Building fanless, but don't understand PSU issues.
Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2018 6:41 am
Hi, I'm about to build into a small form factor Streacom FC8 case. The system will include an Intel i3 8100 (Coffee Lake) and Gigabyte H370N Wifi (mini-ITX). SSD 250 GB, exact model undecided, and a Bluray or DVD burner, slot-loading type. No graphics card, and audio/video files will be mainly used via a powered external HDD connected by USB 3.
This is primarily an HTPC, running as a "Hackintosh". I don't have any real demands of it other than as a video player (local files and streaming) hooked up over HDMI to an AV amp and from there to a projector. I'll do a bit of DVD and CD ripping, or Bluray ripping if I can add a BR drive. It's not my main Mac OS system.
What I didn't quite realize before I went down this road, having built a few tower PCs and Hackintoshes before, was the power supply issues. I don't quite understand how much power I'm going to need to run this system: I've been looking at the Mini Box pico PSU-160-XT
http://www.mini-box.com/picoPSU-160-XT
Can I go lower than 160W, which is sort of my preference if it can be done, or is even 160 too low?
And in particular what I haven't understood well, after reading a few people's discussions back and forth, is how many amps are needed for the 12V AC-DC adapter - the power brick. Some seem to say don't go over 8A, others that you need more. I think I will be limited to the barrel plug connector, based on the back of this case.
Any advice on how to choose? Basically it boils down to 2 questions: how many watts for the DC-DC section, and how many amps for the AC-DC section?
Sorry if this has been dealt with before, but it's my first move away from large all-in-one ATX fan-cooled supplies, and it turned out to be harder than I thought.
This is primarily an HTPC, running as a "Hackintosh". I don't have any real demands of it other than as a video player (local files and streaming) hooked up over HDMI to an AV amp and from there to a projector. I'll do a bit of DVD and CD ripping, or Bluray ripping if I can add a BR drive. It's not my main Mac OS system.
What I didn't quite realize before I went down this road, having built a few tower PCs and Hackintoshes before, was the power supply issues. I don't quite understand how much power I'm going to need to run this system: I've been looking at the Mini Box pico PSU-160-XT
http://www.mini-box.com/picoPSU-160-XT
Can I go lower than 160W, which is sort of my preference if it can be done, or is even 160 too low?
And in particular what I haven't understood well, after reading a few people's discussions back and forth, is how many amps are needed for the 12V AC-DC adapter - the power brick. Some seem to say don't go over 8A, others that you need more. I think I will be limited to the barrel plug connector, based on the back of this case.
Any advice on how to choose? Basically it boils down to 2 questions: how many watts for the DC-DC section, and how many amps for the AC-DC section?
Sorry if this has been dealt with before, but it's my first move away from large all-in-one ATX fan-cooled supplies, and it turned out to be harder than I thought.