World's smallest power supply - the picoPSU - bit-tech.net Forums

WilHarris · 7th Jan 2006, 01:57

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2006/01/07/pico_psu/

PrometheusCon · 7th Jan 2006, 02:05

That is probably one of the coolest things I have seen in a while. People are constantly focusing on CPUs and GPUs while it seems the PSU market is overlooked. This is incredible on how small they got that to be. I would probably want a small box around it just in case though.

Seanz0rz · 7th Jan 2006, 02:13

http://www.mp3car.com/store/product_...bd69413da8ff1f

nothing new, just smaller and presumeably thats a 120/240VAC psu instead of 12VDC

Firehed · 7th Jan 2006, 02:22

http://www.logicsupply.com/product_i...roducts_id/181
It's been, in effect, done. Though I like this one a bit more.

DXR_13KE · 7th Jan 2006, 02:48

OMG that is small, smurf power supply, must fight the urge to put it in my big server tower that i dont have.

*gets a axe and starts to chop his PSU into a smaller version*

AaaaaH!!! thats bether, but not small enough

*gets into a steam roller*

OMG it does not work, NOO!!! IT IS DEAD!!!

*casts a magical PSU revival spell*

tThe PSU is now paper thin and works LOL

mattthegamer463 · 7th Jan 2006, 02:58

well, i found my next power supply(for a crazy small pc mod). that is probably the coolest psu ever made, better than all the modular and UV sleeved ones combined.

Zidane · 7th Jan 2006, 03:05

/me lubbs
/me wants
/me wants to see the look on peoples faces when they see a 240V mains cable 'plugged in' to the motherboard.

-Xp- · 7th Jan 2006, 04:08

If that thing is actually mains powered (and doesn't have an external power brick), which the article implies, then they havn't done a great job of shielding the live contacts.

Firehed · 7th Jan 2006, 04:10

As you can see on the molex line, there's a socket attached for (12v?) DC input, a la brick. True of all power supplies intended specifically for miniITX boards.

r3Q · 7th Jan 2006, 04:18

yea it does say "DC TO DC powersupply" so you will need a power transformer still, but much less of an issue than an actual unit that you need to put INSIDE the PC - espically if its a very very small application.

very cool stuff for sure.

Mister_Tad · 7th Jan 2006, 08:00

very cool indeed!
kind of on topic: where the hell are nano-ITX boards???

FuzzyOne · 7th Jan 2006, 08:04

I belive they have just a 3rd revision and somewhere I read there starting to trickle out in the east

Boon · 7th Jan 2006, 08:27

Hoe come no one produces an external PSU for normal sized desktop use. Completely passive and no worry about heat remaining in the case it would be awesome. Now I hear it's difficult to cooler 400W production but what would stop someone using 4 of these mini-units or similar and hooking them up in parallel?

A nice single connector at the usual location for the PSU which would split into you ATX molex connectors. Perhaps it's something to due with the distances involved but if it's possible in other circumstances, read 360, then why not a PC solution.

The_Pope · 7th Jan 2006, 09:17

Hey guys, to answer some of the questions not necessarily covered in the story:

1) External power brick = yes

2) Anyone requesting more power than 120W should be made aware that a C7 mini ITX board draws no more than 35W peak, so this is more than enough.

3) Nano-ITX *is* on the way "soon". True, that's been said many times before, but VIA have never been closer to launch than they are today :P

4) Thanks for Seanz0rz and Firehead for the links, but this is WAY smaller than those. Maybe it depends on your needs, but this is one half to one third (easily) the size of those other PSUs.

5) Price = around 50 bucks, though I'm not sure that comes with the laptop power brick. However, our friends at FSP can sort you out with one of those quite economically: http://www.fspgroup.co.uk/u.k/02_newproducts/NB120.htm

We'll be taking a closer look at the picoPSU after we get back from CES.

Gordy · 7th Jan 2006, 09:48

Shame it actually will take up more space than their existing designs which don't increase the foot print of the motherboard at all.

The problem is there are too many different via boards now and they can't make a specific one for each of them.

BoomAM · 7th Jan 2006, 14:54

Just imagine how much smaller an Epia system could be made now.

ch424 · 7th Jan 2006, 17:10

What we can see looks damn cool... Have you got any pics of the whole setup?

ch424

Nexxo · 7th Jan 2006, 17:48

Must... build... media PC... Can't... resist...

mattthegamer463 · 7th Jan 2006, 17:51

ok, so it has a external power brick? thats still a lot better than using a normal PSU because its far more versatile. you can put it in the case or stick it on the back or have it on the floor behind the desk or media cabinet. its still worth it in my opinion, and definitely a better choice than a conventional PSU.

David_Fitzy · 7th Jan 2006, 17:53

Just what I'll need for my future ammo case style pc I prefer the look of this one to the ones Seanz0rz and Firehed linked to as the picoPSU mounts vertically on the mobo and not sideways potentially into other components.

7th Jan 2006, 01:57	#1
WilHarris Just another nobody Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Oxford Posts: 2,671	World's smallest power supply - the picoPSU http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2006/01/07/pico_psu/

7th Jan 2006, 02:22	#4
Firehed Why not? I own a domain to match. Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: An hour north of Boston Posts: 12,576	http://www.logicsupply.com/product_i...roducts_id/181 It's been, in effect, done. Though I like this one a bit more. __________________ hire me @ eric-stern.com - web developer and php ninja pics @ my smugmug :: Twitter @firehed :: blog @ firehed.net 40D\|580EXII\|285HV\|AB800\|70-200f/4LIS\|17-50f/2.8\|150f/2.8Macro\|50f/1.8 MacPro @ 8x2.8GHz, 10GB FBDDR2, 3TB HD :: MBP @ 2x2.2GHz, 4GB DDR2, 320GB HD

7th Jan 2006, 02:48	#5
DXR_13KE Madeira's banana is the best!!! Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Madeira ; Portugal Posts: 6,461	OMG that is small, smurf power supply, must fight the urge to put it in my big server tower that i dont have. gets a axe and starts to chop his PSU into a smaller version AaaaaH!!! thats bether, but not small enough gets into a steam roller OMG it does not work, NOO!!! IT IS DEAD!!! casts a magical PSU revival spell tThe PSU is now paper thin and works LOL __________________ *Renegade X - 0.40 Release!* <---- CLICK! Last edited by DXR_13KE; 7th Jan 2006 at 02:54.

7th Jan 2006, 02:58	#6
mattthegamer463 Mod Master Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Canada Posts: 2,805	well, i found my next power supply(for a crazy small pc mod). that is probably the coolest psu ever made, better than all the modular and UV sleeved ones combined. __________________ Latest Work: Boombox Build Project PCB- Complete Digital Picture Frame 2.0- Complete RumbleMouse - Complete Latest Project: TestPC- Complete Lian-Li PC7: C2D E6600, XFX 8800GTS 640MB, Corsair 2GB PC6400, 320GB Seagate Barracuda, EVGA 680i SLi, OCZ 850W

7th Jan 2006, 03:05	#7
Zidane Hypermodder Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: At my desk. Posts: 687	/me lubbs /me wants /me wants to see the look on peoples faces when they see a 240V mains cable 'plugged in' to the motherboard. __________________ You dont need a reason to help people. `Zidane Tribal. Bit-Tech Folding@Home Team 33346 -> here Join the Bit-Tech Folding@Home team -> here need a hand joining or setting up? ask us on the bit-tech forums -> here

7th Jan 2006, 02:05	#2
PrometheusCon Stop! Hammertime. Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Hel...err Pennsylvania Posts: 159	That is probably one of the coolest things I have seen in a while. People are constantly focusing on CPUs and GPUs while it seems the PSU market is overlooked. This is incredible on how small they got that to be. I would probably want a small box around it just in case though.

7th Jan 2006, 02:13	#3
Seanz0rz What's a Dremel? Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Redlands, CA, USA Posts: 7	http://www.mp3car.com/store/product_...bd69413da8ff1f nothing new, just smaller and presumeably thats a 120/240VAC psu instead of 12VDC

7th Jan 2006, 04:08	#8
-Xp- Supermodder Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Sheffield, UK Posts: 557	If that thing is actually mains powered (and doesn't have an external power brick), which the article implies, then they havn't done a great job of shielding the live contacts.

7th Jan 2006, 04:10	#9
Firehed Why not? I own a domain to match. Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: An hour north of Boston Posts: 12,576	As you can see on the molex line, there's a socket attached for (12v?) DC input, a la brick. True of all power supplies intended specifically for miniITX boards. __________________ hire me @ eric-stern.com - web developer and php ninja pics @ my smugmug :: Twitter @firehed :: blog @ firehed.net 40D\|580EXII\|285HV\|AB800\|70-200f/4LIS\|17-50f/2.8\|150f/2.8Macro\|50f/1.8 MacPro @ 8x2.8GHz, 10GB FBDDR2, 3TB HD :: MBP @ 2x2.2GHz, 4GB DDR2, 320GB HD

7th Jan 2006, 04:18	#10
r3Q Supermodder Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Liverpool, NY Posts: 544	yea it does say "DC TO DC powersupply" so you will need a power transformer still, but much less of an issue than an actual unit that you need to put INSIDE the PC - espically if its a very very small application. very cool stuff for sure. __________________ -r3Q Athalon XP2400+ @2.1ghz, Abit NF7-S, 80gb, seagate SATA, GeForce 6600GT, 1gb DDR-400 ram, modded Razer: Viper official moderator at caraudio.com

7th Jan 2006, 08:00	#11
Mister_Tad Serious about coffee Moderator Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Nottingham Posts: 7,555	very cool indeed! kind of on topic: where the hell are nano-ITX boards???

7th Jan 2006, 08:04	#12
FuzzyOne Cola Cube'aaays Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Ipswich Posts: 1,397	I belive they have just a 3rd revision and somewhere I read there starting to trickle out in the east __________________ Twitter \| YouTube \| Flikr \| DZone \| UserStyles

7th Jan 2006, 08:27	#13
Boon Supermodder Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 271	Hoe come no one produces an external PSU for normal sized desktop use. Completely passive and no worry about heat remaining in the case it would be awesome. Now I hear it's difficult to cooler 400W production but what would stop someone using 4 of these mini-units or similar and hooking them up in parallel? A nice single connector at the usual location for the PSU which would split into you ATX molex connectors. Perhaps it's something to due with the distances involved but if it's possible in other circumstances, read 360, then why not a PC solution.

7th Jan 2006, 09:17	#14
The_Pope Geoff Richards Moderator Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: UK Posts: 2,089	Hey guys, to answer some of the questions not necessarily covered in the story: 1) External power brick = yes 2) Anyone requesting more power than 120W should be made aware that a C7 mini ITX board draws no more than 35W peak, so this is more than enough. 3) Nano-ITX is on the way "soon". True, that's been said many times before, but VIA have never been closer to launch than they are today :P 4) Thanks for Seanz0rz and Firehead for the links, but this is WAY smaller than those. Maybe it depends on your needs, but this is one half to one third (easily) the size of those other PSUs. 5) Price = around 50 bucks, though I'm not sure that comes with the laptop power brick. However, our friends at FSP can sort you out with one of those quite economically: http://www.fspgroup.co.uk/u.k/02_newproducts/NB120.htm We'll be taking a closer look at the picoPSU after we get back from CES.

7th Jan 2006, 09:48	#15
Gordy Evil Teddy Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Bristol Posts: 2,485	Shame it actually will take up more space than their existing designs which don't increase the foot print of the motherboard at all. The problem is there are too many different via boards now and they can't make a specific one for each of them. __________________ modding.gordyhand.co.uk

7th Jan 2006, 14:54	#16
BoomAM Multimodder Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: UK Posts: 133	Just imagine how much smaller an Epia system could be made now. __________________ http://www.anandtech.com/myanandtech.html?member=76821 "I am standing in the sky on the roof of a glass and steel office tower in Rotterdam. There are twenty-one floors of air between me and the concrete pavement below. I am about to do what i do best. I am about to jump." - Jackie Chan

7th Jan 2006, 17:10	#17
ch424 Design Warrior Join Date: May 2004 Location: Oxford, UK Posts: 2,510	What we can see looks damn cool... Have you got any pics of the whole setup? ch424

7th Jan 2006, 17:48	#18
Nexxo ...like a geek! Moderator Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Birmingham, UK Posts: 15,092	Must... build... media PC... Can't... resist... __________________ "You actually hope to achieve your ideals, I just use mine as an excuse to hate everything" --specofdust "There is no Real Life, only Away From Keyboard" --gpw111 "...my wife says I can't have any trolls, cause they argue with the dog and eat the fish" --KayinBlack

7th Jan 2006, 17:51	#19
mattthegamer463 Mod Master Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Canada Posts: 2,805	ok, so it has a external power brick? thats still a lot better than using a normal PSU because its far more versatile. you can put it in the case or stick it on the back or have it on the floor behind the desk or media cabinet. its still worth it in my opinion, and definitely a better choice than a conventional PSU. __________________ Latest Work: Boombox Build Project PCB- Complete Digital Picture Frame 2.0- Complete RumbleMouse - Complete Latest Project: TestPC- Complete Lian-Li PC7: C2D E6600, XFX 8800GTS 640MB, Corsair 2GB PC6400, 320GB Seagate Barracuda, EVGA 680i SLi, OCZ 850W

7th Jan 2006, 17:53	#20
David_Fitzy Multimodder Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Kiwiland Posts: 197	Just what I'll need for my future ammo case style pc I prefer the look of this one to the ones Seanz0rz and Firehed linked to as the picoPSU mounts vertically on the mobo and not sideways potentially into other components. __________________ Duel of the Duals! Athlon XP2400+ \| Generic FX5200 \| SOYO Platinum Dragon Ultra \| 1GB Crucial Ram \| Maxtor PATA 7200 HDDs: 2x40Gb (RAID0), 2x200Gb(RAID0) \| Jeantech Phong case \| Black DVD-everything \| Black Skythe Kama-meter \| dreaded blue LED fans (didn't read the description properly) At least it's all one colour scheme now