Too low powered for Seasonic? Plus DC-DC help/suggestions.

sthayashi · Post by **sthayashi** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 9:00 am

I've got a Seasonic SS-300 modded with an M1A. Right before I left for vacation, I powered down my computer, wanted to check a bios value, and attempted to power up my machine. I never reached POST. But power WAS getting to the system (I control fans and the DVD drive).

I came back late last week and swapped the Seasonic for an Antec SL-350S (came with the BQE), and my computer booted up like a happy trooper.

Is my computer too low powered for the PSU or did I break it? I ask because I rarely push it above 80W AC.

I'm working on testing the Seasonic on some other systems when I get home. In the meantime, I'm tempted to work under the assumption that the Seasonic is busted as an excuse to buy some computer goodies.

Should I go with a DC/DC system? Quietness aside, why should I go with such a system? For reference, my typical power draw ranges between 50-90W, depending on usage. Mostly, I'm between 50-70W. All input is appreciated.

dago · Post by **dago** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 1:04 pm

Other advantage of PSU with external brick is the size of what goes inside the box. That's what I have in my HTPC and am very happy with it

The brick is also the only part to heat, the DC-DC circuit doesn't (significantly).

sthayashi · Post by **sthayashi** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 2:02 pm

Well, considering how low powered my system is, I'm not at all worried so much about the heat. However, since heat is directly related to efficiency, I WOULD like to get optimal efficiency out of a power supply.

The numbers I gave in my first post were read from a Kill-A-Watt from the Seasonic SS-300 mentioned. A more efficient power supply would be very nice.

BTW, IIRC, if I decide to go with a DC/DC system, it seems I'll be the first North American SPCR to report his findings. There's GOT to be someone else on this side of the planet who's gotten one of these things, right?

Prahella · Post by **Prahella** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 2:04 pm

dago wrote:Other advantage of PSU with external brick is the size of what goes inside the box. That's what I have in my HTPC and am very happy with it

The brick is also the only part to heat, the DC-DC circuit doesn't (significantly).

What kind of brick PSU kit did you got? And where did you buy that?

dago · Post by **dago** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 11:16 pm

Prahella wrote:What kind of brick PSU kit did you got? And where did you buy that?

I took the 110W PSU Set from LinITX.com (a uk-based shop), which is in fact a 125W AC.

salmon · Post by **salmon** » Wed Jan 05, 2005 1:05 am

Dago, could you please tell us what's in your HTPC?
I'm in the process of selecting parts for my own HTPC, and find it difficult to know how powerful brick-PSU I need.
I've been looking at the power supply sets offered at linitx.com, and wonder why the 110W set is so expensive compared to the other sets.
Will a 90W power supply be enough to power an A64 3000+ (winchester), 1G RAM and a Matrox G550 on an nforce3 MB? (no disks or optical drives)

dago · Post by **dago** » Wed Jan 05, 2005 1:23 am

That's a Pentium III-S 1.266, with 2x256 MB Ram, Samsung HDD, Hauppauge PVR-350, Wi-Fi PCI card, memory card reader (no graphic card, no optical drive), pic here in an Aria case. The DC-DC board is attached with plastic strips over the CPU (you can see the capacitors). I consumes up to 79W AC when recording.

Best is to use a powermeter (kill-a-watt) to measure your computer consumption before. I made that on a A64, but can't remember.

I took the 110W to have some reserve in case of future updates.

Prahella · Post by **Prahella** » Wed Jan 05, 2005 4:47 am

salmon wrote:Dago, could you please tell us what's in your HTPC?
I'm in the process of selecting parts for my own HTPC, and find it difficult to know how powerful brick-PSU I need.
I've been looking at the power supply sets offered at linitx.com, and wonder why the 110W set is so expensive compared to the other sets.

I was wondering the same, look here:

http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewtopic.php?t=17608

Also note that some bricks have built-in fans...