Smallest 100-200 watt power supply I can buy?

mothergoose729 · 2009-12-07

What is it? I am going to put it inside a custom built chassis for my HTPC, and right now the mini ITX PSU I am eyeing is still a little bigger then I would like it to be. Any suggestion? I only need about 100-200 watts of power (but pretty good power). Needs to be fairly reliable too. Its going towards one underclocked CPU, integrated graphics, and a 1'8" drive.

awaizy

· #2 · Dec 7, 2009

Maybe this?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817104073

There isn't much choice in the Mini-ITX department, unfortunately.

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mothergoose729

Discussion Starter · #3 · Dec 7, 2009

I was wondering about maybe getting one of those pico PSU, like this:

http://www.virtech.ca/detailProduct....7&currency=USD

I don't get exactly how this works though.

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shinji2k

· #4 · Dec 7, 2009

The pico PSUs use an external power brick, much like the Xbox 360. They also go up to 150W. They usually come with a 20/24 pin, 4-pin cpu, a molex and a sata connector.

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mothergoose729

Discussion Starter · #5 · Dec 7, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by shinji2k

The pico PSUs use an external power brick, much like the Xbox 360. They also go up to 150W. They usually come with a 20/24 pin, 4-pin cpu, a molex and a sata connector.

That would be perfect for my needs. Any recommendations on a kit? The reading I have done says it only outputs 12v power, does this become a problem when you have a few USB devices and some fans hooked up?

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shinji2k

· #6 · Dec 7, 2009

It will output the same voltages as a regular PSU, including 5VSB for the USB devices. Fans should also not be a problem, they usually only draw a few watts each. As far as which one to purchase, theyonly picoPSUs I have seen are this brand so your only decision will be power needs. What exactly will you be running?

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cdoublejj

· #7 · Dec 7, 2009

dang if they make picos bigger like 500 watt i'll build that quad core NES computer i've dreamed of making then sell it of course. or maybe get an itx nad make it like a power brick and make custom connector in the back of the unit but, that s a lot of wires being a 24 pin connection.

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98uk

· #8 · Dec 7, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by cdoublejj

dang if they make picos bigger like 500 watt i'll build that quad core NES computer i've dreamed of making then sell it of course.

Already done by some guy here, RetroGamer IIRC? Had to sell it.

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cdoublejj

· #9 · Dec 7, 2009

oh crap a quad core? and not some banged up cut piece of junk. i saw some but, they sans quality one had to extent the out side of the case to fit an itx psu and it looked like paper mache

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mothergoose729

Discussion Starter · #10 · Dec 7, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by shinji2k

It will output the same voltages as a regular PSU, including 5VSB for the USB devices. Fans should also not be a problem, they usually only draw a few watts each. As far as which one to purchase, theyonly picoPSUs I have seen are this brand so your only decision will be power needs. What exactly will you be running?

I am going back and forth between intel and AMD platform, but it will likely be a mini ITX motherboard with 2gb of memory, a few tiny fans, a laptop or 1'8" drive, either ion or 780g IGP, and a single core Regor or E3300 processor (plus a wireless remote and a wifi card). In either case I plan to do some significant underclocking. I am still thinking about the layout, but if I can get a small enough unit I might be able to fit it on top of the board so that I won't have to widen out the case. I am think that 100 watts should really be plenty.

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dragosmp

· #11 · Dec 7, 2009

About those Pico-ITX PSUs, I own one and before buying it I remember reading tons of forum posts on ITX-related sites like silentpcreview.com, and there is one recurring issue with them. These PSUs fail more than regular ATX PSUs, but not because of a design or quality issue, but because those that actually build the ITX PCs don't properly estimate the power consumption on the +12V rail.
The ITX PSUs unfortunately have a big chunk of that wattage geared towards the +5V and +3.3V rails, which are largely unused. Take for example my 120W Pico-ITX PSU, here are the specs. There are 6 amps for each of the 3.3, 5 and 12V rails, 6amps for the +12V rail isn't much. Considering the CPU is likely to be powered from the +12V rail, it must consume 3amps at most (36W) in order to leave enough power for the other components.
If you're within the power envelope, the other thing to look out for is PSU's cooling. I have placed (although it's not really necessary) some Zalman GPU memory heatsinks on the PSU's regulators which tend to get a little warm.
...last thing, about the power bricks. Some Pico-ITX PSUs need +12V from the power brick; I had a real hard time finding a power brick that offers over 100W on +12V, so I eventually got the PSU linked above that supports input voltage between 12-24V. The brick used in my build outputs 120W @19.6V - most bricks over 100W output +19V.

Bottom line, I highly recommend the Pico-ITX PSUs as they have great efficiency, noiseless and don't take a lot of space, the only think to look after is if you're within the power budget of the +12V rail.

*EDIT: Just saw your post. I highly recommend ION if it's good enough for what you need. I have a GMA950 Atom 330 as at the time it was the only option, but it fits well within the power budget and it never pulls more than 50W at the wall. See the build log below for details.

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