PSU Upgrade For Dell XPS Studio 8100?

I want to go from my on board 350W to at least 400W... the problem is apparently you can't just stick any PSU into the casing. From researching online the PSU casing has unique dimensions (not sure what mine is or how to measure it) and in some cases Dell specific wiring (no idea if mine does or not). Dell doesn't sell PSU's over 350W for my PC.

Any advice?

No law saying the power supply has to be in the case. Just make sure your cabling is long enough and correct for the m/b , internals, etc. and the grounding is good. Might be an interesting bashup.

Depending on the exact model, I believe that one is a standard ATX design case.

Any ATX compatible PSU should work, as I don't believe it is a micro tower, give me a sec to see what I can find.

ETA: ATX is a standard for internals, the case and PSU should meet that, as well wires inside, though their maybe some internal minor difference, that would have an adapter on them, so if you pull the supply make sure you take them.

Also, I am emailing work to see if I can get an answer.

(work for DELL)

Thanks so much!

Yes Dell make some of their casings so they only fit non standard size PSU. Its a real pain.

have a look on ebay.

Here is a 500w one that will fit your case

NEW 500W Power Supply fo Dell Studio XPS PC 8000/8100 K159T 435T 9000 CPB09-001B

reply to post by PhoenixOD


I just ordered this. Hopefully it will work. It seems very similar to what you just linked, except the fan blows out the back of my case like the one I have now.

Thanks for your reply

I just wanted you to be aware of this. Dell has, in the past, been known to use non-standard pinouts for a number of their power supplies. For systems with these power supplies a standard ATX PSU will not work. You will need to purchase the correct PSU from Dell. However, their are a models of Dell PCs that use a standard ATX power supply. I'd check Dell's website first and if that doesn't pan out you could check the color coding on the 20/24 pin motherboard power plug on the PSU.

Here is a link to some helpful info: Power Supply Info

Just wanted to update that I installed the PSU that I linked and the new graphics card (all by myself!) and my system is running smoothly. Thanks all