Power Supply Question
 

My parents computer wont turn on, and i think it is the power supply. this is the one that is in there now. http://support.gateway.com/s/POWER/6...500525nv.shtml
I was wondering where is the best place to buy either the same one, or one that will work.
thanks for any help that i get.

go to your local computer shop, thay will have many PSU that thay can sell you. Just make sure you get one that has at least the same wattage. Newegg has a lot of PSU's that you can pick up or here is a link to one that will be more then enough to power up that system and it runs just over 55 bucks. aerocool 450W

Why do you think it's the power supply causiing the problem?

the computer is old, and it just stopped turning on all of a sudden. let me know if you think something else might be causing the problem.

A lot of the Gateway's (or dells or compaq's) use powersupplies that are of a strange size compared to most computers, so you should probably measure it and make sure that you can replace it with something that isn't from Gateway.

But in order to test if it really is the power supply, you need to purchase a power supply tester, or be fairly skilled with a multimeter. I bought a power supply tester at my local compusa (read: I overpayed) for around $20, so if you do much work on computers at all, it's a pretty good deal.

It sounds stupid... but try using a different outlet in our surge protector before buying a new power supply... I've seen many an outlet go bad.

I go by the smell. If the power supply smells like burnt electronics, it blew up.

yeah my powersupply blew a couple months back. It smelled like burnt plastic ;) I went down to da compUSA and got a new one :) in 30 min I was back online.

30 min because Im a dumbass and forgot to plug my hard drive back in.. :(

Don't waste time or money on a power supply tester, just go to your local computer store, and get a power supply. If it doesn't fix the problem go back to the store power supply in tow, and return it. We have a lot of gateways here where I work, if its not a power supply oddly enough it could be the power button, we have had a few of those fail on older models.

I had a power supply make 3 loud cracks (like LOUD lightning) then start oozing from the bottom. needless to say it needed to be replaced. I just picked up one from newegg and was on my way. just grab anything

You can't have too powerful of a power supply that would blow out your hard drive or something is there?

:D NASA, I have a candidate for your failure analysis dept. :D

No. GigaWatts of potential would be dandy if your household wiring could take it. The trick is finding respectable p/s companies who provide realistic specs. Many a "400W" supply begins spewing toilet water when taxed beyond 200W. They can make for some very annoying problem solving.

This is why you go for a respectable company ALWAYS when buying a PSU. (Antec etc.) It may be more expensive then these cheapo 500w psus that barely go 300 but you get what you pay for. A long lasting dependable PSU. with PSUs you always get what you pay for. If you pay almost nothing I can assure you that PSU doesn't live up to specs and/or will fail really fast.

I think a few years ago I've dealt with replacing a power supply in a gateway like this. The plastic outline of the power cord jack on the power supply may be partially covered by the back of the case, so it won't sit flush, but you can still jam the screws in there to secure it well enough.

Most power supplies out these days are 300+ watts, which should easily be enough to cover even the most loaded down P3-based system. Too much wattage will not cause any side effects.

I agree with the above, don't get the cheapest one you can find because in the end, you get what you pay for. Spend a few extra bucks and get an Antec. If you really want to wow anyone, I know Antec has one with a few LEDs in it to cast a nice blue light behind the PC. Because when it all comes down to it, anything with a blue LED is faster, cooler, and way better than anything else ;)

Also putting the PC on a UPS might not be a bad idea. I've seen brownouts cause power supplies to croak.