Power Supply HDPlex AC-DC and DC-DC combo

Kmpkt

Innovation through Miniaturization
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KMPKT
Feb 1, 2016
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Hey Guys,

I've recently spoken to Larry at HDPlex and it sounds like he'll be releasing the new 250W AC-DC w/ PFC unit next month to go with the HDPlex 250W DC-DC board. He's also given me the dimensions of the unit as being 52mm x 52mm x 150mm. I know there's been a lot of talk about Flex ATX as the next thing in SFF, but looking at the progressively lower and lower wattage requirements that seem to come with each generation of hardware, I'm surprised there hasn't been more talk about this option. The HDPlex combo is noiseless, modular and should produce relatively little heat at 250W. Additionally this solution allows you to distribute the power supply over two separate locations in the case likely shrinking overall design considerably from the Flex ATX option with its substantial cable bulk. I'm actually planning a build in the next couple of weeks that will utilize the 160W variant of these units as a sort of proof of concept. Just wanted to get some ideas from some of the more knowledgable members of the community regarding these units. Also worth mentioning is I've contacted Larry to see if there is the possibility to do something more compact or alternatively more efficient or higher wattage for a higher price point. I think if we could get 350-400W into the same envelopes it'd be pretty awesome.
 
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Phuncz

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May 9, 2015
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I'm more in favor of this idea than the offloading by using external power bricks, even though I understand the advantages that holds. I especially like the ATX's mounting position to be used for this kind of positioning, but breaking it down into two smaller parts also allows more diverse builds, in the same way watercooling and heatpipes are able to allow large cooling in not just a handful of internal layouts.
 
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Kmpkt

Innovation through Miniaturization
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Not to be a stickler, but within the community I also find it a tad irritating when people are saying they've managed to create 4-6L build but then they have a honking Voodoo or Dell AC-DC that is at least an additional litre in size.
 
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aquelito

King of Cable Management
Piccolo PC
Feb 16, 2016
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You simply replace the external AC-DC brick by the DC-ATX converter :



Not to be a stickler, but within the community I also find it a tad irritating when people are saying they've managed to create 4-6L build but then they have a honking Voodoo or Dell AC-DC that is at least an additional litre in size.

The same way people moved out big HDD to NAS enclosures, some other move the PSU out of their small case.
This DC-ATX converter sure is a better solution, reliabilty-wise.
 
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K888D

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You simply replace the external AC-DC brick by the DC-ATX converter :





The same way people moved out big HDD to NAS enclosures, some other move the PSU out of their small case.
This DC-ATX converter sure is a better solution, reliabilty-wise.

Thanks for the explanation, that looks like a good alternative to external bricks.
 

Phuncz

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May 9, 2015
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The same way people moved out big HDD to NAS enclosures, some other move the PSU out of their small case.
While a PC power supply is meant to do one thing, power the PC, a NAS can be used for multiple purposes. Along with being a ZFS system which isn't natively supported on most OSes, my NAS allows media streaming, off-site backups as well as being the central bulk storage for all my devices, while my PC is off. My PC could easily carry the capacity but then I wouldn't have a centralized storage solution on ZFS anymore.
 
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Stevo_

Master of Cramming
Jul 2, 2015
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While a PC power supply is meant to do one thing, power the PC, a NAS can be used for multiple purposes. Along with being a ZFS system which isn't natively supported on most OSes, my NAS allows media streaming, off-site backups as well as being the central bulk storage for all my devices, while my PC is off. My PC could easily carry the capacity but then I wouldn't have a centralized storage solution on ZFS anymore.

In a similar way an external brick can also be used to power multiple computers/laptops. I also power my work laptop and a fanless build in an L1 case that I use to test out Linux distros, very convenient for my use model. All feed the same monitor and use the same KM combo.
 

Kmpkt

Innovation through Miniaturization
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KMPKT
Feb 1, 2016
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You use a single brick to power multiple devices? Would you mind describing how you achieve this, I'm really interested in potentially doing a NUC build using this sort of solution.
 

BirdofPrey

Standards Guru
Sep 3, 2015
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I'm more in favor of this idea than the offloading by using external power bricks, even though I understand the advantages that holds. I especially like the ATX's mounting position to be used for this kind of positioning, but breaking it down into two smaller parts also allows more diverse builds, in the same way watercooling and heatpipes are able to allow large cooling in not just a handful of internal layouts.
Definitely. I've looked at the HDPlex and PicoPSUs in the past to power a small system since, once you get into the really small sizes, th PSU itself begins to demand the largest percentage of the total volume, and where the video card can be made parallel to the motherboard or on a riser elsewhere, the PSU is a non-negotiable volume, so the separate AC-DC and DC-DC solutions interest me, but I don't like external stuff on my PC, and it's been hard to find an AC-DC only part to supply the 12VDC that has enough wattage to actually power a video card.

Not to be a stickler, but within the community I also find it a tad irritating when people are saying they've managed to create 4-6L build but then they have a honking Voodoo or Dell AC-DC that is at least an additional litre in size.
I tend to agree with that as well. Both from the fact it is unfair when people brag about how small their system is when they aren't measuring one of the components that the others are just because it's outside the case, but also because I don't tend to like power bricks much anways. They really make cable spaghetti worse, and, frankly, having to cart around another piece to make your computer work doesn't actually sound all that portable compared to just being able to plug it into the wall (granted, I know laptops do this and people are used to it, that doesn't mean it isn't a pain in the ass)

The same way people moved out big HDD to NAS enclosures, some other move the PSU out of their small case.
This DC-ATX converter sure is a better solution, reliabilty-wise.
First of all, the NAS isn't a required component to get the PC to work. Even without the NAS the computer usually has enough storage onboard to do a fair bit of stuff. Without the brick, though, the system won't work.
Second, if you are using an NAS for bulk storage on a single machine, you are doing it wrong. it's much easier and simpler to just include more storage on your system. When you have an NAS you can use it to serve multiple computers (be it multiple family computers or to sync a desktop and a mobile computer) or even as a personal cloud you can connect to away from home. Some also allow media streaming to various devices

You use a single brick to power multiple devices? Would you mind describing how you achieve this, I'm really interested in potentially doing a NUC build using this sort of solution.
I had assumed he meant he used one brick and switched out between machines.

A single AC-DC solution that can power multiple computers, on the other hand, would be bomb.
It's a shame everything seems to use a different voltage; with how many digital devices we use nowadays, a lot of the AC coming into your house gets converted to DC. It would be much more efficient to have a single large AC-DC power supply than a bunch of smaller ones, and possibly more convenient.
I'd add to that, With things like UPSs for computers or people with solar panels on their roofs charging batteries, we tend to end up having AC and DC power converted multiple times, which is highly inefficient.
 
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Kmpkt

Innovation through Miniaturization
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I actually tried using a simple Y-splitter from one AC/DC supply once using a NUC an a 19-12V buck converter to power a Gigabyte Brix and 750ti. Fried the shit out of the Brix (literally started smoking). So for anyone else's reference that approach DOES NOT WORK (lol).
 
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|||

King of Cable Management
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A single AC-DC solution that can power multiple computers, on the other hand, would be bomb.
It's a shame everything seems to use a different voltage; with how many digital devices we use nowadays, a lot of the AC coming into your house gets converted to DC. It would be much more efficient to have a single large AC-DC power supply than a bunch of smaller ones, and possibly more convenient.
I'd add to that, With things like UPSs for computers or people with solar panels on their roofs charging batteries, we tend to end up having AC and DC power converted multiple times, which is highly inefficient.

Yeah, I'm trying to find a compact 12V switching power supply with 350W+ capacity. The smallest I can find are 3" x 5" boards, but I'd want to find smaller ones. That way I could supply all of the 12V directly and only need to do conversion for the minor rails, which could be done with something like a Pico-PSU, keeping overall efficiencies high.
 

BirdofPrey

Standards Guru
Sep 3, 2015
797
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I've also investigated butting a battery system inside a computer feeding directly into DC-DC converter to save on having an external unit that has to rectify then invert just to have the PC rectify it again, but again, all the UPS circuits and load balancers, etc. that I can find are low wattage.
I don't know enough about making PSU electronics (or especially the microcontroller so the PC can receive data or even managed it) to make one myself.
 

Kmpkt

Innovation through Miniaturization
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KMPKT
Feb 1, 2016
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Stevo_

Master of Cramming
Jul 2, 2015
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You use a single brick to power multiple devices? Would you mind describing how you achieve this, I'm really interested in potentially doing a NUC build using this sort of solution.

As BirdofPrey said, just plugging, The only DC power splitters available seem to be 5.5x2.1mm.
 

aquelito

King of Cable Management
Piccolo PC
Feb 16, 2016
952
1,122
First of all, the NAS isn't a required component to get the PC to work. Even without the NAS the computer usually has enough storage onboard to do a fair bit of stuff. Without the brick, though, the system won't work.
Second, if you are using an NAS for bulk storage on a single machine, you are doing it wrong. it's much easier and simpler to just include more storage on your system. When you have an NAS you can use it to serve multiple computers (be it multiple family computers or to sync a desktop and a mobile computer) or even as a personal cloud you can connect to away from home. Some also allow media streaming to various devices

The NAS example was just a thought regarding the growing demateralization of the PC functionalities, hence the growing demateralization of the PC enclosure : NAS, iPads, online workstations... tend towards the disappearance of fix computers, even small ones.

Just a thought on what exactly is a PC case in 2016, when its only fuction is to hold components that no longer have to be enclosed anymore :)

One of the things I've been looking at is LED drivers. I don't know a lot about electronics, but they seem to be AD-DC and some from Meanwell etc. are pretty compact. I'm looking into a similar solution myself, so if you find anything out let me know. As a VERY rough example, something like this:

http://ca.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Mean-Well/HLG-600H-12B/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMurHQmwyojo5OQvbrWHqxr3wGYAi%2bG8UglgykQsXiEpoA==

Qinx shared his LED driver experience here : kees KogelMier - a tiny powerhouse
 

vluft

programmer-at-arms
Jun 19, 2016
159
140
Anybody know status on the HDPLEX 250W AC-DC? Would work great for me and means I could make my S4 brickless.
 

Kmpkt

Innovation through Miniaturization
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KMPKT
Feb 1, 2016
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The first version Larry did was only 52mm high but didn't work. He's had to redesign it hence the delay.
 
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