I thought I'd make a thread about my experimentations with AliExpress power supplies. Hopefully this might help some of you to make some less blinded choices! I've had a few good experiences and one very bad one. I'll start with the one I consider a failure and waste of money.
THE BAD
PICO-BOX Z4-ATX-200 (16-24V, 180w Rated, 200w Peak)
Paid 72$CAD
This thing seems like it's not available anymore. Not very surprised. I think there was a flaw in the design, or maybe, more probably, a flaw in the implementation of those who built the PCB from specs, because it was supposed to be comparable to the HDPlex 200W, based on its design, but it wasn't able to reliably power anything with a discrete GPU. The only way to make it stable-ish, is to keep the load below 140W and ideally use a higher voltage source, like 24V instead of 19V.
THE GOOD
12V 300W PicoPSU
Paid 63$CAD for 3 units
I read a few reviews, and it seemed like this unit wouldn't have trouble powering around its rated power, or at the very least 200w, so for the price, I thought I'd order 3 units, especially because I planned on trying to mod it, since it has open vias available for 12V power, which is one of its main appeal, it's very handy to mod to your needs. It relays its input 12V directly through its 12V vias.
I've had good success with it powering ~200w peak builds, including my i5-11400+rtx a2000 build, which has difficult spikes to handle. The only problem I had is that without modifying it, the thing would overheat and shut down. I had to mod it to pass through some 12V directly to the 24pin connector's 12v pins.
With this mod, I haven't had issues so far.
I also tested one unit running a discrete GPU (by adding a 12V PCIe connector to its free vias) and it didn't have issues handling it at all. It was another ~200w peak build.
THE AWESOME
250W AC/DC (180w fanless, 250w with fan) 12V semi-open power supply unit
Paid 48$CAD
So this thing is a semi-naked power supply, with screw posts on each side, one side for AC (the one in focus), and one with 2x 12V+ and 2x 12V-. That's it. I tested it with a build that when tested would pull around 200w on load, and up to 290w peak (11400 no constraint, 140w short burst, 100w constant, GTX 1660 SUPER, no constraint). This thing handled it like a champ. No hiccups even though peaks were above its rated limit. The hottest components on the board would get very hot very fast when running close to its limit constantly (expectedly), but putting a fan on top (as recommended), made it run cool.
I left it powering the build, running Unigine Heaven and/or Prime95 for some period of time without issue.
THE AWESOME(?) (CONTINUED...)
600W 12V PicoPSU (43A rated 12V power)
Paid 45$CAD
So I don't know if this thing can hold up to its claims, because 600W is a lot, but it IS designed with very heavy gauge input 12V wires, with open screw posts, and an XT60 connector in between. The tests I made with the AC/DC PSU above were done with this PicoPSU on that build, and the thing didn't even get hot to the touch. It's initially impressive. It seems like it can handle a lot more power indeed.
QUESTIONS?
So if you have any questions or comments, go ahead, I'll keep an eye on this thread. I hope to maybe use the AC/DC power supply to fully internalize the power components in my white xbox-like build I made recently. I also kinda regret buying the 360W Mean Well external power brick now, as this 48$ AC/DC power supply does the job amazingly it seems. It's not a bad buy though, I might eventually use it, maybe with the 600W PicoPSU on a future build, but still, LOL, 200$CAD is a lot of money.
THE BAD
PICO-BOX Z4-ATX-200 (16-24V, 180w Rated, 200w Peak)
Paid 72$CAD
This thing seems like it's not available anymore. Not very surprised. I think there was a flaw in the design, or maybe, more probably, a flaw in the implementation of those who built the PCB from specs, because it was supposed to be comparable to the HDPlex 200W, based on its design, but it wasn't able to reliably power anything with a discrete GPU. The only way to make it stable-ish, is to keep the load below 140W and ideally use a higher voltage source, like 24V instead of 19V.
THE GOOD
12V 300W PicoPSU
Paid 63$CAD for 3 units
I read a few reviews, and it seemed like this unit wouldn't have trouble powering around its rated power, or at the very least 200w, so for the price, I thought I'd order 3 units, especially because I planned on trying to mod it, since it has open vias available for 12V power, which is one of its main appeal, it's very handy to mod to your needs. It relays its input 12V directly through its 12V vias.
I've had good success with it powering ~200w peak builds, including my i5-11400+rtx a2000 build, which has difficult spikes to handle. The only problem I had is that without modifying it, the thing would overheat and shut down. I had to mod it to pass through some 12V directly to the 24pin connector's 12v pins.
With this mod, I haven't had issues so far.
I also tested one unit running a discrete GPU (by adding a 12V PCIe connector to its free vias) and it didn't have issues handling it at all. It was another ~200w peak build.
THE AWESOME
250W AC/DC (180w fanless, 250w with fan) 12V semi-open power supply unit
Paid 48$CAD
So this thing is a semi-naked power supply, with screw posts on each side, one side for AC (the one in focus), and one with 2x 12V+ and 2x 12V-. That's it. I tested it with a build that when tested would pull around 200w on load, and up to 290w peak (11400 no constraint, 140w short burst, 100w constant, GTX 1660 SUPER, no constraint). This thing handled it like a champ. No hiccups even though peaks were above its rated limit. The hottest components on the board would get very hot very fast when running close to its limit constantly (expectedly), but putting a fan on top (as recommended), made it run cool.
I left it powering the build, running Unigine Heaven and/or Prime95 for some period of time without issue.
THE AWESOME(?) (CONTINUED...)
600W 12V PicoPSU (43A rated 12V power)
Paid 45$CAD
So I don't know if this thing can hold up to its claims, because 600W is a lot, but it IS designed with very heavy gauge input 12V wires, with open screw posts, and an XT60 connector in between. The tests I made with the AC/DC PSU above were done with this PicoPSU on that build, and the thing didn't even get hot to the touch. It's initially impressive. It seems like it can handle a lot more power indeed.
QUESTIONS?
So if you have any questions or comments, go ahead, I'll keep an eye on this thread. I hope to maybe use the AC/DC power supply to fully internalize the power components in my white xbox-like build I made recently. I also kinda regret buying the 360W Mean Well external power brick now, as this 48$ AC/DC power supply does the job amazingly it seems. It's not a bad buy though, I might eventually use it, maybe with the 600W PicoPSU on a future build, but still, LOL, 200$CAD is a lot of money.
