are computer power supplies the same?

Question

can i take the computer power supply from my dell and put it in my hp pavilian

Answer 1

as long as the power rating is more than enough, its roughly the same. except for the number of connectors, u may have more or less of those.

Answer 2

For a desktop power supplies have industry standards, the most common one is ATX for the standard desktop power supply, although there is FlexATX MicroATX and more Basically you just need the model TYPE not number, another thing to consider is the connectors you use, more hard drives and equipment will require a more feature rich power supply. For a laptop the power supply must match the voltage and have the same connector type as the original. Hope this helps, provide more information and you can get a more specific answer

Answer 3

Yes you can !!! But there may be some shape difference and make sure you have the correct power rating for what the computer will be running or will stop and try to start but can't.

The more and bigger programs you run the higher the power rating needs to be.

Eg; If you to want run games, run a word processing program, the Internet while downloading stuff, look at your photos, at the same time, you need a 500 Watt power supply!!!

You cannot put a power supply from a desktop computer into a laptop computer and vice-versa.

I hope this helps you !!!!

Answer 4

The answer is a very firm "maybe".

Power supplies have a physical size (dimension) and this has to be considered. This is the easy part.

Secondly power supplies have a capacity rating. Usually you will see the primary side as 120 volts and some current or wattage value. You will certainly see the secondary side showing dc voltage outputs and either the output current in amps or the output power in watts. You must have a new power supply rated at the same output volts (which you will see) and at LEAST the same output current (amps) or same output power (watts). If the new unit has lesser amps or watts it is underpowered and you will either burn it out or damage components due to under power.

Be very careful to check the specifications in regards to output capacity. This is the critical matter.

Answer 5

Look at the back of both machines at the area where the plug goes in. If the screws match up and the opening is the same shape then you can. I have had issues with the Pavillions only taking specific power supply units due to shape limitations, but that was a few years back.

Answer 6

Power supplies vary only in wattage. Look on the back panel. Modern computers pretty much need at least 30 Watt with the added RAM and graphics cards. Otherwise, a power supply in my parts catalog was $38.

Answer 7

There are some differences. Some offer different power levels, and some are set up for different processors. Your best bet is to talk to someone who works on computers, give them your system specifications (they will tell you where to find the information), and double-check before trying to install a new power supply. Most of the time you will be fine, but if something does happen to go wrong, you might burn out your motherboard (this happened to me once and I learned my lesson).

Good luck!

Answer 8

Yeah, most are, just make sure you are NOT adding too much power or to little. The power supply should have a switch (you can see it from the back of the computer) to adjust the power.

Answer 9

Power supplies are for the most interchangable but there are some things you should know first.

This page does a good job of providing what you need to know.
http://www.xoxide.com/buy-computer-power-supplies.html

Answer 10

yes but it mite not be as good - may need a higher power rating if you have multiple hd's dvd's gfx and pci devices you need a lot of power and if you dont plug a powerful enough one in it wont work