Power Supply A Guide to 12V PSU

[Thehack]

IIRC the components in your PC "pull" the necessary current as needed from the PSU. And then you just have to make sure that the PSU can supply the current at the rail(s) and the wire gauge is thick enough to avoid overheating from the current.

Correct me if I'm wrong @Thehack but I believe the EPP-200 has a single rail, right? EDIT: looks like @Aibophobia answered that just a few minutes ago

I'm planning on getting a PICO box z1 160W plug in unit since I can get them much cheaper than a PicoPSU and I don't plan to push the 160W limit.

Yes you are correct. But you have to make sure all the components can support that current including connectors and wires. If you exceed the current it is designed for you get melted plastic and burned up parts or a fire hazard.

The diagram looks like single rail. I just emailed the tech support for clarification.

For your build I recommend you wire similarly to how I did it in the picture. Wire the CPU 4 pin straight from the PSU instead of the picobox you intend to use. It is important to check the 12v rating of the PDCB you are using. Based on my research most cheaper PDCB maxes out at 8A-10A on the 12V line. If you split the CPU 4pin from it you should be able to safely power a pcie GPU and CPU at 150W. I just bought the new kaby lake pentium so I'll report back when I test it.

 

[Sicaris]

Ok, this is good. My intention would be to use a g-unique PDCB with the EPP-200 and (hopefully) a GTX 1060, so I could wire the g-unique, 4 pin and 6/8 pin on separate outputs from the meanwell or run 2 sets of wires to the g-unique (2*10*12 = 240 W) and then run everything out from there. Is there any distinct advantage to one of these wiring schemes over the other?

 

[Thehack]

Ok, this is good. My intention would be to use a g-unique PDCB with the EPP-200 and (hopefully) a GTX 1060, so I could wire the g-unique, 4 pin and 6/8 pin on separate outputs from the meanwell or run 2 sets of wires to the g-unique (2*10*12 = 240 W) and then run everything out from there. Is there any distinct advantage to one of these wiring schemes over the other?

The advantage would be being able to go with a lower spec PDCB. The G-unique is not cheap at $60 shipped.

However the g-unique does reduce wire clutter. At 200W that is pretty close to the max output you're running. I'm assuming you intend to use a 35W CPU? I would then recommend you run the output to the GPU directly from the meanwell and the run the 4pin CPU from the G-UNIQUE.

However I feel like the EPP 200 is more fit for GTX 1050/ti or rx 460 builds.

 

[Kmpkt]

Out of curiosity, is everyone planning to use the PSU planning on actively cooling it? Was just looking at the spec sheet and it says it's only rated for 140W passively cooled (convection).

 

[CC Ricers]

Actively cooling would greatly increase its power capacity, but the recommended fan placement I find a bit problematic. It makes it awkward to do in situations like ours where we want to cram as much stuff into a small a case as possible. A 50mm fan sitting 50mm away from its side is a lot of wasted empty space in a tiny 4L case. Would be better if the cooling would benefit also by placing the same fan directly in front of the short side of the PSU.

For your build I recommend you wire similarly to how I did it in the picture. Wire the CPU 4 pin straight from the PSU instead of the picobox you intend to use. It is important to check the 12v rating of the PDCB you are using. Based on my research most cheaper PDCB maxes out at 8A-10A on the 12V line. If you split the CPU 4pin from it you should be able to safely power a pcie GPU and CPU at 150W. I just bought the new kaby lake pentium so I'll report back when I test it.

Great advice. I figure that would be a lot safer and also feel much more like a conventional wiring layout where the different cables come straight from the AC unit. However it may not be necessary if I use a 35W CPU which I already have.

Now, there's a less conventional setup I've been thinking about. A discrete GPU with a motherboard using those ultra low power embedded Intel CPUs. I know that the CPU would pose a potential bottleneck along with the limited PCIe 2.0 lane width but I've seen at least one build trying it out and showing good results. A low power moderate gaming build that consumes only about 100W of power.

 

[jeshikat]

There's a variant of the RPS (the EPP with extra certification for medical use) with a top-mounted fan: http://www.trcelectronics.com/Meanwell/medical-power-supply-top-fan-rps-400-tf.shtml

 

[Kmpkt]

Makes me wonder if you could mod it to have a thin 80mm like the Noise Blocker in place.

http://www.blacknoise.com/datas/downloads/datasheets/TData_BSP8015_122012_de_en.pdf

 

[Thehack]

I got word from the meanwell tech support and they confirmed the pins are connected internally so it is single rail and it is safe to combine them if you need to.

Out of curiosity, is everyone planning to use the PSU planning on actively cooling it? Was just looking at the spec sheet and it says it's only rated for 140W passively cooled (convection).

In my use case I am using the EPP 300. It is not directly cooled but there will be airflow around the case, so it is not completely convection cooled. That should allow me to safely power a 1060 and i5 with ease.

 

[Thehack]

Actively cooling would greatly increase its power capacity, but the recommended fan placement I find a bit problematic. It makes it awkward to do in situations like ours where we want to cram as much stuff into a small a case as possible. A 50mm fan sitting 50mm away from its side is a lot of wasted empty space in a tiny 4L case. Would be better if the cooling would benefit also by placing the same fan directly in front of the short side of the PSU.



Great advice. I figure that would be a lot safer and also feel much more like a conventional wiring layout where the different cables come straight from the AC unit. However it may not be necessary if I use a 35W CPU which I already have.

Now, there's a less conventional setup I've been thinking about. A discrete GPU with a motherboard using those ultra low power embedded Intel CPUs. I know that the CPU would pose a potential bottleneck along with the limited PCIe 2.0 lane width but I've seen at least one build trying it out and showing good results. A low power moderate gaming build that consumes only about 100W of power.

The kabini I used to test is about 28W. It has about the performance of embedded solutions. If Intel lack of performance improvement is indicative, it best out the Celeron J1900 when kabini was released. I'm sure the current embedded chips are on equal performance now.

 

[CC Ricers]

Apollo Lake CPUs are one gen ahead of the J1900 so it's likely on par with Kabini. Also, most use only 10W of power instead of 28W.

 

[Thehack]

It would be nice to also include Mouser links for the wiring parts in addition to Digi-Key. Mouser requires $100 min for free shipping to Canada, so I'm going to see if I can buy everything from them.

Here's what I've found so far. Someone else should probably also verify that these are correct:

JST plug for AC input

• VHR-5N 5 pin plug for AC input (EPP-300). Mouser Store
• VHR-3N 3 pin plug for AC input (EPP-100, 200, 400). Mouser Store

C14 Panel Power Entry - Mouser Store

I checked the drawings the it is keyed differently than the JST version. I would not be able to say it works for sure.

I updated the parts you need for input and output.

 

[Sicaris]

The advantage would be being able to go with a lower spec PDCB. The G-unique is not cheap at $60 shipped.

However the g-unique does reduce wire clutter. At 200W that is pretty close to the max output you're running. I'm assuming you intend to use a 35W CPU? I would then recommend you run the output to the GPU directly from the meanwell and the run the 4pin CPU from the G-UNIQUE.

However I feel like the EPP 200 is more fit for GTX 1050/ti or rx 460 builds.

My current setup is a 51W i3 and a 1050, but I'm considering an upgrade path of 35W i5 and 1060. The S4 mini manages this on a 192W PSU so it should be OK on the meanwell. The advantage of the wiring you suggest would be that I can wire up the g-unique with the 4 pin initially (using 2 sets of output pins) and then add the GPU wiring at a later date if i decide to upgrade.

Out of curiosity, is everyone planning to use the PSU planning on actively cooling it? Was just looking at the spec sheet and it says it's only rated for 140W passively cooled (convection).

I plan on having direct cooling from a case fan, still working out the best arrangement of components though.

 

[Sicaris]

Just a thought I had from over in the thin mITX thread, is a meanwell PSU able to provide ATX power directly? By which I mean, does a PDCB just pass through the 12 V used without any alteration? If this is the case could you wire directly from the meanwell to the ATX connector if you didn't need any SATA power? There's probably something major I'm missing here but it seemed worth asking.

 

[EdZ]

Just a thought I had from over in the thin mITX thread, is a meanwell PSU able to provide ATX power directly? By which I mean, does a PDCB just pass through the 12 V used without any alteration? If this is the case could you wire directly from the meanwell to the ATX connector if you didn't need any SATA power? There's probably something major I'm missing here but it seemed worth asking.

The motherboard itself requires more than just 12V, it also expects 3.3V, 5V (plus a separate standby 5V line), and possibly -12V.

 

[Sicaris]

Sad times, its funny how between mITX, thin mITX and mSTX there's all the things you could hope for in SFF but not all on the same board. Oh well perhaps in the future.

 

[Thehack]

PSU in action in a 6.7L case. Not actually running yet. Will first load test with a G4560 and RX 460

 

[EdZ]

PSU in action in a 6.7L case. Not actually running yet. Will first load test with a G4560 and RX 460

Nice! Might need a cage to prevent it spewing RF around the inside of the case though, depending on how 'clean' a PSU design the Meanwell is.

 

[Thehack]

Nice! Might need a cage to prevent it spewing RF around the inside of the case though, depending on how 'clean' a PSU design the Meanwell is.

I'll know myself in a few days once I test it. I haven't heard of any issues with an open ac-dc PSU spewing RF though. I have a cheapo infared thermometer incoming, an a Gigabyte RX 460 which I intend to load test. I'm putting my money where my mouth is with this build.

I have another thread more centered on the build. However, since this one has a lot more visibility, is anyone interested in me releasing a few "reference" versions to build around?

 

[Thehack]

Currently running it as my main desktop with the G4560 until Ryzen releases.

I am about to put in an order for JST connectors. Any of the followers in this thread need a JST connector made? If it is all you need, it'll spare you the trouble of buying a $40 tool.

 

[Ceros_X]

Currently running it as my main desktop with the G4560 until Ryzen releases.

I am about to put in an order for JST connectors. Any of the followers in this thread need a JST connector made? If it is all you need, it'll spare you the trouble of buying a $40 tool.

Not unless you want to do some for a PicoPSU :V