PICO PSU Questions

livEwirE

Hi all,

I'm getting the parts ready for my first ever build - a HTPC.
So far I'm going with...

MB: ASRock FM2A85X-ITX, FM2, ITX
CPU: AMD A6 5400K Black Edition with AMD Radeon HD 7540D
Case: Streamcom FC8 EVO Fanless Case
RAM: 4GB
HDD: TBD


I'm looking for a 150w PICO PSU and power brick, I'm not sure if that is overkill. The machine will have one 2.5" HDD + one 60gb SSD, possibly an ODD too. I've been browsing on ebay but am totally lost - there are so many options. How much should I be paying for one? I don't want to buy a fake one that will damage my system Can anyone recommend any reliable ebay sellers please?

Although it's 120w would this do the job? I would prefer 3 SATA connectors if that is possible or do they only one come with one as standard?

Could I simply replace the cable highlighted in the pic with one with 3 sata connections on it? If so, what would this cable be called and where would I get one online please?


Cheers:D

marco_polo

One of these should do the job just fine or alternatively this either (attaches to the header pins on the PCB).

Incidentally the case is about £10 cheaper on scan, even after accounting for the (i think) £12.50 shipping (Using parcelmotel might save a few quid more on top). You could put the difference towards this newly released Gigabyte mobo if you wanted (with bluetooth and WIFI).

livEwirE

Excellent info about the picopsu cables marco_polo! Thanks for the tip on the case and the alternative mobo, will definitely consider it.

marco_polo

livEwirE wrote: »

Excellent info about the picopsu cables marco_polo! Thanks for the tip on the case and the alternative mobo, will definitely consider it.

Not sure the 120W has the extra header actually, I can't see one. (The image you posted looks like the 150W)

The 150W definately does is €50 quid on amazon(and looks like super saver is available) so would just need to pickup a 12V power brick somewhere.

livEwirE

That image was just random from google, it was not related to the 120w I posted. That pico psu on amazon looks good alright. Any ideas where to get the power brick? Sorry I don't know much about these things Should i be looking for something like this AC DC Adapter Switching Power Supply 12V 12.5A 150W PSU. or this?

marco_polo

livEwirE wrote: »

That image was just random from google, it was not related to the 120w I posted. That pico psu on amazon looks good alright. Any ideas where to get the power brick? Sorry I don't know much about these things Should i be looking for something like this AC DC Adapter Switching Power Supply 12V 12.5A 150W PSU. or this?

They are probably the same but I can't really tell clearly from the eBay listing, the amazon one is definately ok anyway.

livEwirE

marco_polo wrote: »

They are probably the same but I can't really tell clearly from the eBay listing, the amazon one is definately ok anyway.

Can you double check that you think the amazon one is okay please mate?
I thought the amazon one was lacking on detail and the ebay one had more. I will go with the amazon one if you reckon its definitely ok. Thanks for all your help and advice!

Monotype

I would be wary of the power bricks... there was an article linked (on this forum, I think) a while back on how some are very poorly made, in particular the knock-offs from the Asian markets of the big brands. Judging by the English in that ebay listing, I would say that it's gone through a translator.

Mr McBoatface

Picopsu IMO are overpriced - I'm using these psu boards and they work fine. I believe they are made by Shenzhen Realan who from what I can tell make just about every aluminium itx case and accompanying psu out there, they are then re-branded and sold under different names.

If you are going to get a 12v power brick get one that is "LEVEL V" power efficient like this Channel well power brick (use parcel motel if ordering this postage is cheaper)

If you are going to fork out money for a PICOPSU get the "XT" 12v model or the "WI" wide power input range, they are more efficient than the standard 12v volt input models. Check out www.mini-box.com for the different models. The wide input model have the advantage of being able to use 19w laptop power bricks which there are lots of good quality models cheap as chips, easy to find.

The Streacom FC8 EVO is also cheaper here , not as cheap as Scan.co.uk. Not sure what shipping cost are.

livEwirE

@ Monotype, sound advice thanks mate

@ jobyrne, brilliant advice, thanks for this, you are right about the overpriced Picopsu, might go with your option and the power brick you suggested, cheers mate Apologies for my ignorance but will the brick you mentioned above work with the psu board you mention. It's just that the psu board says it is 150w but the brick says 120w?

The best price I found for the Streacom FC8 EVO case is £109 here - fingers crossed I can use Parcel Motel.

marco_polo

livEwirE wrote: »

@ Monotype, sound advice thanks mate

@ jobyrne, brilliant advice, thanks for this, you are right about the overpriced Picopsu, might go with your option and the power brick you suggested, cheers mate Apologies for my ignorance but will the brick you mentioned above work with the psu board you mention. It's just that the psu board says it is 150w but the brick says 120w?

The best price I found for the Streacom FC8 EVO case is £109 here - fingers crossed I can use Parcel Motel.

The CWT brick will be fine its just that you would only be able to pull its rated 120w whereas the actual psu itself could go higher if the brick could safely supply it.

FSP make a very good and efficent full 150w unit but I can only find it for about £45+ in a handful of places :eek:. TBH 120w should be loads for such a system anyway.

livEwirE

marco_polo wrote: »

The CWT brick will be fine its just that you would only be able to pull its rated 120w whereas the actual psu itself could go higher if the brick could safely supply it.

FSP make a very good and efficent full 150w unit but I can only find it for about £45+ in a handful of places :eek:. TBH 120w should be loads for such a system anyway.

Thanks for clarifying that Marco_polo.

What OS are you using? If it's Linux (eg OpenElec) then you'd be better off with an Intel solution.

livEwirE

[Deleted User] wrote: »

What OS are you using? If it's Linux (eg OpenElec) then you'd be better off with an Intel solution.

I will be using windows 7 or possibly 8 so am very happy to be going with AMD.

livEwirE

OP here with an update

@ jobyrne30, thanks again for the recommendations mate.

I have now received the Channel well power brick

I am still waiting on the psu board

Apologies for the dumbass question but how exactly does this board connect to the m-itx motherboard. I assume an atx power cable connects from the motherboard into the atx connector on this board and then I connect the power cables from this board to my devices such as hard disks, ODD etc. Am I right here or am I way off:o Are there any pics online to show how these kinds of boards work in htpcs please?


One last thing is this an alternative to the board I have ordered from ebay above? I've been waiting weeks on delivery. The sellers has advised me today to wait another 5-7 days as its held up with hong kong post for x-raying. Is the board you've recommended much better than the uk one? Am getting a little pi$$ed waiting on it so might just order the other one from the uk

livEwirE

livEwirE wrote: »

Are there any pics online to show how these kinds of boards work in htpcs please?

The power board is on the left in this pic


A single cable comes from the 20-pin connector on the power board and gives you a mobo connector, SATA power and molex. If you want anything else you'll need splitters or adapter cables.

Mr McBoatface

There are cables that connect psu board to the motherboard, harddrive etc. That board in the UK is very simular and should work to, It took 3-4 weeks for my psu boards to arrive from Hong Kong, I wouldn't wait much longer before opening a paypal dispute.

livEwirE

@ I Kill You Scum! Thanks for the pics. It gives me a good idea of what's involved

@ jobyrne30 - My ebay order - Dispatched 24th September - Estimated delivery between Wed. 16 Oct. and Thu. 7 Nov. Contacted the seller today and he sent me the message below. Seems legit, not sure if I should wait another 5-7 days or just get a refund. What would you guys do? Should alarm bells be ringing - the guy has nothing for sale now in his store To be fair I got the exact same reason from another China based seller for a delay in another item ordered on ebay in the last few weeks.


thank you for your recent purchase.

I want to update you about some recent delays on items shipping from Hong Kong

Recently the Post announced that all items shipping by air are now subject to x-ray screening for regulated materials. This additional screening has cause delay in shipment.

Please be assured that your order has shipped, but may arrive late because of this issue.

I apologize for the delay, and want to make sure you are satisfied with your purchase.

To ensure that you have a great eBay experience, I'd like to offer you two options:

1. If you are comfortable with waiting, pls wait 5-7days
2. If you prefer a refund, please feel free to contact me.
Please let me know how you wish to proceed.
Once again, thank you for your purchase. Your patience is greatly appreciated.
Warm regards,

Mr McBoatface

Don't let it go past the 45 Days (I think it's 45) to start the dispute process, you will be left high and high. If it was me I'd open one as a precaution and close the case if/when the board arrived.

livEwirE

@ jobyrne30, followed your advice and stated a dispute as a precaution. Fingers crossed my board will arrive soon

livEwirE

The psu never arrived and I got a full refund from the seller. This is the PSU I ordered.

Would this alternative PSU do the same job and work with my power brick? I'd rather pay more and get it from a UK supplier instead of having to wait several weeks for another ebay seller from China :rolleyes:

Genghiz Cohen

You could also order off Amazon.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mini-Box-picoPSU-150-XT-mini-ITX-supply-package/dp/B005TWE578/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384366489&sr=8-1&keywords=pico+psu
I make no claims that the linked PSU is what you need though

Mr McBoatface

livEwirE wrote: »

The psu never arrived and I got a full refund from the seller. This is the PSU I ordered.

Would this alternative PSU do the same job and work with my power brick? I'd rather pay more and get it from a UK supplier instead of having to wait several weeks for another ebay seller from China :rolleyes:

It should work fine, according to the ebay description that board will take a power brick with a 5.5 x 2.5mm barrel which is what the power brick come with. On a side note that ebay seller has some really nice kit, i really like the Iwill HT80 itx case

livEwirE

Genghiz Cohen wrote: »

You could also order off Amazon.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mini-Box-picoPSU-150-XT-mini-ITX-supply-package/dp/B005TWE578/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384366489&sr=8-1&keywords=pico+psu
I make no claims that the linked PSU is what you need though

Cheers for that mate, will keep it in mind:D

livEwirE

@ jobyrne30, thanks for confirming that the psu will work fine with my power brick

You're right about that case, it's a great looking piece of kit!

livEwirE

Update: I FINALLY got the PSU today from the ebay seller, only took 2 months to arrive. The crazy thing is he refunded me yesterday

Mr McBoatface

Nice one Something similar happened to me recently. Did you place the order for the other psu board ?

livEwirE

No I didn't place the order for the other psu board as I was going to wait for a few days just in case. The strange thing is, the guy issued my refund on Wednesday of this week, the board arrived on Thursday. He sent me a message on Wednesday...

"ok, i am sure it will arrive in the next days, if you get pls pay back"

When it did arrive, I thought I had a moral dilema, should I pay the guy as it did eventually get it? But then I thought, hell no! After all the hassle I've had I'm not paying a cent, sure he wouldn't know it arrived anyway and it was relatively low value at €23 It arrived in a small jiffy bag and was VERY poorly wrapped with a small piece of bubble wrap around it, haven't had a chance to test it yet but hopefully it actually works!

livEwirE

livEwirE wrote: »

When it did arrive, I thought I had a moral dilema, should I pay the guy as it did eventually get it? But then I thought, hell no! After all the hassle I've had I'm not paying a cent, sure he wouldn't know it arrived anyway and it was relatively low value at €23

It would be pretty lousy not to pay. It's not the sellers fault it took 2 months, that's the nature of buying from China. It clearly said economy shipping.

€23 might be low value to you but it's not to most Chinese sellers. He seems to have been friendly in his communication.

If you're not happy with the packing say so in the feedback and don't use him again.

Genghiz Cohen

Don't be lame dude, pay your way.

livEwirE

Okay fair,enough, have paid now