Prototype 500W Platinum short depth TFX PSU?

Do you want one?

  • Hell no, I've already wired my computer to my microwave

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    21

Overtek

Airflow Optimizer
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OVERTEK
Gold Supporter
May 22, 2017
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www.overtek.co.uk
So well I had this short depth TFX case laying around having been already taken apart for the internals that were intended to be used in another housing, but after progressing so far the customer for that bailed and as it required his existing priopritary sized PSU housing to complete the housing and PSU has stayed in bits since.

So it seems like the ideal opportunity to start a little trial that I'd thought of a while ago but, like many things, its just getting a little time here and there to progress.

So many of you know FSP500-50FSPT. the 500W 1U flex ATX PSU. yes yes the one that screams like a monster on startup till it quietens down after a good few seconds and of course at full load with its 11krpm fan screams like a monster.

I'm not about to stop the cooling fan spinning up at full speed. But in moving the PSU in to a TFX case this enables an 80mm fan to be utilised for cooling and Its easy to get the same and greater levels of cooling cfm but with a massively reduced fan rpm and correlating levels of noise reduction.

Yes there are a few 500W TFX's PSU on the market, so why would we bother?
A. Because we can, so why not.
B. Having seen a couple of these supposed 500W PSU, cough, with passive PFC (230Vac on 115Vac mains only), they're probably about as likely to be able to deliver 500W of continous power as I am to run around the world in 24hours. As for their efficiency, passive pfc, at best a few points above 70% and that's on a good day.

So this is as far as I got really in 5 mins till the phone rang with an urgent requirement.

 

Overtek

Airflow Optimizer
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OVERTEK
Gold Supporter
May 22, 2017
305
490
www.overtek.co.uk
A few moments spare earlier this morning. Wiring shoe horn required is required!

Reversal of some power wires needed, (handily the PCB has double sided solder pads, they must have known what I was going to be up to) ok ok no doubt they will at some stage use the same design in other housings etc etc. But I can't complain, well ok a little damn things are an absolute steward to removed and then even more of a steward to insert for resoldering. A little bit of heatsink bending also required for IEC mains inlet clearence.

Next little job on this, dril and add a stand off and remove 2 existing stand offs.
After that soldering in to mains, fitment followed by a quick power on test.

Its at this stage I wish FLIR had made good on their promise of having a FLIR One Pro with Micro USB connection, was supposed to be ready at end of summer and now its down as planned shipping over winter.....I'm not ready to give up on my Galaxy Edge 7 just yet. So its a waiting game unless I go for one with USB C and an adapter, future proofing I suppose.


 

Overtek

Airflow Optimizer
Original poster
OVERTEK
Gold Supporter
May 22, 2017
305
490
www.overtek.co.uk
So a little further progress.
1. 500W PSU from FSP500-50FSPT now fitted in the case. A little additonal fettling required here in terms of the removal of a small section of the PCB, just approx 4x8mm finger that in parts is left there for the fan to be seated in the original housing. Once removed The unit will sit comfortably from the donor short depth TFX housing a hole has been added for screw to hold a central stand off and 2 existing stand offs removed.
2. The power up test, that minor little thing where you discover if you've perhaps trashed a PSU one way or another, have done it spot on or are about to give yourself the best morning wide awake jolt known to man, providing it doesn't kill you. No matter how long I've been dealing with PSU internals I always feel just a tad nervous on the initial power on. So mains socket in to IEC plug in, no problem and 5Vsb all good. PSU tester stuck on the outputs and low and behold the existing 40mm fan screams itself in to life as per usual till it calms down. Why didn't I video this ohh yes shock but here it is with the case on and no hiding that its the FSP500-50FSPT internals and its fan!!!.

Tinypic vid swapped to youtube as it doesn't seem to work otherwise.
Part way though with the additional hole for stand off.


In with the 500W platimum beastie.



Plenty of height space for a wide variety of widths of 80mm fans.


With the lid on and only just enough space in the cable loom exit hole.



WHAT's next? FAN TIME!

Now normally I'd go the way of Adda, Sunnon, Sanyo Denki or similar, as is my old industrial computing background ways. Rather than the many spurious consumer brands that litter the market.

HOWEVER....in the interests of speed and time and just for intestests sake, an Artic F8 PWM should arrive tomorrow. 2000 rpm, very low noise enough Cfm compared to the 40mm, Sufficient Air pressure by comparison, possibly not.

Now I have rushed this aspect, in the interest of quickly getting to a start point of PSU running. Looking at the original fan, a Delta AFB0412SHB, it has 4 wires and I'm going with the blind assumption that it is PWM controlled and not some odd 4 wire configuration with just a variable voltage being used on the 12v line.

Guess we'll find out tomorrow!! Will probably be doing a little scavaging at this point for a standard size 4 wire fan pin header as the original cooler has one of thoose lovely teenie tiny connector headers. Delicate and I've nothing to crimp pins that small to wires that thin. So it'll be a chop job on the old fan and a bit of soldering. This will at least enable different 80mm PWM fans (hopefully it is) to be easily fitted and tested. With out having to disconnect the tiny connector as its not so easy to remove once the PSU in housed.

Forward we go.
 
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HeroXLazer

King of Cable Management
Sep 11, 2016
707
476
So a little further progress.
1. 500W PSU from FSP500-50FSPT now fitted in the case. A little additonal fettling required here in terms of the removal of a small section of the PCB, just approx 4x8mm finger that in parts is left there for the fan to be seated in the original housing. Once removed The unit will sit comfortably from the donor short depth TFX housing a hole has been added for screw to hold a central stand off and 2 existing stand offs removed.
2. The power up test, that minor little thing where you discover if you've perhaps trashed a PSU one way or another, have done it spot on or are about to give yourself the best morning wide awake jolt known to man, providing it doesn't kill you. No matter how long I've been dealing with PSU internals I always feel just a tad nervous on the initial power on. So mains socket in to IEC plug in, no problem and 5Vsb all good. PSU tester stuck on the outputs and low and behold the existing 40mm fan screams itself in to life as per usual till it calms down. Why didn't I video this ohh yes shock but here it is with the case on and no hiding that its the FSP500-50FSPT internals and its fan!!!.


Part way though with the additional hole for stand off.


In with the 500W platimum beastie.



Plenty of height space for a wide variety of widths of 80mm fans.


With the lid on and only just enough space in the cable loom exit hole.



WHAT's next? FAN TIME!

Now normally I'd go the way of Adda, Sunnon, Sanyo Denki or similar, as is my old industrial computing background ways. Rather than the many spurious consumer brands that litter the market.

HOWEVER....in the interests of speed and time and just for intestests sake, an Artic F8 PWM should arrive tomorrow. 2000 rpm, very low noise enough Cfm compared to the 40mm, Sufficient Air pressure by comparison, possibly not.

Now I have rushed this aspect, in the interest of quickly getting to a start point of PSU running. Looking at the original fan, a Delta AFB0412SHB, it has 4 wires and I'm going with the blind assumption that it is PWM controlled and not some odd 4 wire configuration with just a variable voltage being used on the 12v line.

Guess we'll find out tomorrow!! Will probably be doing a little scavaging at this point for a standard size 4 wire fan pin header as the original cooler has one of thoose lovely teenie tiny connector headers. Delicate and I've nothing to crimp pins that small to wires that thin. So it'll be a chop job on the old fan and a bit of soldering. This will at least enable different 80mm PWM fans (hopefully it is) to be easily fitted and tested. With out having to disconnect the tiny connector as its not so easy to remove once the PSU in housed.

Forward we go.
NOCTUA!!!...
 

psycho88

Average Stuffer
Jan 18, 2017
56
28
I'm waiting for testing, does this PSU hit 80+ bronze efficiency?
is it possible to make modular cable for the psu?

cheers :)
 

Overtek

Airflow Optimizer
Original poster
OVERTEK
Gold Supporter
May 22, 2017
305
490
www.overtek.co.uk
I'm waiting for testing, does this PSU hit 80+ bronze efficiency?
is it possible to make modular cable for the psu?

cheers :)

It's a transplant effectively of a 500W Platinum PSU in to a larger short depth TFX housing. So the PSU housing goes from 150x81.5x40.5mm up to 140x85x65mm. The additoinal space enables us to use an 80mm fan instead of a 40mm and should move it from a screaming monster at full load and startup to a humming bird in filght enabling a low noise highly efficient PSU with a real continuous 500W load capacity.

If we are able to get a small supply of the housing we're moving in to then it will be a strictly low volume custom hand produced unit. Getting the base housing will be the tricky part, as its not in their interest to provide them or support our needs. Should know soon on this
 

Overtek

Airflow Optimizer
Original poster
OVERTEK
Gold Supporter
May 22, 2017
305
490
www.overtek.co.uk
After spiling blood and enjoying my first tasty zap for a good while...Amazing what fun you can have with a fan and an open power supply whilst trying to decode random fan wiring!!...should learn to never leave the mains cord in, even when PS-ON isn't taken to active low!

So obviously Red goes to Yellow, Brown goes to Blue and Yellow goes to Green. At least black to black, good old Ground.

Enjoy the vids.

power on test with low noise fan

power on test from earlier in the week with original fan.
 

Overtek

Airflow Optimizer
Original poster
OVERTEK
Gold Supporter
May 22, 2017
305
490
www.overtek.co.uk
End of week 1 update.

A piece of PCB now lopped off enabling correct fitting and a few other minor bits of fettling done.

Next week
Fan frame width to be skimmed down a touch to enable housing to meet correctly at one end. This is due to the tabs on the housing and the extra depth on the fan. Shorter depth fan could be utilised but the position as it is now means air is forced perfectly own in to the psu components with out losses straight to the exhaust vented end.

Hopefully start load testing

 

darksidecookie

SFF Lingo Aficionado
Feb 1, 2016
115
141
End of week 1 update.

A piece of PCB now lopped off enabling correct fitting and a few other minor bits of fettling done.

Next week
Fan frame width to be skimmed down a touch to enable housing to meet correctly at one end. This is due to the tabs on the housing and the extra depth on the fan. Shorter depth fan could be utilised but the position as it is now means air is forced perfectly own in to the psu components with out losses straight to the exhaust vented end.

Hopefully start load testing

it's dead silent O.O
 
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Overtek

Airflow Optimizer
Original poster
OVERTEK
Gold Supporter
May 22, 2017
305
490
www.overtek.co.uk
From a case and thermals design point of view one advantage of the fan air inlet being at 90° to the exhaust is that it can mount in a corner drawing external air in from the outside and exhausting to the outside without pulling any internal case air in. Keeps the PSU internals as cool as possible
 
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