New PSU for Old Case

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I have a Dell Dimension 8100 that is a few years old. In the original case, I had problems with a second HD overheating; so I put it all into an ATX tower case made by Ultra some years ago. Recently the PSU (330W) fans have started making the ‘bad bearings’ noise which can become quite irritating. I found an Ultra LSP550 PSU that seems to have sufficient power for me and an adequate number of connectors (I have a CD, DVD, 2 HDD, and a FDD with card slots in the unit), but I’m uncertain whether this power supply unit will work correctly because of the placement of the fan.

From pictures posted on the web, it appears that the 135 mm cooling fan for the PSU which is top mounted, will be a big improvement. Reader reviews say that the unit is surprisingly quiet compared with the units they replaced. My guess is that they have improved much in that regard; however I’m concerned that the top mounted fan might not be able to pull enough air because it will reside too close to the to of the PC case.

Has anyone here mounted a PSU with a top mounted fan in an ATX tower? Any problems? Any issues to deal with on installation?

TIA

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I have a Dell Dimension 8100 that is a few years old. In the original case, I had problems with a second HD overheating; so I put it all into an ATX tower case made by Ultra some years ago. Recently the PSU (330W) fans have started making the ‘bad bearings’ noise which can become quite irritating. I found an Ultra LSP550 PSU that seems to have sufficient power for me and an adequate number of connectors (I have a CD, DVD, 2 HDD, and a FDD with card slots in the unit), but I’m uncertain whether this power supply unit will work correctly because of the placement of the fan.

From pictures posted on the web, it appears that the 135 mm cooling fan for the PSU which is top mounted, will be a big improvement. Reader reviews say that the unit is surprisingly quiet compared with the units they replaced. My guess is that they have improved much in that regard; however I’m concerned that the top mounted fan might not be able to pull enough air because it will reside too close to the to of the PC case.

Has anyone here mounted a PSU with a top mounted fan in an ATX tower? Any problems? Any issues to deal with on installation?

TIA

The PSU really should be mounted so that the fan vents directly to the outside world, not somewhere inside the case. ( if I’m reading you right? )
A standard ATX PSU should not be hard to find with a healthy capacity to handle your needs.

Edited to add: try DIRECTRON
It’s right down in your neck of the woods too.

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Beware! In the past Dell has used non-standard ATX designs. You may need an adapter to plug a standard ATX psu to a Dell motherboard. It is possible to plug a standard ATX psu into the non-standard Dell motherboard connector. Disastrous results will occur if that happens.

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Beware! In the past Dell has used non-standard ATX designs. You may need an adapter to plug a standard ATX psu to a Dell motherboard. It is possible to plug a standard ATX psu into the non-standard Dell motherboard connector. Disastrous results will occur if that happens.

While I’m not doubting your statement regarding Dell designs ( you can only buy components from Dell ) I’m not sure what you mean by “non-standard ATX?”
If it’s non-standard, then it no longer is ATX.
Also not sure of the OP saying he put the system in a non Dell case. Did he reuse the PSU from the Dell or use the PSU in the replacement case?
I think we need more info from the OP.

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My PSU in my Dell DImension 3000 periodically would start making that grating noise but upon rebooting, it would cease. The past few weeks it intensified and despite efforts to blow it out, reboot etc. it persisted. The problem got resolved when hubby took a PSU from his old HP tower and exchanged the fan part of the PSU. The only thing that didn’t fit was the plug-in. But, he, being an electrician, cut the wires and soldered the plug from my Dell back onto his HP fan wires and voila~! It has been noise free for a week now and such a relief. SO I guess what I am saying is that if it’s JUST the fan portion of the PSU that is making noises (which hubby ascertained was the case in mine–bad bearings) then it is possible to do a simple exchange. It worked in my case and I am still humming along noise free.

Hey Jude

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My PSU in my Dell DImension 3000 periodically would start making that grating noise but upon rebooting, it would cease. The past few weeks it intensified and despite efforts to blow it out, reboot etc. it persisted. The problem got resolved when hubby took a PSU from his old HP tower and exchanged the fan part of the PSU. The only thing that didn’t fit was the plug-in. But, he, being an electrician, cut the wires and soldered the plug from my Dell back onto his HP fan wires and voila~! It has been noise free for a week now and such a relief. SO I guess what I am saying is that if it’s JUST the fan portion of the PSU that is making noises (which hubby ascertained was the case in mine–bad bearings) then it is possible to do a simple exchange. It worked in my case and I am still humming along noise free.

Hey Jude

Yes, that certainly would be another solution to just a bad fan condition. I wouldn’t have any problem with it as some others might have, but so as long as the mechanical mounts are the same, it would work, as you have found.

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While I’m not doubting your statement regarding Dell designs ( you can only buy components from Dell ) I’m not sure what you mean by “non-standard ATX?”
If it’s non-standard, then it no longer is ATX.
Also not sure of the OP saying he put the system in a non Dell case. Did he reuse the PSU from the Dell or use the PSU in the replacement case?
I think we need more info from the OP.

Quite right, it isn’t ATX. Dell, until around early 2008, used a proprietary pin out on their power supplies and mother boards. While Dell’s parts looked ATX, they weren’t. Dell did this, in their opinion, because the specs were lacking. What really irked builders was it is possible to connect standard ATX psu to a Dell m/b. Dell never bothered to change the connection to something different. Unsuspecting builders were left with charred mother boards.

BobH said he put everything from a Dell case into a new ATX tower case to try and fix an overheating hard drive problem. So, he still is using a Dell psu and wants to replace it with a new one.

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I have a Dell Dimension 8100 that is a few years old. In the original case, I had problems with a second HD overheating; so I put it all into an ATX tower case made by Ultra some years ago. Recently the PSU (330W) fans have started making the ‘bad bearings’ noise which can become quite irritating. I found an Ultra LSP550 PSU that seems to have sufficient power for me and an adequate number of connectors (I have a CD, DVD, 2 HDD, and a FDD with card slots in the unit), but I’m uncertain whether this power supply unit will work correctly because of the placement of the fan.

From pictures posted on the web, it appears that the 135 mm cooling fan for the PSU which is top mounted, will be a big improvement. Reader reviews say that the unit is surprisingly quiet compared with the units they replaced. My guess is that they have improved much in that regard; however I’m concerned that the top mounted fan might not be able to pull enough air because it will reside too close to the to of the PC case.

Has anyone here mounted a PSU with a top mounted fan in an ATX tower? Any problems? Any issues to deal with on installation?

TIA

Replacing a PSU should be relatively painless provided you do some research. Some of what you are saying doesn’t make much sense to me.
As long as your Mainboard will support your new PSU. It’s up to you to research your current MB specs, even if that means calling Dell or going to their
site to find a schematic of that particular board make/model…and of course pay close attention to any ATX designs that are not typically standard.
Newegg

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From pictures posted on the web, it appears that the 135 mm cooling fan for the PSU which is top mounted,

The picture is upside down then. The PSU should be mounted with the fan at the bottom. The idea being it drags air in from inside the case and blows it through the PSU and out of the grill at the rear. I have one on this type of design, and it’s common on most of the better PSUs now.

Clearly if it’s mounted at the top of the case (the standard place) with a fan on the top, it’s going to have a real problem dragging enough air in.

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RE the Dell ATX PSU’s with non-standard wiring; It’s my recollection that most of the PII/PIII and some of the very early P4’s (including some fitted with RDRAM, I think) made by Dell used this configuration, probably 1998-2001 vintage. As far as I am aware, later full-size P4’s and later PC’s have almost all used standard ATX wiring. Always lookup the wiring on the Dell Support site for your computer, using the System Tag to be sure.

See also Wikipedia, Endpcnoise (partial list), Censuspc (replacement PSU for Dim. 8100 and some other proprietary Dells) and a quote from a Techrepublic post by pc guru austin

Dell’s non-standard power connections are a thing of the past: they adopted ATX designs before it was a standard and for years used the same non-standard power connectors. You had to use a Dell PSU with a Dell motherboard.

This changed with Pentium 4 – apart from the Dimension 8100 all Dell P4 systems uses a standard ATX power connector and you can put a standard motherboard in a Dell system.

David Shear is correct in saying that the photo must be upside-down, the original ATX standard required a fan above the CPU to pull hot air out of the PC (though many of the el cheapo brands ignore this and only have the rearward pushing fan).

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