Mark Twain wrote:
Here's a diagram and pics of the
back of the 8500:

ftp://ftp.dell.com/Manuals/all-produ...nual_en-us.pdf

http://i65.tinypic.com/29qi4h0.jpg

http://i65.tinypic.com/689ff6.jpg

These were the power supplies I found on Newegg:

https://www.newegg.com/Power-Supplies/SubCategory/ID-58


I'll go with Sparkle and the Platinum
specs but isn't 600W allot? Will these
be available for some time or are they
like the HD's and better get them while
I can?

Also what about the 780?

Here's a diagram and the specs although
not good.

http://www.dell.com/downloads/global...idebook_en.pdf

http://i64.tinypic.com/166yczd.jpg

Robert


For the 780, your spec on page 18, has the numbers for the minitower (MT).
This appears to match your 166yczd.jpg picture, for the part I can see.
The 12VA and 12VB portion are current-limited outputs, which can be
handled by a supply with a combined (single) output. Even supplies
which pretend to have a single output, can still have OCP protection
that engages before the supply delivers the max current shown on the
label. That's why I lumped them together here, to make it
easier to match to a modern supply.

3.3V @ 8A, 5V @ 16A, 12V @ 25A, -12V @ 0.5A, +5VSB @ 4 amps
\__ max 80w total__/ 240W
Overall power for the complete supply 305W

That's going to be easier to meet, on 3.3V and 5V, as even
the 20A 20A 100W 80+ supplies can easily meet that. The 5VSB @ 4A
is not something you'd normally find, but neither is it
easy to imagine why you'd need that. Such a high capacity
helps when charging your Apple iPad off the back of the
780, but you should really be using an Apple charger
instead (so your "items" are independent of one another,
and you could travel with your iPad and charge it in a
hotel or whatever). When the 780 sleeps, if will use some where
between 5VSB @ 1 amp and 5VSB @ 2 amps, so the spec is needlessly
generous.

Again, there are still details that matter, such as whether the case
is a tight fit, whether it can accept a 6.5" long supply without bumping
against the back of the optical drive. Isn't the 780 a scissor computer case ?
If so, you'd want to study carefully, whether the cabling is extra-long
for some reason. (Maybe the wire loom on an FSP wouldn't be long
enough.)

Your link to the Newegg site, shows the whole PSU category, rather
than your selected choices.

Your 29qi4h0.jpg picture, shows the back of the 8500. No generic
replacement supply, is going to have what looks like a LED, underneath
the power plug.

While some of the items I saw today had sale prices, I don't
think you should be in a giant rush to "buy something". ATX PSUs
aren't going away... even if they do evolve slightly and make
a nuisance of themselves when you go shopping :-) In terms
of the time of year, yes, this is probably a good time to
shop. When you get closer to fall or Christmas, the prices
can go back up.

What you don't want, is to be tricked into buying something
that isn't a good match for the application.

When I'm buying supplies these days, I hardly ever get the
SATA/PATA mix I want, and invariably those disk drive cables
are wanting. But it's pretty hard to find a supply with the
right cabling, plus meet all the other stuff. That's why you
need to look inside your computer, at the length of cables,
and how many cables are needed to make it easy to cable up
the disk drives and optical drive.

On my other machine, I use Y-cables off a Molex for stuff.
The Molex carry 6 to 8 amps (assuming the wire gauge is
heavy enough), whereas the flimsy SATA connectors with their
3 amp rating, aren't good for fanning out with extenders. Even
if you're not using Molex today, you might some day need an
extender for some reason, and the Molex allows more amps to
flow. Some supplies use really thin copper on the cables,
which means the Molex would be tending towards a 6 amp limit.

Paul