Replacement PSU question from a beginner.

[boomshiva]

Someone gave me a Dell Inspiron 5675 whose PSU is missing. After googling I've determined that it came stock with a 460W PSU (model Dell D460AM-03). 

 

From what I've read, Dell uses custom PSU's. My question is: can I replace the PSU with another 460W PSU from MicroCenter? What specifics must I know about the original PSU that will help me pick out the right Corsair/EVGA/Seasonic/CoolerMaster? Things like modular/semi/fixed/3.3V+5V combined power, etc.? 

 

Also, if I went with a bigger PSU, say a 750W one. If I install it, will I just end up frying the motherboard and components because it's much more powerful than the stock PSU? Or does the bigger PSU 'self-regulate' the power?

 

Again, I'm very new at this and the 5675 is a project to learn on. Any and all advice is appreciated.

 

TIA.

 

[WhitetailAni]

16 minutes ago, boomshiva said:

From what I've read, Dell uses custom PSU's. My question is: can I replace the PSU with another 460W PSU from MicroCenter?

Not unless you make custom cable adapters. Dell's power supplies don't use standard power connectors. If you try to connect a regular PSU you will explode something.

17 minutes ago, boomshiva said:

Also, if I went with a bigger PSU, say a 750W one. If I install it, will I just end up frying the motherboard and components because it's much more powerful than the stock PSU? Or does the bigger PSU 'self-regulate' the power?

Power isn't a "push". It's a "pull". If I took a Celeron and only used its iGPU and hooked it up to an EVGA T2 1600W nothing would explode due to too much power, it doesn't work that way.

 

If you connect power to where it doesn't need to be, then yes, things can explode. But with standard components and non-dangerous/explosive power supplies nothing should go wrong.

[RAS_3885]

As long as it doesn't use a motherboard with proprietary power connectors any standard ATX power supply will work, even if the original Dell PSU was proprietary. This would mean a 4 or 8 pin connector towards the top left of the board and a 24 pin connector along the right hand side. Maybe a picture of the inside of the computer would help.

 

What's the other hardware in the system? CPU, GPU, etc.?

 

You can go with whatever size PSU you want since it will only pull however much power is necessary. Going with a quality PSU that will meet the load requirements is most important, but oversizing doesn't really gain you anything.

[boomshiva]

7 minutes ago, RAS_3885 said:

As long as it doesn't use a motherboard with proprietary power connectors any standard ATX power supply will work, even if the original Dell PSU was proprietary. This would mean a 4 or 8 pin connector towards the top left of the board and a 24 pin connector along the right hand side. Maybe a picture of the inside of the computer would help.

 

What's the other hardware in the system? CPU, GPU, etc.?

 

You can go with whatever size PSU you want since it will only pull however much power is necessary. Going with a quality PSU that will meet the load requirements is most important, but oversizing doesn't really gain you anything.

Hi - 

 

Thanks for your response. I've attached a screenshot of the motherboard grabbed from a teardown that a youtuber did on the same system a few years ago. 

 

Other components (I believe the system was introduced in 2019):

 

CPU - AMD Ryzen 7 1700x

GPU - Radeon RX 570

HDD - 1TB WD

SSD - 1TB XPG 

RAM - 16GB

 

So I'm looking for a standard ATX power supply? Would you recommend fixed/semi/modular? Stock PSU was fixed. Do you prefer a particular brand? 

 

I also included a pic of the back of the desktop from the Dell site. Are all PSU's oriented the same way so that the plug will line up with the opening in the case? See the red box that I crudely drew. If it doesn't line up then I might have to take a Dremel to it.

 

[boomshiva]

22 minutes ago, FakeKGB said:

Not unless you make custom cable adapters. Dell's power supplies don't use standard power connectors. If you try to connect a regular PSU you will explode something.

Power isn't a "push". It's a "pull". If I took a Celeron and only used its iGPU and hooked it up to an EVGA T2 1600W nothing would explode due to too much power, it doesn't work that way.

 

If you connect power to where it doesn't need to be, then yes, things can explode. But with standard components and non-dangerous/explosive power supplies nothing should go wrong.

Don't use standard power connectors? Surely I can buy adapters on Amazon?

[WhitetailAni]

1 minute ago, boomshiva said:

Don't use standard power connectors? Surely I can buy adapters on Amazon?

You might be able to, I'm not sure.

Remember, they're not standard, meaning adapters aren't mass-produced for anyone to buy since they aren't needed.

[RAS_3885]

1 hour ago, boomshiva said:

Hi - 

 

Thanks for your response. I've attached a screenshot of the motherboard grabbed from a teardown that a youtuber did on the same system a few years ago. 

 

Other components (I believe the system was introduced in 2019):

 

CPU - AMD Ryzen 7 1700x

GPU - Radeon RX 570

HDD - 1TB WD

SSD - 1TB XPG 

RAM - 16GB

 

So I'm looking for a standard ATX power supply? Would you recommend fixed/semi/modular? Stock PSU was fixed. Do you prefer a particular brand? 

 

I also included a pic of the back of the desktop from the Dell site. Are all PSU's oriented the same way so that the plug will line up with the opening in the case? See the red box that I crudely drew. If it doesn't line up then I might have to take a Dremel to it.

 

 

 

Based on the motherboard picture it looks like a standard ATX power setup. There's a small chance Dell has used a different motherboard pinout and a proprietary PSU pin-out, however, I have no idea how to test/verify that prior to plugging in an ATX power supply.

 

I'd recommend a modular one because then you only have to plug in the cables you need to use. This helps simplify routing and reduces overall cable clutter in the case. I've had great luck with Corsair power supplies. There's a PSU tier list thread in the PSU sub-section that I'd recommend you take a look at. 

Something from Tier A or B would be suitable for your system, especially since the lower wattage models are pretty affordable. The Corsair RM or RMx series would likely serve your really well https://www.corsair.com/us/en/Categories/Products/Power-Supply-Units/RMx-Series/p/CP-9020197-NA

 

But, Look at some other ones from that list and depending on your price bracket you can probably find something cheaper if you're not looking to spend that much. Going with a little more wattage would allow you to upgrade components in the future if you think you're going to want to do that. As-is ~500 watts is just fine.

 

1 hour ago, boomshiva said:

Don't use standard power connectors? Surely I can buy adapters on Amazon?

What they mean is Dell uses proprietary connectors on the PSU side, so trying to adapt them to a standard PSU is a bad idea. You always want to use the cables that come with your PSU to ensure you don't get any wires crossed and end up frying things.