Upgrade power supply?

I have an Acer Veriton 5100 that was given to me. It has been a decent computer for a year and a half. Recently, it has started to reboot on me. It seems to not do it if I unplug all my USB devices.
I figure the problem is I need a new power supply. The computer comes with a micro Atx 145w power supply.
Here is my question: Will I be safe going with a higher wattage power supply? A friend of mine says I could fry my system.
Also, if I do get another power supply, will I end up needing a new case since the the existing ps is real small?

The wattage rating is a capacity. It tells how much your PSU can provide when devices pull the power out of it. The devices will try to pull however much power they need. You need a PSU that can support at least however much power your devices are going to want. The only thing extra wattage will break is your wallet. =)

You may or may not need a new case. A lot of those retail systems have either proprietary PSU's, or some small form-factor thing that I can't think of right now. Some cases can hold a bigger supply even if it comes with a small one, some can't. I don't know about that particular model to tell you what it comes with or how much room it has. Standard ATX power supplies are a standard size though. The 200W vs. 400W is determined by the internal components and both will be the same size externally.

The images I have been able to find seem to indicate that a standard atx power supply should fit, however I can't find anything to tell me about the inner conformation..like does the processor have it's own fan, or use the psu fan and shielding..the only way to find out is going to be opening the case and taking a look..the screw mounts match a standard psu. One thing you might think about..If you have a lot of usb devices being powered by the usb ports..(and it looks like the speakers are powered that way too) you might try getting a powered usb hub and see if that solves the problem

Power supply dimensions are approx. 6 x 4 x 3.5 inches. It is a SI-X145M3 model. Processor has its own fan. I might try a usb hub, but I have a CD burner that is usb 2.0 and I dont know if I will still get that speed with a hub.

I'm also not familiar with that model computer but it is POSSIBLE like was said earlier that it is a proprietary power supply. If it is that means you COULD fry your system by putting another power supply on it. Not because it is producing more power but because the pinouts might be different. Does anyone know if the Acer is proprietary?

You might be able to find out from them ( Acer) but I don't know if they will give you the info you need or not.

Also if you have to change cases it's possible that the acer motherboard is proprietary as well and will only fit in a acer case. That can be remedied to a certain degree by modifying the case but it can be a big chore depending on your skills and willingness to roll up your sleaves and get inventive.

According to Acer, it's a micro atx board, so should have standard pinouts.. I've sucessfully changed psu units in similar model acers before with no problem...looks like it from the back of the case pics too..but a standard psu is usually around 6x5x3.5 or so. does your cd burner have an external power supply already? and are your onboard usb ports 2.0? I would have thought that a p3 machine would have had standard usb 1 ports?

The existing power supply is not proprietary, I checked <a href="http://www.thirty-day.com/si-x145m3/six145m3b1.html"> here </a>

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Originally posted by geoscomp
According to Acer, it's a micro atx board, so should have standard pinouts.. I've sucessfully changed psu units in similar model acers before with no problem...looks like it from the back of the case pics too..but a standard psu is usually around 6x5x3.5 or so. does your cd burner have an external power supply already? and are your onboard usb ports 2.0? I would have thought that a p3 machine would have had standard usb 1 ports?

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I installed the usb 2.0 card myself. It was nearly 8 months ago. The problems just started though. The CD does have external power. I also have a usb printer with external power. I have a scanner, pc camera keyboard and mouse that are all usb, no external power.
I have switched the keyboard and mouse back to their old ports.

What os are you using?

Win98 se. It came with the system.

I have 5 rules for computer maintenance, they're a bit simplified and exceptions abound but in general they're applicable.

Reboot
Reconnect
Reload
Replace
Retreat (punt)

The point is that most hardware problems are loose connections. If that's not the case the most likely problem is software. While I am certainly a huge proponent of using quality power supplies (its all about the electrons in the end) I wouldn't suspect that first.

With Win 9x platforms I find a great many oddities can be solved by uninstalling unused software, particularly the little crapplets that set themselves up to load when you start the OS (there's various ways they do that). Additionally being rather cavalier about deleting just about anything and everything in your windows temp folder can solve a plethora of wierd problems. If you're worried about deleting whats in there then just delete anything with a .tmp extension. That usually works if the problem is temp file related.

After that it gets into downloading the latest drivers and patches for your hardware, OS, and applications

Sometimes its best to back up all your data (don't forget email) and start all over with reformatting/repartitioning.

If you want to replace the power supply I wouldn't argue with that on principle, go get a good one. Poor quality power can cause odd problems. I don't think its the place to start troubleshooting though.

Hey!

Well i think this link might help you out Motherboard Diagram Basically the power supply description from Acer is that it is not proprietary, and the motherboard does not look like it is either, my suggestion would be to buy a nice case with a good power supply and ditch the desktop pc case...here is a link to my case this has been the most badass case i have ever bought i love it, the picture does not do it justice, it comes with like a 400-450w ps like 10 bays, wheels, 2 fans in back 1 on top and options for the front, these guys i linked to are local to me but i havent found anyone other than computer shows that are actively selling codegen but they are nice, they even paint the inside panels of the case :D if i can snake my camera back from PeliGroso i'll send you a picture or get his website running and you can see the pc we built for this guy with the same case. Gimme some time to add to this with some pics.....

Thats the same case I use..with an enermax psu..and I love it too..plenty of room..lots of airflow..a lock on the front for some of the drive bays..I got mine from tigerDirect, but don't know if they still handle them.

How much did you pay? that thing is quiet as hell too... i bought my first one at the computer show for $60 it was black aluminum with silver plastic door (primary pc) and i bought the other one (server/dialer) for $65 from these people but it came with top blow-hole fan and was gunmetal grey with a silver plastic door as well. like you said tons of room i have plans later of just dumping a hell of a lot of removable hard drives in the server but it is going to have to wait for a while :) also even though it is quiet the air is ripping through the inside keeping everythign nice and frosty the way it should be :cool:

mine was around $60 too..and shipping of course..keeps my ancient athlon 1.5ghz cool running 24 hours a day seven days a week. The enermax was extra, and replaced the psu that came with it..then sold that for $30 to a customer.

Thanks, Cisco2, good advice for any PC. I have done most of those steps already. I dont keep a lot trash on my computer, just mainly use it for burning photo cds for my family. The reason why I suspected hardware as the root of the problem is that the reboots go away completely if usb devices are disconnected. Still could be loose connections.
I suspect that I will end up with a new case eventually. This acer just has no room for any other kind of powersupply. The hard drive is mounted just over the top of the ps.
I appreciate all who replied.