[playfulpete]

My compaq presario died on me and won't boot up. It's been suggested that the psu blew. Went to swap one from another puter but it has a 20 pin instead of 24 so I guess that's out of the question. My model is a Hipro and the cheapest I can find it for is $33. So my questions are; How can I determine if other models are ok to use, since there seem to be much cheaper brands available? And is there any way to confirm that it is the psu in the first place. thanks

[mctw]

The 20 pin is the older style of PSU, the 24 pin is now the normal style. Just about all new PSUs have 20/24 pin connectors (aka 4 pins unclip so you can use them with a 20pin).

Just make sure you buy a decent make!!!!!!!! A PSU is the only thing that can kill your entire PC, so its worth buying a decent one!