Dynex™ - 400-Watt ATX CPU Power Supply - White

My HP Pavilion desktop had been giving me trouble for several months. Since I bought it in 2008 and already upgraded it once, I was debating whether to replace it or take it in to have it evaluated and fixed if possible. I had a hunch that the problem was the power supply since it had been replaced before. Not wanting to sink too much money into it, I decided to try replacing it myself. I know enough to be dangerous around such things, so I did my homework first by watching YouTube videos on replacing power supplies and looking at options online. This unit was pretty inexpensive, and I happened to catch an in-store sale which made it even better. You have to make sure that the Amps are sufficient and that the box itself can fit inside your desktop. (It’s not an instance in which you can “overbuy” to increase your power since the power supply may be too large for your chassis.) The problem is that the power supply is generic and every PC is unique with different configurations. The components within your desktop that require power connections aren’t color coded like the back of your CPU (green and purple for keyboard, mouse, speakers, etc.). So you need to be very careful when you open the chassis to note the current connections (make a list, take pictures, shoot a video) so that you can make the same connections when installing the new one. I also had to remove a few other components to access a few connections, including the primary fan, hard drive, and CD/DVD drive. This was stressful because of course some jiggling and extra effort were required. Ultimately it was possible but more stressful because it was more to remember and more to reassemble. I made all of the necessary connections but still couldn’t get the PC to boot up. I retraced my steps and couldn’t figure out the problem, so I ended up taking it to an expert to be looked at. That person required a few attempts to discover that one of the connections (the 20+4 to the motherboard) wasn’t in all the way. He had to apply a bit more force than I had and wound up charging me $30. While I wanted to avoid having the PC professionally serviced, at least this got me running again and much cheaper than replacing it. My goal was to get another year out of it – fingers crossed!

For the price it's adequate to replace the defacto 250w power supply that comes with most out of the box entry to mid tier PC...IF you do nothing more than surf the net or work on a spreadsheet now and then. For any PC with any kinda of oompf to it...it's also fine as a temporary replacement for a blown powersupply in an emergency (either because you're cash strapped and can't afford a better power supply OR because you're waiting on the 800-1200W bad boy to come in the mail). Bottom line...400w is 400w...so it will give you a little more juice but still not something that you'd want to rely on permanently in a PC that has any real upgrade components (high end graphics, multiply drives, additional fans, etc). If you are the type that expects a lot for a little then you'll be somewhat dissapointed...especially if it blows out within a shortish time frame. But if you are comfortable in getting what you paid for then this is a good buy. I purchased 2 for a couple emergency upgrades to tied us over until the real expensive power supplies came in (GW2 had just come out so we "had to" be online lol). One blew within a couple days. The other is still going (2 weeks now). I don't know that I'd recommend this to anyone for anything more than an emergency replacement to get you up and running if your current PS blew OR if you really don't do much with your PC...so I'm not going to do so for strangers (ergo the not recommend option for me). But it's not bad...it's what it is.

I bought this power supply to replace one that died on my HP Desktop PC. The dimensions were the same and it was a perfect fit. The main power plug fits both older 20 pin ATX type connectors, as well as the newer 24 pin type on the motherboard (20 pin + 4 pin). It comes with a 4 pin ATX 12v power cable, 4 SATA device power cables, 3 of the older AT device power cables, a floppy drive power cable, PCI Express 6 pin power cable. The cables are fairly long, and are enclosed by sleeves. This unit is quiet, with a very large fan located at the bottom of the unit to provide efficient cooling. At 400 watts, it provides ample power for my needs. The instore price was about $13.00 higher than the online price of $49.99, but I just asked for the online price, and they complied. All in all, this is a great deal for the money!

At its price, the Dynex 400W PSU appears to have a quality advantage over some of the economy line PSU's of the same power. It also has the convenience of purchase at retail stores. Upon opening the box, the cables seem well protected, and have a good aesthetic feel and appearance. However, this does not translate well into the internal components. Despite the packaging and the good reputation of Best Buy, this particular product fails to deliver as advertised. While the price has decreased, the performance is still on par (or below) its peers in the economy line. This unit will work for entry level low-use, non-modified systems. If one is looking for "economy" I would recommend looking elsewhere. If one is looking for "quality", then I would steer them to Thermaltake, or Corsair for a more reliable product. It's unfortunate that the Best Buy reputation earns this sub-par component a price that misleads the consumer into believing that the quality is greater than it actually can deliver. It is interesting to note that the 400W and 450W units have performed almost identically, despite the rating difference.

First off Dynex is a off brand name for Best Buy, that is why it is so affordable. A year and a half ago I needed a new power supply for my new graphics card and only had so much money to spend on a power supply. Went to Best Buy and they did not have much units to pick from and they all where one hundred dollars or more, but seen the Dynex unit for under a hundred dollars so I got the unit. Got it home and put it in my PC and turn it on and it sounded OK for a month. After a month it started to get louder and louder, and I could not play a PC game with out having headphones on it was so loud. This power supply also dose not put out the power that is listed on the box. My PC was not getting the power that it needed, so it slowed down my computer. If you don't have a lot of money to spend and don't mind the loud noise then it's a good deal, but I would say get a little more powerful power supply then what you were originally going to buy to make up for the power that it dose not put out.

I needed a PSU after mine on my Dell 4700 blew out. This unit is the exact size of my original so installation was a snap. Cables are very long so I had no problem. The only thing that took awhile was neatly running them. Total intsallation took about 15-20 minutes. As long as you label or keep track of where you pulled the connector out of a novice can do this install. Compared to similiar 400 watt units from online retailers this is a bit expensive, but I wanted to buy something locally in store just in case I ran into problems and needed to return. The larger fan keeps my case much cooler and its so much quiter than my orignal fan. 400 watts is fine for me with the system, but if you have a modified computer you may need a more powerful unit. There are online calculators that can help you find the power you need. I would be wary of pushing any Power unit to its max. Very happy with the purchase overall!

Recently I was having trouble with my older HP Pavilion desk top running Windows XP. I was convinced that I needed to reload Windows because it would lock up, reboot, automatically go to advanced boot, or just turn off after attempting to turn it on. After doing some research online, I discovered it was probably the power supply. That didn't really surprise me too much because it was the original power supply making it about 11 yrs old. I tested the power supply and discovered that some of the outputs were outside the given parameters...voltages were lower than specified. After conferring with the Geek Squad at Best Buy and explaining the symptoms to them, they directed me to the DYNEX 400WATT ATX POWER SUPPLY. Installation was very simple and my puter booted right up and appears to be cured. The fan runs so quietly that you can barely hear it at all, and at 400 watts it will easily outperorm the original 250watt power supply.

My computer would not restart after just being shut down. I did a little research and determined it was most likely the power supply or possibly the motherboard. I have a HP Media Center PC and HP's website indicated that for standard PC's, HP uses ATX power supplies which are available at local retail stores like Best Buy. The power supply is the first place to start and for the cost of about $50 it was well worth it. The replacement power supply was 400 watts while the original was 300 watts...that's ok. The power supply case dimensions matched my original. The power supply connectors matched my original...that's all I needed to make the purchase. After about ten minutes my computer was back up and running!