Discussion USB PD DC-ATX PSU?

[Aluminyum]

(What a letter soup... Heh.)

The USB Power Delivery Revision 3.1 specification enables delivering up to 240W (48V at 5A) over a Type-C cable, so I was wondering: are there any USB-powered picoPSU/DC-ATX units available on the market?

Methinks it is time to get over the brick and the barrel.

 

[Analogue Blacksheep]

I was exploring this idea for a while for a potential Mister FPGA ITX build by using a cable like this.

There's also been developments in the classic console space where people have begun creating USB-C PSU's:

 

[msystems]

I guess we'll see. You can already attempt to convert a pico psu to PD input by using a 20v PD dummy trigger. I don't think a lot of the common pd chargers can handle the current spikes, so they cut out or shut down before the rated output when treated like a PSU. Thats just my observation from trying to run stuff using a dummy PD-trigger .

Pocket EGpu seemed to work fine with a 100 watt PD trigger module though, based on the pictures. So clearly it can work.

 

[Phuncz]

I'm afraid we don't just need a board that communicates the USB-C PD protocol but we also need a buffer, like @msystems already mentions with the chargers not being able to handle current spikes. So expect something with capacitors if you want the charger to survive.

 

[Aluminyum]

A couple relevant videos...



Also pictured is Linus stepping on a LEGO.

 

[Aluminyum]

@msystems @Phuncz Good points. Looks like we would need a special USB charger as well...

 

[Analogue Blacksheep]

Just to digress a little further, I think some of the work toward this goal has been done in the retro gaming/modding space. There's a fair amount of crossover between that and the SFF space, especially when it comes to Pico PSU units. There are quite a few projects you can find on Github, for example, the PicoDreamcast by chriz2600 that allows the use of a 24-pin DC-ATX with a Dreamcast.

A more relevant example would be the PS1 replacement PSU by Will's Consoles Mods which allows the use of USB-C for power delivery. I was considering this at some point which led me down a rabbit hole regarding brickless USB-C chargers that could be used.

 

[Aluminyum]

Getting there...