being affected, ambient temp could have gone up, thermal grease could have degraded on the CPU/fan interface, etc etc.
    – ernie
    Dec 6, 2013 at 19:52
  • :D There is hardly any dust in the case. 95% of the dust is on the back of the PSU (fan intake). The other 5% is on the bottom of the case. The walls are clean when I run my finger a long them. Even the additional fan is clean. Should I try adding additional fans? I had my computer on for 5 minutes today before it shut off (that's what made me post on here). I was just doing some windows updates when it decided to power down.
    – MrJustin
    Dec 6, 2013 at 19:57
  • My original point was just that the fact that slapping the PSU turned the system back on is not indicative of a PSU issue. I detailed thermal issues as an alternative explanation, which could be the issue. You could try adding a fan - poor man's way to check this might be to open the case, and run it with a desk fan blowing across everything. If it's under a desk, you might try moving it out, which could change the airflow as well, etc etc. Lots of possible issues here, and I don't think it's been isolated.
    – ernie
    Dec 6, 2013 at 20:01

1 Answer 1

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To answer your question regarding if you can replace your current PSU with the Corsair CX, I am not totally sure if a few mm difference is due to a metal bracket holding the PSU in place or if it is the kind that mounts directly to the chassis.

The dimensions of the Corsair CS are 150mm x 140mm x 86mm

The dimensions of your PSU are (W) 152 mm x (D) 139 mm x (H) 84 mm

does your current PSU have a metal brace that holds it into place? If so then it might work, but it could be that HP made the PSU just slightly odd shaped so you have to buy a special one to make it work.

These measurements are from the following page http://www.replacepowersupply.com/550w-power-supply-p6604y.html (which are in inches, converted to mm via google)..

If I am incorrect, someone let me know pls.

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  • It doesn't appear to have a metal bracket holding it in from under, but it does appear to have something on the opposite side. I do believe I can get a hold of a spare PSU from my brother (but it's dead) that I can try out. He said it's a standard sized, I will have to check dimensions. Thank you for accuracy and in depth.. it's appreciated.
    – MrJustin
    Dec 7, 2013 at 11:41

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