Scared to try...

I have a Compaq Presario 6000 and I want to know if I can upgrade the power supply. It currently has an ATX 235 Watt according to the specs I downloaded from HP's website. I don't really trust this info, because the specs also say I should have 3 memory DIMMS and I only have 2. At any rate, I want to upgrade the PSU to 400 watt at least, because I also want to upgrade my vid card...can I with no harm to my computer? If so, what brand/type power supply would you recommend?

Thanks in advance!

 

I looked up the stats of Presario 6000, and honestly, all the parts are so old that the whole thing is just a piece of junk.

There is no point in upgrading parts to that system because the entire thing is so old and you cant even find parts that are compatible with that system anymore. You need to buy or build a completely new PC.

 

Yeah, I know it's a piece of junk. I can't afford a new PC at the moment and I need this POJ to work properly now, so I'm kind of forced to upgrade it and I don't mind spending the few dollars to do that, but thanks for your input.

Anyone else have anything that's helpful?

 

What I was trying to say is that you wont be able to find parts that are compatible with that system. Or if you do, they are likely to be quite expensive because they are very hard to get.

You can build a new PC from the cheapest modern stuff out there for $200 and get a PC that performs 10x faster than your current system.

Upgrading your old PC could cost the same amount and would not really get you anywhere.

 

There are several Presario 6000 models here
http://store.911forpcs.com/coposuse.html

I bought a power supply here http://www.dark-circuit.com/directron/sorteditems/standardatxa.php
for my 1999 HP desktop which need a special form ps unit.

You need to determine if your computer needs a special ps and what is the maximum wattage allowed. (I was limited to the size I could install).

 

Since the answers above aren't super helpful (sorry guys/gals), I'll add my 2 cents.... Yes, you can upgrade the PSU to a standard ATX. The higher the watts, the better. It is impossible to damage the motherboard with "too strong" of a power supply. You could (in theory) hook up a 1200wat unit and it wouldn't hurt anything. Power supplies only kick out as much juice as is needed, not as much as it says on the label. For example, a 1200w unit can produce up to 1200w if needed. Since you posted no info about which video card you're getting, I'm assuming it's an AGP card since the PC only has an AGP slot for video, and standard PCI slots, but no PCI-Express slots. If you need some help or advice (or whatever) about the video card, feel free to post.
:-D

[dlb]

 

Low end PSU (something you will almost never hear from Fred_G) http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1389575&CatId=1078 I have used the ThermalTake PSU's in the past and found them to work pretty well.

More better (in my opinion): http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4294708&CatId=2533

My links are based on dlb's comment and the OP's comment that a standard ATX PSU is needed. As dlb said, it will draw the power it needs. If you spend a few more $'s, you could go ahead and get a better PSU and then use it in a totall computer upgrade in the next year or so.

And welcome to MajorGeeks wowfan!

 

Hmm, doesn't Dell have custom pinouts for their PSU connectors?:confused I just thought I'd throw that in for some extra confusion.

 

Old Dell's do, but if it is an ATX PSU, it is an ATX PSU. http://money.cnn.com/magazines/business2/business2_archive/2003/02/01/335960/index.htm Paragraph 16 (if I can still count, been a long day)

 

Ya Fred_G, ATX is ATX. I missed that for some reason.:-o I'm going to sleep now.:-D Sorry wowfan.

 

Thanks everyone who offered helpful information, links, etc. MUCH appreciated! :-D

 

I did not know this.