330W Power Brick Solution for SFF

ettescott

Member
Dec 28, 2012
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I found the power setup for the Alienware x51 online. I'd use it in my NES-PC but I don't have the room for it. Crazy expensive too. Not sure the reliability of the seller for the power board but it looks legit. Big improvement over the 160W PicoPSU, if you have space for it.


http://www.impactcomputers.com/d0hy5.html#

Power brick
http://www.amazon.com/Original-Dell-...1+power+supply

Cable (from chassis to power board)
http://www.impactcomputers.com/2yg07.html

You're looking at ~$160 for the board and adapter


Check this link out before you pull any triggers:
http://www.dell.com/support/troubleshooting/us/en/19/KCS/KcsArticles/ArticleView?docid=536250
 
Last edited:

Zap

Elite Member
Oct 13, 1999
22,377
2
81
What's wrong with a Pico PSU 150XT or 160XT, besides not powering a graphics card?

I've wondered before about making my own setup using this PSU, but re-wired so that it is external. Would be a big bunch of cables, but would be possible. Maybe even reduce the number of cables while using a slightly higher gauge for the higher current ones (mainly +12v). Would only take eight wires from the PSU to the computer.

1x thin grey (power OK)
1x thin green (PSU on)
1x thin blue (-12v)
1x thin purple (5VSB)
1x medium orange (+3.3v)
1x medium red (+5v)
1x thick yellow (+12v)
1x thick black (common ground)

Then, internally re-wire to all the normal connectors.
 

ettescott

Member
Dec 28, 2012
44
0
0
I think it would be awesome to put a gtx 660 into an nes-pc with this thing. I don't have space for one in my build bc of my custom water loop. However. An external psu isn't a bad idea. Its an extra noise maker and not a portable solution like a power brick, though.
 

Zap

Elite Member
Oct 13, 1999
22,377
2
81
An external psu isn't a bad idea. Its an extra noise maker and not a portable solution like a power brick, though.

The SeaSonic PSU I linked to is reasonably quiet, and being TFX is quite small. It also has fully modular cabling.

I'm not sure why portability is important to you. If you transport the system often, the first time you forget your power brick you will start to hate needing one. :twisted:

Personally, I would rather the computer be a bit bigger and only have to use a normal power cord. Making the computer small by separating out essential parts is kind of cheating. Heck, what's to stop someone from making a super powerful tiny computer the size of a broadband modem that has an optical drive, numerous USB ports and even a card reader inside it... while the "power brick" that it needs to run off is the size of a BitFenix Prodigy? :awe:
 

ettescott

Member
Dec 28, 2012
44
0
0
My NES-PC won't even fit flex atx. The power brick way is the only way

If I wasn't already watercooling, I'd try out this power solution. I just posted because maybe someone else would be trying something specific and small like I've done.

Btw, i take my NES-PC to family and friends all the time...kinda like a console. Haven't forgotten the power brick yet

http://www.overclock.net/t/1363969/liquid-cooled-nes-pc
 
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antsk

Junior Member
Mar 6, 2013
3
0
0
I was looking for a power supply option like what you mentioned and stumbled across this thread. Thanks to some info you collected ettescott , I chatted with a Dell rep and she was able to order me the board and the adapter for roughly $63 shipped. Once I get the 330w brick and put it together with my e3-1265lv2 i'll post about it.
 

ettescott

Member
Dec 28, 2012
44
0
0
Just keep in mind that we don't know the specifics for the power board. But if you use parts with lower ratings than whatever is used in the x51, you should be fine. Also keep in mind that the GPU on the x51 could potentially be underclocked, etc.

Did you get the brick, board, and cable all for $60?
 

Lonyo

Lifer
Aug 10, 2002
21,939
6
81
FlexATX isn't the same as TFX, it's smaller in all dimensions.
Zap linked a TFX PSU which is 6.9" x 3.3" x 2.5"
FlexATX is 3.2" x 1.7" x 6.0" (FPS 270w max, Athena Power 350w max, but no clue who they are)

Or you can get 1U PSUs which are 8.7" x 3.9" x 1.6" (up to 460w for $85)

All depends on what your size constraints are due to, plus external power bricks are basically cheating IMO.
 

antsk

Junior Member
Mar 6, 2013
3
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0
Just the board and the cable, they wanted something ridiculous for the power brick, like $140 LOL.
 

antsk

Junior Member
Mar 6, 2013
3
0
0
Well its been about a month since last post and it was because ordering parts from Dell is terrible. Delayed 6-7 times and was canceled and re-orded twice. Long story short, I purchased the power board on ebay for about $75 and made my own harness for the DC power jack for about $8. Takes some work but as you can see, you can definitely use the power board from the x51 to make your htpc a monster with 330w. :biggrin:

 

ettescott

Member
Dec 28, 2012
44
0
0
@Antsk

Way to go! I'm about to test an alternative method. I currently have my MoBo with onboard dc-dc powered and my GPU 6-pin connector powered by two separate bricks (the 330W Dell and a 12V brick). I'll be testing out a buck converter (19V to 12V) so I can splice the GPU power into the 19V power brick and eliminate the second brick. I'll post how it goes in the next few weeks.
 

Machupo

Golden Member
Dec 15, 1999
1,535
0
76
www.overclockers-network.com
@Antsk

Way to go! I'm about to test an alternative method. I currently have my MoBo with onboard dc-dc powered and my GPU 6-pin connector powered by two separate bricks (the 330W Dell and a 12V brick). I'll be testing out a buck converter (19V to 12V) so I can splice the GPU power into the 19V power brick and eliminate the second brick. I'll post how it goes in the next few weeks.

Any luck with this? I'm using a x51 to power my sub-3L gaming system (3770k/gtx670 4gb), but if I could go with a pico on the mobo and directly step down brick power to the 2x 6pin PCIe using a single ~12A buck, that'd save me a ton of space.

Mods: sorry for the necro, don't see too much discussion about the x51 in custom builds
 

ettescott

Member
Dec 28, 2012
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Machupo, I think I had success with the buck converter method. My build worked for about a month with superb graphics performance, no crashes, artifacts, etc. The motherboard eventually died, however, but I think that was because either (1) some water leaked from my WC loop, or (2) the thin mini-itx mobo was only rated to deliver 25W at the pcie slot, and the gtx660 was spec'd to draw as much as 75W. I concluded those two options because both the GPU and CPU were still functional. I've since sold the working parts, but decided in the last two weeks to make a similar build all over again (now that I have money again ). I was confident enough in the buck converter that I'll be using it again.

I'm assuming you are using the 330W x51 ac power adapter. Are you using the power board as well, in a custom build, or do you actually own an x51 (chasis and all) and are moding it?



Here's some nitty gritty number and spec crunching if it's helpful to anyone:

Looking at your components, the CPU has a TDP of 77W. The GPU has a TDP of 170W. That's 247W, add at least 20W for mobo and HDD etc, you get 267W. At 19.5V that's about 13A drawn from the AC Adapter, which (if I remember right) is rated for up to 16A. If you don't overclock the CPU, the 330W brick should be within its operating limits.
Lets look at the buck converter and the pico PSU 12V rail and consider those options for a second: The affordable and compact voltage step down device that I got, worked in large part by dissipating energy as heat. I don't know if it was actually a buck converter or not. But my point is that any converter might decrease the power efficiency of your system, meaning you should add some additional headroom for your GPU. If overclocking, you'll have to factor that in, as well.
Now for the picoPSU, which will power your CPU mobo etc. Most pico's take a 12V input. A 12V ac adapter @ 16A (if they exist) would have a rating of 192W peak. That seems to put a single 12V adapter out of the picture. The only pico I know of that takes 19V is their 120-WI which takes a variable input up to 25V. Looking at the manual, the max sustained load on the 12V rail is 6A, and the peak load is 8A. I'm not a bonified computer engineer, so I'm not certain, but it seems to me that the CPU is going to be powered by this 12V rail. That means the 120-WI pico could only power up to 72W on the 12V rail, which means overclocking a 77W CPU is a no-no, and even at that, you probably would want to underclock that CPU if driven by the 120W pico.


My advice: if you have time and lots of money and you don't mind the headache of weeks and weeks of troubleshooting, go for it. Otherwise, if you have a working build, it might be best to stay with what you have or consider a SFF box PSU.


edit: Maybe the buck converter in line with the PSU, and then split to the pico and GPU would give a little more headroom on the pico side. The pico 160XT is rated at up to 8A on the 12V rail. I'd forgotten above, however, that the GPU's pcie slot would be drawing as much as 75W (which could also pertain to the pico). That means the pico 160XT could power as much as 96W on the 12V rail. However, considering the possibility of 75W from the pcie slot, that could mean the CPU+PCIe could try to draw as much as 152W, or 12A from the 12V rail on the picoPSU. Uh-oh.... From what I've read, there is no spec on whether a gpu draws from the pcie slot first, or the auxiliary pcie power connectors first, or equally from each, etc. That means you should expect 75W to be drawn from the PCIe slot on the motherboard. Long story short, picoPSU's are extremely limited. They simply can't power a CPU/GPU combo above 96W, best case scenario.
 
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Throckmorton

Lifer
Aug 23, 2007
16,830
3
0
The SeaSonic PSU I linked to is reasonably quiet, and being TFX is quite small. It also has fully modular cabling.

I'm not sure why portability is important to you. If you transport the system often, the first time you forget your power brick you will start to hate needing one. :twisted:

Personally, I would rather the computer be a bit bigger and only have to use a normal power cord. Making the computer small by separating out essential parts is kind of cheating. Heck, what's to stop someone from making a super powerful tiny computer the size of a broadband modem that has an optical drive, numerous USB ports and even a card reader inside it... while the "power brick" that it needs to run off is the size of a BitFenix Prodigy? :awe:

I agree, I thought the small Alienware was awesome until I saw the separate power supply.

Why can't someone make a true SFF gaming PC? The Steambox tear down was such a computer, but it doesn't seem to exist anymore. All the Steamboxes shown since then are big
 

TheStu

Moderator<br>Mobile Devices & Gadgets
Moderator
Sep 15, 2004
12,089
45
91
I agree, I thought the small Alienware was awesome until I saw the separate power supply.

Why can't someone make a true SFF gaming PC? The Steambox tear down was such a computer, but it doesn't seem to exist anymore. All the Steamboxes shown since then are big

Well, part of the problem is that ATX PSUs are huge (relative to mini-ITX), and there's only so many SFX PSUs that are decent, and those that are are fairly expensive for what you get. Also, the SFX PSU is almost certainly going to be louder, since they are limited to 80mm fans.
 

Throckmorton

Lifer
Aug 23, 2007
16,830
3
0
Well, part of the problem is that ATX PSUs are huge (relative to mini-ITX), and there's only so many SFX PSUs that are decent, and those that are are fairly expensive for what you get. Also, the SFX PSU is almost certainly going to be louder, since they are limited to 80mm fans.

The Steam Box had a full size ATX powersupply though, and it was still the size of a VCR
 

TheStu

Moderator<br>Mobile Devices & Gadgets
Moderator
Sep 15, 2004
12,089
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91
The Steam Box had a full size ATX powersupply though, and it was still the size of a VCR

According to ifixit, it's a silver stone SFF PSU, which is one of the like... 3 good PSUs in that form factor. 2 of them made by Silverstone.
 
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