Prototype J-HACK PLUGin 200X

Thehack

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Hello,

I am currently working on a PLUGin board that is available in 200W version. This total board power competes with the HDPLEX 200W, but lacks PCIe. It will be produced in anticipation AMD's new 4000 series APU, ready for overclocking.

SPECS:
All new, J-HACK custom designed from the ground up for the SFF community.
- 4 pin modular connectors
- 200W Continuous board power
- "M2426" secondary function
- MW RPS-400 secondary function
- External Trigger (H and L)

 

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Shrink Ray Wielder
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Great! Any plans to offer a PCIe power adapter cable? I'm pretty sure we will also see some interesting next gen graphics cards with 125w coming up...
 

Thehack

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Great! Any plans to offer a PCIe power adapter cable? I'm pretty sure we will also see some interesting next gen graphics cards with 125w coming up...

If there is strong demand, there can be a 300W version. But there are multiple issues with a 300W version. For one, I don't offer a matching acdc which makes it generally unpopular.
 

robbee

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Out of interest, what made you decide against PCIe? In my honest opinion, this will have a hard time to compete against HDPlex and Minibox as I think it misses a real USP to make up for the lack of certifications and not being an established brand. Having a PCIe could fill the gap of a 12v plug in unit that is different from Minibox ones and that is readily available for the western market.

Nevertheless, great to see new products and I truly hope that this will be successful!
 

Thehack

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Out of interest, what made you decide against PCIe? In my honest opinion, this will have a hard time to compete against HDPlex and Minibox as I think it misses a real USP to make up for the lack of certifications and not being an established brand. Having a PCIe could fill the gap of a 12v plug in unit that is different from Minibox ones and that is readily available for the western market.

Nevertheless, great to see new products and I truly hope that this will be successful!

The issue is that what ac-dc would you pair it with?

The only real ac-dc is GST280A12 external unit, which unpopular. 200W external ac-dc doesn't provide enough power to fully handle a 125W gpu and a 65W cpu consistently. User experience is spotty, see HDPLEX 160.

The HDplex 400W is popular because it matches the ac-dc they have. The 12V equivalent is the RPS-400, which this supports (as well as the M2426).

So unless there is a 250W ac-dc option that is viable, there will not likely be a 300W version. Of course, Josh from NFC can always call me up and put in an order for a 100 of them then I would make them.

And finally, it competes with Minibox/Hdplex for the following reason:

1. All black pcb. High quality components
2. All modular connectors.
3. Real 200W rating. The HDplex has issue being 200W qualified, see their thread. Pcie use is limited due to requiring a low power cpu.
4. Multifunction of being M2426 built in, external trigger.
 
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Shrink Ray Wielder
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If there is strong demand, there can be a 300W version. But there are multiple issues with a 300W version. For one, I don't offer a matching acdc which makes it generally unpopular.

Well, I think there would be a market. The choice of good DC-DC plug in PSUs >=200w is quite limited. Concerning AC-DC, meanwell has some good 12v led driver bricks which would work.

Just let me know if you are interested, we could work together on this one and share MOQ/development cost.
 

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Shrink Ray Wielder
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Well, I think there would be a market. The choice of good DC-DC plug in PSUs >=200w is quite limited. Concerning AC-DC, meanwell has some good 12v led driver bricks which would work.

Just let me know if you are interested, we could work together on this one and share MOQ/development cost.

Just one example, they also have more powerful versions:
 

Thehack

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Well, I think there would be a market. The choice of good DC-DC plug in PSUs >=200w is quite limited. Concerning AC-DC, meanwell has some good 12v led driver bricks which would work.

Just let me know if you are interested, we could work together on this one and share MOQ/development cost.

LED driver bricks, or any kind of external bricks... are extremely unpopular. This is something I've discussed with Josh from NFC. The S4M does very well with external. It reduces heat inside the case, simplify the case build, but despite all that his orders have dropped off the cliff. When I developed the Distro 400, the existence of the HDPLEX 400 AC-DC has completely killed off my project.

Of course, if you need a 300W unit, let me know. MOQ is 30-50 units at distributor price. I have the plans drawn up already.
 

robbee

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And finally, it competes with Minibox/Hdplex for the following reason:

1. All black pcb. High quality components
2. All modular connectors.
3. Real 200W rating. The HDplex has issue being 200W qualified, see their thread. Pcie use is limited due to requiring a low power cpu.
4. Multifunction of being M2426 built in, external trigger.

You're right and those are some legit reasons. Although I consider the option to pair a 35W CPU with a 120W GPU a big plus for HDPlex and it would be great to be able to do that with a 12v build. Maybe I'm just biased because that's my personal idea of an optimal build on a 200W budget.
 

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Shrink Ray Wielder
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LED driver bricks, or any kind of external bricks... are extremely unpopular. This is something I've discussed with Josh from NFC. The S4M does very well with external. It reduces heat inside the case, simplify the case build, but despite all that his orders have dropped off the cliff. When I developed the Distro 400, the existence of the HDPLEX 400 AC-DC has completely killed off my project.

Of course, if you need a 300W unit, let me know. MOQ is 30-50 units at distributor price. I have the plans drawn up already.

That's interesting, didn't know this approach is so unpopular. Personally I wouldn't have a problem to throw the brick somewhere in order to have a nice, small and powerful sff on my desk or tv shelf. I mean that's the original idea of using pico-psus, right? Make space inside the case by moving the AC-DC part outside...

I find your distro 400 idea also very good. Since its modular it covers almost all scenarios. But yeah, if people don't like external bricks it's getting difficult.

Do you have a working prototype of the 300W version? Why are you planning to release the 200W instead?
 

Thehack

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That's interesting, didn't know this approach is so unpopular. Personally I wouldn't have a problem to throw the brick somewhere in order to have a nice, small and powerful sff on my desk or tv shelf. I mean that's the original idea of using pico-psus, right? Make space inside the case by moving the AC-DC part outside...

I find your distro 400 idea also very good. Since its modular it covers almost all scenarios. But yeah, if people don't like external bricks it's getting difficult.

Do you have a working prototype of the 300W version? Why are you planning to release the 200W instead?

No I do not. The concept of a 300W is the same as 200W though. Either beef up the mosfet, or double up the drivers/mosfet. The cost difference is through MOQ and engineering fees. There are other constraints as well. Fitting in large connectors, adding more SKU support it, like pcie cables or a range of other wire harness to fully support the system.

The 200W coincides with the Pure Mk2 and the NFC S4T.
 

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Shrink Ray Wielder
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No I do not. The concept of a 300W is the same as 200W though. Either beef up the mosfet, or double up the drivers/mosfet. The cost difference is through MOQ and engineering fees. There are other constraints as well. Fitting in large connectors, adding more SKU support it, like pcie cables or a range of other wire harness to fully support the system.

The 200W coincides with the Pure Mk2 and the NFC S4T.

Sure, understood. Let me think about it and see how many people would be interested.
 

smitty2k1

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The issue is that what ac-dc would you pair it with?

The only real ac-dc is GST280A12 external unit, which unpopular. 200W external ac-dc doesn't provide enough power to fully handle a 125W gpu and a 65W cpu consistently. User experience is spotty, see HDPLEX 160.

The HDplex 400W is popular because it matches the ac-dc they have. The 12V equivalent is the RPS-400, which this supports (as well as the M2426).

So unless there is a 250W ac-dc option that is viable, there will not likely be a 300W version. Of course, Josh from NFC can always call me up and put in an order for a 100 of them then I would make them.

And finally, it competes with Minibox/Hdplex for the following reason:

1. All black pcb. High quality components
2. All modular connectors.
3. Real 200W rating. The HDplex has issue being 200W qualified, see their thread. Pcie use is limited due to requiring a low power cpu.
4. Multifunction of being M2426 built in, external trigger.

You may want to add point 1. to your first post for visibility and explain to non-J-Hack-experts what point 4. "M2426 built in, external trigger" means.

Also I'm curious why you think the HDPlex 400 makes the Distro obsolete? I suppose 19V external bricks are more popular, but the Distro + Plugin eliminates the 24 pin cable, which is a huge win over the HDPlex 400 IMO.
 

Thehack

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You may want to add point 1. to your first post for visibility and explain to non-J-Hack-experts what point 4. "M2426 built in, external trigger" means.

Also I'm curious why you think the HDPlex 400 makes the Distro obsolete? I suppose 19V external bricks are more popular, but the Distro + Plugin eliminates the 24 pin cable, which is a huge win over the HDPlex 400 IMO.

It obsolete in the sense that people will go for an internal AC-DC, and so far the only one that is freely available is the HDPLEX 400W AC-DC, with a case to go with it. I designed it for the NFC S4M as well, but only a few people opt for this option. The HDPLEX internal is far more popular. Like, it swings internal 99 to 1.

12V internal AC-DC is not as developed, as you also need a case that supports it out of the box.
 

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Shrink Ray Wielder
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It obsolete in the sense that people will go for an internal AC-DC, and so far the only one that is freely available is the HDPLEX 400W AC-DC, with a case to go with it. I designed it for the NFC S4M as well, but only a few people opt for this option. The HDPLEX internal is far more popular. Like, it swings internal 99 to 1.

12V internal AC-DC is not as developed, as you also need a case that supports it out of the box.

Guess we should start working on an 400w 12v AC-DC with HDplex dimensions then. ;)
 

Thehack

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Guess we should start working on an 400w 12v AC-DC with HDplex dimensions then. ;)

Easier said than done. For AC-DC, the risk is higher. These are my guesstimate on how much it would cost.

Testing and certification: $6-10K.
Engineering/Customization fee: $20-50K
Engineering sample: 1K
MOQ: 1K


The HDPLEX AC-DC uses a very non-standard size, so it would be a highly customized design. AC-DC engineering is expensive.

Unfortunately, I don't have 50K in the back account for R&D. :D

But, if someone designs a case that fits the RPS-400-12-C, then it'd be an easy integration. It is on my list of projects, but looking at 2021 at the earliest. I am closing out 3 projects this year, 200X, M2426 and Pure Mk2.
 

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Shrink Ray Wielder
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Easier said than done. For AC-DC, the risk is higher. These are my guesstimate on how much it would cost.

Testing and certification: $6-10K.
Engineering/Customization fee: $20-50K
Engineering sample: 1K
MOQ: 1K


The HDPLEX AC-DC uses a very non-standard size, so it would be a highly customized design. AC-DC engineering is expensive.

Unfortunately, I don't have 50K in the back account for R&D. :D

High efficient smd step down converter then?
 

Thehack

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High efficient smd step down converter then?

That is what the HDPLEX 400 DC-ATX is. It's a big fat step down 19-24V to 12V. I mean, yes it is completely possible, but then I'd be in direct competition vs the HDPLEX 400 DC-ATX without any distinguishing features. HDPLEX makes good products and has good support as well.