Help with Computer

[Illegal Socks]

I'm not a huge gamer and I have no interest in playing any of those high end really demanding games on the PC, I would rather play most of my games on a console anyway.

This said, I bought a computer that is fairly ok and can handle my computer needs pretty well I suppose (Ordered it from Dell and it is on its way).

The problem with the computer is that it only has 250 watts... I think I would need to buy a larger power supply but I am not quite sure.

These are the computer specs:

Inspiron 545 Slim-Tower
Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 (4mb L2 2.33GHZ, 1333FSB)
8GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz - 4 DIMMs
ATI Radeon HD 4350 512mb
500gb serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache
Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit

Not a HUGE Gamer on PC, the only game I will probably want to play at a fast speed is Warrock, which is not really demanding anyway.

The big question as stated above is, will my computer screw up because of the power supply? Should I buy a better power supply? If so, how many watts should I be looking at?

Note: I am not a techy, I do not know much about the power supply just that 250 watts is a bit poor.

 

[blindkilla]

Radeon HD 4350 512mb? I'm pretty sure you will be able to handle all games with that.

Did that computer come with the 250 watt power supply? Or is it your own? Because I would think that a computer with those specs would need a lot more wattage for everything to run properly.

 

[xeleration]

I'll second the need for a new power supply. Consider getting yourself a 600-750 watt power supply from Antec. They're extremely reliable and often have holiday sales. Having more power is always preferable in case you decide to do more upgrades later on. Be careful though, Dell has a tendency to put these custom slim power supplies into their cases, which makes it impossible to upgrade.

 

[Loltastic]

I'll second the need for a new power supply. Consider getting yourself a 600-750 watt power supply from Antec. They're extremely reliable and often have holiday sales. Having more power is always preferable in case you decide to do more upgrades later on. Be careful though, Dell has a tendency to put these custom slim power supplies into their cases, which makes it impossible to upgrade.

To be honest, a quality 400 - 500 watt is more then enough for that.

 

[Illegal Socks]

I'll most likely get either the 550 watt or 750 from Future shop. I have not gotten the computer yet, still being shipped. Also I'm not too sure about hooking up the computer when I get it because I heard that it can crash if there is not enough power reaching the computer. The dell computer comes with a 250 watt power supply to answer your question as well Blindkilla

Edit: Bestbuy and Futureshop mostly only have Dynex which is crap...

There is this though

http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/pr...angid=EN&sku_id=0665000FS10109734&catid=10482

Is that ok? It says it supports Vista but I will be having windows 7 home premium 64 bit

 

[xeleration]

Do not use "Home" versions of any Microsoft product. They are unstable and have too many issues to list.

Just go with Professional or Ultimate.

If there is not enough power your computer will simply shut off, which isn't that big of a deal if you're just testing it.

As for a 400-500 watt power supply, it will be sufficient, but as new products come out you might as well get a 750-1000 watt so you can upgrade with more demanding parts without worrying about having enough power.

I'm really concerned about the "slim" case, since I've purchased a few prebuilt computers from Dell and their power supplies are sometimes these flat bottom mounted ones that you can't replace with normal consumer ones.

 

[Grave]

Do not use "Home" versions of any Microsoft product. They are unstable and have too many issues to list.

Not really. Home premium is fine. Mind listing out 10 of these issues?
The power supply is also fine for the computer, unless you plan on upgrading the parts.

 

[xeleration]

Haha alright grave, it was a bit of an exaggeration.

Home Premium doesn't have problems caused by the software individually, but I've built a few computers with it running and I've experienced issues with recognizing hardware, crashes, hang time, and worst of all, corrupted data on startup. There's also a lot of errors with missing system files and such. This is all, of course, from personal experience, so I'm offering my opinion based on how I feel about it.

To be honest, Illegal Socks, if you aren't huge on gaming or running strenuous processes, just go with Windows XP Pro 64bit. It won't utilize your RAM as efficiently, but I just feel that Windows 7 still needs some tweaking.

 

[Illegal Socks]

Windows 7 Home Premium comes with the computer I ordered. The OS will already be installed on the computer. I might in the future get a new graphics card but besides that, I will not be upgrading much anytime soon. Also to what Grave said, 250 watt is enough to handle the computer?

 

[Grave]

Haha alright grave, it was a bit of an exaggeration.

Home Premium doesn't have problems caused by the software individually, but I've built a few computers with it running and I've experienced issues with recognizing hardware, crashes, hang time, and worst of all, corrupted data on startup. There's also a lot of errors with missing system files and such. This is all, of course, from personal experience, so I'm offering my opinion based on how I feel about it.

To be honest, Illegal Socks, if you aren't huge on gaming or running strenuous processes, just go with Windows XP Pro 64bit. It won't utilize your RAM as efficiently, but I just feel that Windows 7 still needs some tweaking.

I still find it funny how people think a decade old operating system is better than a much more efficient one. The only difference between Windows 7 Home Premium and Professional is Windows XP Mode, Domain Join, and automatic backups.

By the way, if you're going to go through the trouble of getting Windows XP professional, just get Windows 7 professional because it comes with a windows XP emulator.

 

[xeleration]

I still find it funny how people think a decade old operating system is better than a much more efficient one. The only difference between Windows 7 Home Premium and Professional is Windows XP Mode, Domain Join, and automatic backups.

By the way, if you're going to go through the trouble of getting Windows XP professional, just get Windows 7 professional because it comes with a windows XP emulator.

I recognized that Windows XP is less efficient, but we have our personal opinions on what is best for us. After being around for a decade, most of the problems with Windows XP are minimal and solutions can be easily found.

It is ultimately Socks' choice, and he will make it based on what we provide. It won't help him make his choice by arguing.

 

[shawnvd]

I would upgrade your power supply to a 500w or 600w, they are cheap anyways, and you don't want to have any of your hardware fail because of lack of power.

 

[Grave]

I would upgrade your power supply to a 500w or 600w, they are cheap anyways, and you don't want to have any of your hardware fail because of lack of power.

I still don't see a point in that. I think Dell knows how much power is necessary, and they wouldn't use a power supply that would destroy their computer.

 

[shawnvd]

I still don't see a point in that. I think Dell knows how much power is necessary, and they wouldn't use a power supply that would destroy their computer.

I agree, but 250w just seems too low. I would just go with an upgraded power supply, in case he decides to upgrade his hardware in the future, such as adding extra hard-drives.

 

[Illegal Socks]

Seriously, I do not think that upgrades will be needed for a while. I am not a hardcore gamer therefore I don't need a top notch expensive computer. I was just worried that 250 watts would not support my computer.

 

[shawnvd]

Seriously, I do not think that upgrades will be needed for a while. I am not a hardcore gamer therefore I don't need a top notch expensive computer. I was just worried that 250 watts would not support my computer.

Ok, well what motherboard comes with the computer? That is one of the main factors, and I don't see a motherboard listed.

 

[shawnvd]

You're graphics card says that it needs at least a 300 watt power supply on the system requirements. Go for a 400 watt, so that you don't need to worry about cutting it close.

 

[xeleration]

I highly recommend you check this out.

http://bensbargains.net/redirect/123941/Diablotek-PHD450-450W-Power-Supply-15-at-ZipZoomFly