Power supply upgrade

[Ahmed Hamdy]

I want to upgrade my power supply, can I change my power supply without changing the motherboard

my pc is HP Z220

[leclod]

I don't think so. For that you should have at least a 20 to 24pin connector.

That big transparent connector of yours doesn't seem standard.

Or does it have 20 pins ? 20pins was the previous (now ancient) standard. But I think not, the top left pin isn't populated.

You don't want to buy an old psu. You better buy a cheap current system.

Edited January 18, 2024 by leclod

[PDifolco]

1 hour ago, Ahmed Hamdy said:

I want to upgrade my power supply, can I change my power supply without changing the motherboard

my pc is HP Z220

Why?

It's not standard ATX you have to use another crap HP PSU...

[Bismut]

1 hour ago, leclod said:

I don't think so. For that you should have at least a 20 to 24pin connector.

Does not matter, the extra pins are, well, extra. It is fine as long as there is nothing blocking the connector from being properly inserted. Looks like standard ATX as well, measure your PSU @Ahmed Hamdy and check against what Wikipedia says (the length is variable though, keep that in mind.)
I would recommend buying a high quality PSU, since PSUs are one of the few components you can usually keep for new builds. Check this list or ask on the forum, after sending us another photo of your big (hopefully 20/24-Pin) connector and measuring your PSU.

[leclod]

20 minutes ago, Bismut said:

Does not matter, the extra pins are, well, extra.

I disagree. The edge of a 20pin header isn't be compatible with a 24pin connector. And you're not sure this is standard 20 pin.

(I hope I understood you correctly)

Back in the days, I remember PSUs with 20+4 connectors.

Edited January 18, 2024 by leclod

[jaslion]

What for?

 

Basically to prevent you from wasting money here because you can get adapater to make it work however a z220 even the best specced one wont be playing todays games at 60 fps no matter the gpu. Its too old. These go for peanuts nowadays due to that

 

 

[Bismut]

3 minutes ago, leclod said:

Back in the days, I remember PSUs with 20+4 connectors.

Yup, much like there are 4+4-pin headers for CPUs and 6+2-headers for GPUs and such; This picture shows the lack of differences between the standard, other than the additional (non-essential) extra four pins. Might be different with PCIe 5.0-PSUs but I am not aware of anything changing.

1 hour ago, leclod said:

 

1 minute ago, jaslion said:

What for?

 

Basically to prevent you from wasting money here because you can get adapater to make it work however a z220 even the best specced one wont be playing todays games at 60 fps no matter the gpu. Its too old. These go for peanuts nowadays due to that

It might be working perfectly fine still, but OP wants to change the PSU because it is getting old? Honestly, upgrading a PSU for that reason is reasonable in my book, since those usually last at least ten years (my warranty is that long, I believe; it will probably last 15 as well). You can carry it over to your next build, unlike a CPU upgrade. RAM is a big question mark as well (DDR4/DDR5 or just same-generation improvements), storage is usually getting cheaper over time as well... PSUs are a solid investment in terms of PCs, same for quality cases.

[leclod]

1 minute ago, Bismut said:

This picture shows the lack of differences between the standard, other than the additional (non-essential) extra four pins.

You really show me a picture I posted ?

[Bismut]

1 minute ago, leclod said:

You really show me a picture I posted ?

Yup, it was a good illustration for what I said. I am aware of the irony, but also too lazy to find my own picture with blackjack and hookers

[leclod]

6 minutes ago, Bismut said:

Yup, it was a good illustration for what I said. I am aware of the irony, but also too lazy to find my own picture with blackjack and hookers

But that wasn't my point. The 20 pin header won't accept the 24 pin connector of a modern psu (even if it was standard which isn't a given).

Or did I understand you wrong ?

Edited January 18, 2024 by leclod

[Bismut]

3 minutes ago, leclod said:

The 20 pin header won't accept the 24 pin connector of a modern psu

Oh, it will fit and work all right, just with four pins hanging next to the connector, going unused. You do not need any adapters, just enough space next to the connector. It looks and sounds kind of funny, but that is how it is sometimes.