I'm going for an external psu

[rthorntn]

Hi All,

I'm building:

Custom SFF case
ATX Z68 board
45w SB Xeon w/onboard graphics
2 x SSD
4 x 1TB 2.5" WD Blue
4 x slow 120mm fans
2 x PCI cards that run hot so must draw a lot
3 x PCIe cards (10gbe and two 11n)

Will add another 2 x PCIe cards (10gbe and dual port 1gbe)

My worry is the different rails, I forget the specifics but I was looking at the canadian 24v medical board with a 180w ish psu.

I guess my question is can these pico PSUs handle a lot of PCI express cards?

Richard

[Dr. Jim Pomatter]

Looking for the good oil.

That is what we recommend you buy. In this place, people often recommend expensive stuff. I am going to guess that you do not speak English as your native language, and that this idea is a direct translation of your language slang.

I'm building:
Custom SFF case
ATX Z68 board
45w SB Xeon w/onboard graphics
2 x SSD
4 x 1TB 2.5" WD Blue
4 x slow 120mm fans
2 x PCI cards that run hot so must draw a lot
3 x PCIe cards (10gbe and two 11n)

Wow, 5 expansion cards, 6 drives, and 4 fans in a SFF case?
(How small can a SFF case be when it is holding that much stuff that "run hot"?)

Sounds like you need a full tower case or a rack-mount super-server case.

Will add another 2 x PCIe cards (10gbe and dual port 1gbe)

I believe that most 10 Gbe cards run really hot. Cards that have optical fiber output are normally put into rack mount cases, as moving the computer could damage the fiber. Over flexible wires 10 Gbe/T only runs over short distances of about 15 meters. (AFAIR)

I guess my question is can these pico PSUs handle a lot of PCI express cards?

The pico PSUs have a rated output power. This is usually in the product name. For example PICOPSU-150-XT, is a Pico PSU with an output of up to 150 watts. It will regulate its output to keep voltages correct when the computer draws under 150 watts.

PCI express 16x cards can draw up to 75 watts through the motherboard connector. Cards need to use power directly from the power supply (via 6 pin and 8 pin connectors that supply 12v) to bridge the gap from 75 watts up to the 250 watt limit in the PCI express specification.

I don't know why you want to use an external PSU with so much hardware. If your computer is going to hold this many components, then you may want to also use an internal PSU. I guess this odd (perhaps incorrect) configuration is why the case will have to be custom.

My worry is the different rails, I forget the specifics but I was looking at the canadian 24v medical board with a 180w ish psu.

Are you being forced to use a 24v power supply due to the computer being part of medical equipment?

If that is correct, you may want to employ a DC-to-DC power supply to covert that 24v down to 12v. You can power your motherboard off of a wide-input Pico PSU like the pico-PSU-120WI-25V it can supply up to 120 watts.

The people who make the Pico PSU also make a DC-to-DC coverter called the DCDC-USB. It can supply another 120 watts at 12v that you could connect to a 6-pin PCI express power lead, if any of your cards require direct power.

I don't understand how these different parts of your post are connected. You will have to elaborate if you want more effective advice.

[rthorntn]

Thanks for the info Jim.

I see the specs for the 10G card - 10 watts
The two PCI cards are 8 watts each

It isn't as bad as I thought.

There is no link to medicine (I was referring to the electrodacus 130 watt pico from ebay), its a security appliance.

So roughly:

45w cpu
20w motherboard
16w PCI
24w PCIe
10w disks

So 115ish watts, add some extra for fans and inefficiency...

The four fans will be mounted two per side, one side pushing, the other pulling.

The case is the height of a 120mm fan and the depth of two 120mm fans (to minimise dead space) no vents or fans in the front or rear panels.

Possible?

--Richard

[Dr. Jim Pomatter]

I see the specs for the 10G card - 10 watts
The two PCI cards are 8 watts each

It isn't as bad as I thought.

There is no link to medicine (I was referring to the electrodacus 130 watt pico from ebay), its a security appliance.

So roughly:

45w cpu
20w motherboard
16w PCI
24w PCIe
10w disks

So 115ish watts, add some extra for fans and inefficiency. The four fans will be mounted two per side, one side pushing, the other pulling.

I still think that you would be better off if you do not use a custom case or an external power supply. I would suggest that you get a high-quality case with a card cooler.

I like that Lian Li makes some nice cases. The PC-A05NA and the PC-A05NB are both compact for what they hold. With your large number of cards, you should get forced ventilation for the card area Lian Li BS-03 120mm PCI Cooling or the
Lian Li 140mm PCI Cooling.

Enjoy!

[rthorntn]

Thanks Jim.

So as an update.

ASRock Z68 Extreme4 bought (I need the PCIe slots and bandwidth)
i5 2500t
8GB RAM
4 x WD10TPVT (5 VDC, Read/Write, 500mA)
PCI card (3.3V or 5V, 5W max)
PCI-e (powered from 3.3V and 12V, 2.5A and 0.14A maximum, respectively, a total of 10W maximum)
PCI-e (3.3v, 1.3A)
PCI-e (3.3v, 1.3A)
4 x Gentle Typhoons (800 rpm: 0.023 A - 9 dBA - 48 m³/h)

So I am looking at the PicoPSU-160-XT and PSU.

I guess what I am asking is will this work, in theory?

Thanks.

--Richard

[ces]

I am not certain I understand the requirements here. But...

Seems like this is really well suited to the Lian Li q-08 case.

It also seems like a single PicoPSU might not be quite up to the task. Electrodacus on this forum sells a dual external PSU that can deliver 2 x 130 watts.... that equals 260 watts. He sells a special hookup that allows you to hook two of his 130 watt external Winmate power supplies. These power supplies were originally speced for some medical equipment.

See:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/Winmate_DD-24AX

http://shop.ebay.ca/merchant/electrodacus

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