Author Topic: Dell Dimension 8100 Power Supply (Read 5937 times)

crt360 · « **on:** December 22, 2005, 08:19:50 PM »

The power supply in my 8100 (office computer) started sounding like a lawnmower, so I picked up a new Antec 350W Smart Power for it. Guess what? Not only does the wiring not match up, the stupid user friendly Dell case won't even fit this standard ATX power supply. I'll find another box to put the new Antec in since I got for $22, but I still have to fix my original problem. I found an 8100 specific power supply at PC Power & Cooling for $100. Are these any good?

I've owned a lot of Dells, but after this money pit 8100 (RDRAM=$$$) that has never impressed me performance-wise, I don't think I'll own any more. There are some ATX adapters for other Dells, but the 8100 seems to have eluded such helpful accessories. Any recommendations?

Don't tell me to shoot it. I've already considered that.

lee n. field · « **Reply #1 on:** December 23, 2005, 03:31:20 AM »

Unless you're the office computer guy, why are you messing with it?

Replace the fan in the power supply.

crt360 · « **Reply #2 on:** December 23, 2005, 01:32:31 PM »

Actually, I am the office computer guy, and the president.

I considered replacing the fan until I saw that the power supply was only 170W and I could get a whole new Antec 350W for less than the price of two decent fans. Knowing Dell, the fan in there is 77.3MM with a connector unlike anyone has ever seen and can only be purchased from Dell for $50.

Assuming I go the fan replacement route and I can get this PS open without a can opener, any idea how to discharge it (without toasting myself)?

matis · « **Reply #3 on:** December 23, 2005, 01:40:57 PM »

crt360

Why not keep the 350 watt p/s and also buy a new case?

I just bought 3 mid-tower cases (4 x 5.25" and 2 x 3.5" opening to the front) complete with 350W p/s for 29.99 each free shipping (ChiefValue.com).

A case should be even cheaper without the p/s.

Anything proprietary about the Dell that would prevent use of any ordinary AT/ATX case?

matis

crt360 · « **Reply #4 on:** December 23, 2005, 02:32:59 PM »

matis, I thought about that, and I have other unused ATX cases around, but the Dell PS wiring is unlike any other ATX PS, in fact the 8100 is unlike any other Dell, so even if I got the MB and 350W PS in the same case they wouldn't wire up right.

I just checked out ChiefValue.com for the first time after reading your post. They have an amazing amount of stuff. I've never seen so many cases or fans.

Brian Williams · « **Reply #5 on:** December 23, 2005, 05:26:40 PM »

Flea bay 63.95 + 14 shipping
http://cgi.ebay.com/Dell-Dimension-8100-Power-Supply-03E466-24RGY-330-W-NEW_W0QQitemZ6832782961QQcategoryZ3670QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Sylvilagus Aquaticus · « **Reply #6 on:** December 24, 2005, 08:10:01 AM »

Who says the power supply has to be inside the case?

They DO make extensions for power cables to devices, you know. Adapters are your friend.

If nothing else, take the failed PS with you ahd hit the stores. Got a Fry's or a CompUSA nearby?

Regards,
Rabbit.

lee n. field · « **Reply #7 on:** December 24, 2005, 05:36:39 PM »

Quote

Knowing Dell, the fan in there is 77.3MM with a connector unlike anyone has ever seen and can only be purchased from Dell for $50.

Assuming I go the fan replacement route and I can get this PS open without a can opener, any idea how to discharge it (without toasting myself)?

Don't worry about toasting yourself.

If you can't get the power supply open you probably should be working inside the computer anyway. It's usually just a few screws.

If the fan's got a funky connector, clip the leads and solder them to the wires coming out of the new fan.

It's unlikely they use an odd sized fan.

Azrael256 · « **Reply #8 on:** December 24, 2005, 05:57:39 PM »

Yeah, you won't discharge anything. All the caps will sit on a printed board with the traces facing downward. You shouldn't need to remove the board, so there should be no exposure to anything charged. Take out the fan, and take it to a shop to match it up. It's not going to be anything weird.

The Dell PSUs are a slimmer profile than the standard ATX stuff. Even on the giant boat anchor Optiplex boxes, they use a slimmer PSU. You might find it by looking for a MicroATX PSU. If you can get me a picture, or maybe even the measurements of the box, I can probably track down the right thing real quick. I wouldn't go for that $65 job on ebay. Even the micro PSUs aren't more than $30 for a decent one.

crt360 · « **Reply #9 on:** December 28, 2005, 02:22:01 PM »

Thanks for all the helpful ideas. I've been pretty much in bed or in a chair in front of the TV since last Friday, battling some kind of bad flu-like illness. Yeah, Christmas sucked. I figured I'd be feeling better by now, but I can't say that I am. Our office has closed for the next two days because almost everyone here is sick. Maybe I'll get a chance to open up the PSU and try to find a matching fan.

Calumus · « **Reply #10 on:** January 01, 2006, 06:30:11 PM »

PC Power & Cooling make the absolute best power supplies out there. They're rock solid, really heavy, and they take their power ratings at actual operating temps unlike other companies that rate their units at I believe 40 degrees. Put it this way, a PC P&C unit that's rated at 450 watts would be the equivilent of an Antec, or Enermax or other tier 1 companies 550 watt supplies, or there abouts. If they make a unit specificly for your Dell, that's the one I would go with. You won't regret it. Cheers,
Shawn

lee n. field · « **Reply #11 on:** January 02, 2006, 07:49:03 AM »

http://www.pcpowercooling.com/products/power_supplies/selector/dell.htm

crt360 · « **Reply #12 on:** January 02, 2006, 06:53:22 PM »

Calumus, thanks, that's what I was hoping to hear about the PC P&C stuff. If I can't quickly find a replacement for the fan in this PS, I'm going with the Silencer 410-Dell 1.

Guest · « **Reply #13 on:** October 18, 2006, 07:26:51 AM »

Did it work??

Brad Johnson · « **Reply #14 on:** October 18, 2006, 09:36:41 AM »

I have an 8100 (typing on it right now) that hasn't missed a lick in almost 7 years. Of course I am pretty computer savvy and keep it cleaned and serviced. It's about at the end of it's rope, though. 7 years is a pretty long time for any desktop.

Brad

crt360 · « **Reply #15 on:** October 18, 2006, 02:39:34 PM »

LouP, when I opened it to check out the fan (for replacement) I decided to blow the PS out really good with comp. air before I temporarily put it back in the PC. The dying fan sound went away and has never come back. At this point I'd probably sell the ram, keep a few components and toss the rest, before I'd buy a high dollar replacement fan for this 8100.

Brad, glad to hear someone else is still using one of these things. Seven years is a long time for one PC. In the 25 years I've owned and used them, this might be the longest I've ever kept one. I've always been disappointed with its performance, though. I built a much cheaper Athlon T-bird 1.2 machine about the time I bought this one and, similarly equipped, it noticeably outperformed the Dell. I actually still have the Athlon machine running and I haven't even considered ditching it - it still feels useful, whereas the 8100 still feels sluggish. I guess I'll probably have to get something new in the near future to run Vista and I can stick Ubuntu or something on the Dell.

Guest · « **Reply #16 on:** October 19, 2006, 04:52:31 AM »

Wow, I too thought I was the only one still using one of these machines. However I have upgraded the heck out of it. I put an Audigy sound card, additional USB slots, an 80 gig internal drive and a 350 gig external hard drive, web cam, all kinds of controllers for flight simulation, a 330 watt paower supply from Dell and on and on. Then I put in a new CPU using a conversion kit and upgraded the cpu to a 2.8 gig Northwood. My latest move was to put in a Geforce 7800 GS which is why I am trying to upgrade the power supply. Everything works but I feel like I am walking on eggshells right now. The power supply that I got from Dell which they say is the biggest that they have for my machine has 18 amps on the 12 volt rail and the card said it requires 20 amps on the 12 volt rail. I am not even sure why it is working but it is.

I got my PCpowercooling PSU the other day but after I installed it, it would not turn on. The tech was very helpful and we tried to trouble shoot it but nothing worked and he thikns it just might be a bad unit. He sent another one out right away and it should be here any day. I am just hoping that it works OK. If any of you guys want to push the envelope even more and get some more mileage out of that machine, check out www.powerleap.com. The conversion is very easy to do and it works great. If you go that route make sure you get the CPU from them or make sure if has the 400 mhz front side bus or it won't work at the advertised speed.

crt360 · « **Reply #17 on:** October 19, 2006, 07:01:08 AM »

Wow, LouP, you really did upgrade yours. It sounds pretty impressive. Mine has only had extra ram, another hard drive and a DVD burner installed in it. It's an office computer that I don't use for gaming or anything personal except for e-mail and some web browsing, so I've tried to keep upgrades to a minimum. I'll check out that powerleap thing.

Guest · « **Reply #18 on:** October 19, 2006, 07:27:10 AM »

Oh, I forgot to put that on the list. lol. Mine has 1.5 gig of RAM and I think that may have been the most expensive and painful upgrade. Still can't imagine why I can go out and by 2 gig of memory on a stick for $30 yet this stuff was so expensive.

Lou

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Author Topic: Dell Dimension 8100 Power Supply (Read 5937 times)

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