How did you determine the power supply was dead? If nothing works then perhaps it is the start button, just a thought. I have a nice case with a erratic/dead start button that took a bit of diagnosing.

Here is a nice cheaper model on sale at Tigerdirect. With a 120mm fan it will cool adequately. Scroll right to the bottom and you see the selection of cables to verify it will fit your set up.

Is this a home build or factory? If factory built you realise the operating system is tied to the BIOS on the existing motherboard requiring you to buy another operating system if the mobo is changed. The other consideration when upgrading is deciding if it is worth the expense as technology moves so fast with computers.

Well it started a week ago and after constant tweaking, i would get less and less power until finally today i plugged the cable into a good adapter and now i get nothing. I just want a P S that almost similar to this one..2 fans..one is facing the rear and the other is facing the CPU MOBO..I dont know if one fan would be enough. In the event that a new P S is not the answer I have to think of the MOBO, and would want to be sure the P S i buy would cover both situations. I have seen P S for $22 bucks, but most of them seem t have only one fan. BTW, this a clone and lasted for me for years, also how do i judge what wattage i would need?

This post was edited by boothbay on Tue, Jan 21, 14 at 21:16

I have 650 and 700 watt power supplies with only one fan and there is no problem whatsoever. The one I linked to had a 120mm fan, yours likely has 2 80mm using double the power and not moving any more air than my one. Remove the side panel and look at the label on the current P/S and you'll see the DC watts, likely 230 or less but I would not buy less than 300. Don't buy the cheapest either, if visiting a store feel the weight as the heavier they are the better they'll work.

How to choose a poer supply. More info than you might want but worth a look through

As the current computer is years old you probably would be further ahead saving for a new machine as so many parts from back when can no longer be used on current mobos. If you intend to self build later then buy a 500 watt so it can be swapped out to the new beast.

As this is an aged clone do you have a separate video card or onboard? If unsure you can download and install the free Belarc Advisor which will list all you hardware and software and give you a welth of other information too.

Did you build this computer? Curiosity only here.

yes i have a GE-Force video card...why do u ask? Can't very well check the weight if ordering from online. LOL unless they give the weight in the specs..what is considered a 'good' weight? Curiosity is cool.

yes i have a GE-Force video card...why do u ask?
Because it too will require power, as it is older it will take that from the motherboard rather than needing a supply of it's own.

Weight are never given, it is just a known thing that the heavier it is the better the inner quality. That one I linked to at almost half price AND free shipping takes some beating. My 650 watt is a Coolmaster and i am very happy with it.

This thread reminds me of a story, please forgive the length.

Someone I know (a Silicon Valley engineer, actually) liked to putz around with the innards of his PCs, although his professional expertise involved non-PC products. Being an engineer, his view was that most problems and issues in the world were easily understood and could be resolved by simple application of his finely-honed problem solving skills.

The guy isn't frugal, he's cheap. Also completely lacking in common sense (as you'll soon see demonstrated).

He bought a used desktop, and found after awhile that he'd failed to consider that the hard drive was too small. So he added whatever was needed to connect a spare one he had lying around. Still not enough, so he bought a USB hard drive that he kept connected.

Some time passed, he started to do some new things on the PC and found he didn't have enough memory, so he added more. And the stock graphics processor was inadequate for the video work he wanted to do, so he added a graphics board that a friend of his had.

The PC started shutting itself down periodically, he figured it was overheating. So he rigged up internal and external fans. He talked to someone who suggested maybe he needed a bigger power supply, so he bought that.

His PC setup was in his home "office", a room he had added on some years back. He'd hired someone to do the actual hammer and nail construction work (an unlicensed worker), but he did the electrical wiring himself because, of course, he's an engineer and can understand anything.

After installing the new power supply, the circuit breaker started to trip off regularly, like several times a day. After trial and error, he remembered he'd wired the office plugs into a kitchen circuit and the breaker tripped when the fridge started. (There were other things on the circuit too because all the plugs in the office were on one line).

Easy enough, he put a larger circuit breaker into his panel.

Only a few days later, while working at his desk one morning, there was a flash and smoke started out of his PC. The whole thing got fried. Likely, he figured, a result of his not being careful enough with the various hardware customizations he'd done.

At his wife's insistence, his DIY PC building and troubleshooting days are over. He buys new ones and replaces them when they have problems. Also at his wife's insistence.