Will this PSU fit my Dell Studio XPS 8100?

[ArtG818]

I need a new PSU for my desktop since the one that i currently have is only 350 watts and it makes really annoying fan noise.
You think this is a good deal and will it fit my computer?
500W Power Supply fo Dell Studio XPS 8000/8100 K159T PC | eBay
If you guys have any other suggestions feel free.
And sorry if this isn't in the right topic.
Thanks

 

[ignatzatsonic]

It may "fit", but that doesn't mean anything.

At one time, most Dells used a proprietary wiring setup on their power supplies. For those PCs, you could NOT simply change to an industry-standard ATX power supply.

Dell has largely moved away from that practice, but a Google search implies that some Dells (possibly including the XPS 8100) still use proprietary wiring on PSUs. I couldn't quickly find definitive information.

So you may still need a "special" PSU for that PC and that may be what the Ebay dealer is selling.

But even then I wouldn't buy the PSU you linked. It's a no-name brand and you have no way of evaluating it nor do you know anything about its noise level (which I guess is one of your complaints).

I would:

1: Google to try to find definitive info on whether or not you need a "special" PSU for your PC.
2: If you do, I would then buy a standard ATX PSU along with a connection adapter designed to allow use of a standard ATX PSU in this particular Dell. The adapters are widely available for about $15. Endpcnoise.com is one source for the adapter--among others.

I'd get a Seasonic or Corsair PSU that are known to have low noise levels. You may have to spend a bit more money.

On the other hand, you may find that your PC can use a standard PSU---in which case you would not need the adapter.

At any rate, I would not buy that Ebay PSU regardless. Go somewhere like Newegg as a source.

I'd also measure the existing PSU and make sure there are no space/clearance issues should you go with a standard PSU. For all I know, the Dell cases are very cramped or they may have even used a non-standard size as well as non-standard wiring.

You might contact forum member "Fireberd" about this. He has a lot of Dell experience and provides support on Dell forums.

 

[unifex]

I totally agree with the advice given. I've done this once myself - my Dell was getting noisy and a bit slow, so I decided to give it a a bit of a makeover and bought a new PSU and a new CPU fan. In my case (Inspiron 530) there was no issue of connecting the standard ATX PSU. However, the original Dell PSU had only those wires that were used by the Inspiron. The ATX PSU had a lot more wires which are not used in my setup. This is not a problem by itself, but the Dell case was indeed rather small and I had to be inventive in hiding those extra wires such that there was still some modicum of airflow inside the case. And of course my new CPU fan would not fit, so I went ahead and bought a new case as well.

I am pretty happy about the result, it's still was much less expense than buying a whole new PC. But, for the future the lesson is to buy a full sized box as opposed to the proprietary cases that Dell or other OEMs produce to make their products look good. I keep it under the desk anyway.

 

[bobkn]

I need a new PSU for my desktop since the one that i currently have is only 350 watts and it makes really annoying fan noise.
You think this is a good deal and will it fit my computer?
500W Power Supply fo Dell Studio XPS 8000/8100 K159T PC | eBay
If you guys have any other suggestions feel free.
And sorry if this isn't in the right topic.
Thanks

As far as I can tell, the Studio XPS 8100 uses a standard ATX style PSU.

The one you've linked to on eBay doesn't look like a bargain, particularly with the shipping cost.

I think that you should be able to get a PSU from one of the better-known names (Antec, Corsair, Seasonic) for a similar price. I see some at www.newegg.com, but that will be of little direct help to you unless you're in the US or Canada.

 

[JaidynM]

To answer your question, yes. It looks like it should fit your Dell.

The thing is though, if you're looking for a new PSU, you should probably go with a Corsair or even other quality brands like Coolermaster, Antec and OCZ. A Corsair HX650 would do you just fine. It has modular cabling and it's a quality brand that will last you for years to come. It also has an 80 Plus Bronze certification.

In fact, any of the below power supplies would work well. It really depends on what you actually do with your computer though. Do you game, overclock, multitask etc?
Corsair Power Supply Units

 

[ArtG818]

Thanks for the reply everyone.
Jaidynm will you please send a link to one of the PSU's that you think will be compatible with my computer from newegg? im not really that good at computers and the reason why i really want to replace it is because my video card usually goes up to 65-70c while browsing and 80-90 while gaming which is pretty hot im guessing. Also i live in the US.
Thanks

 

[ignatzatsonic]

I'd do more research to find out if those temps are unusual for your particular video card.

At any rate, I wouldn't expect a change in PSU to have much effect on video card temps. You may have other cooling issues related to fans rather than the PSU.

 

[ArtG818]

What do you suggest i should do? i already cleaned out all the dust and everything, when i first got this computer it used to be like 45-50 at idle and 60-70 on load..
Idk whats going on-_-

 

[ignatzatsonic]

We need more info with explicit details.

You mention a bunch of temps.

Are those temps from the motherboard, the CPU, the video card, the hard drives, or what??

What tool are you using to measure those temps?

Are you sure if your video card fan is running properly?

What type of fans do you have on the case itself, excluding CPU, video card, and PSU??

Have your ambient temperatures remained fairly constant?

I'm just trying to drill in on why your temps may have changed, if they have.

A new PSU is not likely to be the solution to cooling problems unless its fan has completely failed. You clearly need to find out if all of your fans are running.

Are you monitoring fan RPMs---do they appear normal?

I know very little about standard temps for video cards, but I think they can run quite high under gaming. For all I know, your video card temps are perfectly normal and you have no problems at all.

What makes you think your video card temperatures are "too high"?

 

[ArtG818]

We need more info with explicit details.

You mention a bunch of temps.

Are those temps from the motherboard, the CPU, the video card, the hard drives, or what??

What tool are you using to measure those temps?

Are you sure if your video card fan is running properly?

What type of fans do you have on the case itself, excluding CPU, video card, and PSU??

Have your ambient temperatures remained fairly constant?

I'm just trying to drill in on why your temps may have changed, if they have.

A new PSU is not likely to be the solution to cooling problems unless its fan has completely failed. You clearly need to find out if all of your fans are running.

Are you monitoring fan RPMs---do they appear normal?

I know very little about standard temps for video cards, but I think they can run quite high under gaming. For all I know, your video card temps are perfectly normal and you have no problems at all.

What makes you think your video card temperatures are "too high"?

Ok if the new PSU wont help with the video card cooling than what will?
I just did a MSI afterburner benchmark and in 5 min video card temp went up to 100c and made the fan go nuts! Is there any other way to cool down the temps of the video card? heres the pic


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

 

[ignatzatsonic]

I wouldn't particularly care about temps I got when running a benchmark. You can always find a test that will lead to high temps.

I don't see a temp above 71 degrees in the pic you posted.

That pic shows video fan speed at only 54%. It doesn't appear to be working very hard. I'd expect high speed fans to be noisy.

You have to research whether the video card temps you actually experience while gaming are "too high".

Fans on video cards can be replaced.

At any rate, a PSU change would not be high on my list as a way to reduce temps.

If your research determines that you video card gaming temps are dangerously high, I would look somewhere other than the PSU:

changing video card fan
changing video card
improving overall case ventilation

You may have a poorly designed case with poor ventilation overall, but changing these things might not have a lot of effect on video card temps. The video card heatsink and fan are the most effective ways to change video card temps.

 

[JaidynM]

As ignatzatsonic has said, replacing the PSU won't help lower the GPU temps. The best thing you can do to lower temps is try and find what's wrong with your GPU fans. 80-90C, even while gaming is crazily hot so you might need to replace the fan. You can also get fans for your whole system. Rosewill's and Noctua's and affordable and good quality brands.

If you still want to change the power supply, what are you willing to spend?