Mini-ITX Gaming build (Tiny PSU!)

Ok so next month I'll be building a mini-itx gaming system in a very small case (its definitely a box you'll recognize :D). I've worked everything out except for the PSU.

I need a PSU that fits in an area that is absolutely no bigger than an optical drive (1.5" tall, 8" long, 3.5-4" wide), but at the same time I need at least 20A on a single 12V rail for the gaming graphics.

I've found some pretty small PSUs but they are either too tall, or don't have enough juice on a single 12V rail.

I've been searching for weeks, anyone have any ideas?

Thanks,
Nick

How many watts is this thing going to draw? I've done several NES parts mock ups, but always get stuck at the PSU because they are either too big, or don't give enough power.

The best I've found is a 250W psu, but that's not a whole lot when it comes to gaming.

Good luck and please please please let me know whatever you find. I could do a decent NES with 350W.

There is a concept you may not have thought of...

Two PSUs-one PicoPSU and then one of the Thermaltake ODD-sized auxiliary VGA PSUs. A bit more wiring, but honestly, who's afraid of wiring?

What hardware is going in it? One of these would almost fit in that space (3.2"x1.7"x6"), but the biggest one is only 300W. I think I've seen a 330W of that size before, but don't remember where. A 1U PSU would fit (3.875"x1.5"x7.5"..the one I checked anyway, check the size on one before you get it, sometimes they're really long), and Newegg has them up to 700W (though that one is 9.84" long..and only has 16A on the 12V line). Another option would be to get one of these small redundant PSUs, pull out one of the modules, and rewire it. The full units are about 8x6x3.5, so you would probably end up with something about 6-7x5.5-6x1.5-1.7, and Newegg has them up to 658W. Alternately, you could do something like what Kayin suggested. I have a 203W XBox 360 PSU you could have for $10+shipping if you want (16.5A 12V rail and 1A 5V rail).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by d_stilgar

How many watts is this thing going to draw? I've done several NES parts mock ups, but always get stuck at the PSU because they are either too big, or don't give enough power.

The best I've found is a 250W psu, but that's not a whole lot when it comes to gaming.

Good luck and please please please let me know whatever you find. I could do a decent NES with 350W.

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If I had to guess I'd say around 300. I'm not having any trouble finding a 300W PSU that fits, but instead one that has enough amps for the gfx card...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kayin

There is a concept you may not have thought of...

Two PSUs-one PicoPSU and then one of the Thermaltake ODD-sized auxiliary VGA PSUs. A bit more wiring, but honestly, who's afraid of wiring?

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Ok that sounds pretty good, if I'm running this mobo, 4GB DDR3 1600 RAM, two fans and an optical drive, what picoPSU would you suggest? The highest wattage kit I've found is 102W, and I don't think thats enough.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by x88x

What hardware is going in it? One of these would almost fit in that space (3.2"x1.7"x6"), but the biggest one is only 300W. I think I've seen a 330W of that size before, but don't remember where. A 1U PSU would fit (3.875"x1.5"x7.5"..the one I checked anyway, check the size on one before you get it, sometimes they're really long), and Newegg has them up to 700W (though that one is 9.84" long..and only has 16A on the 12V line). Another option would be to get one of these small redundant PSUs, pull out one of the modules, and rewire it. The full units are about 8x6x3.5, so you would probably end up with something about 6-7x5.5-6x1.5-1.7, and Newegg has them up to 658W. Alternately, you could do something like what Kayin suggested. I have a 203W XBox 360 PSU you could have for $10+shipping if you want (16.5A 12V rail and 1A 5V rail).

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I'm going to be running everything I listed right above plus this graphics card.

Thanks,
Nick

I think they come up to 200W. If you offload that GPU with the separate VGA PSU, then it should be just fine.

Lemme fish for a link here...

http://www.mini-itx.com/store/?c=10

There's a 150, what processor are you using? Grab that Xbox PSU, there's really little better for this.

I dunno if I'd be up for the wiring task of getting an Xbox 360 PSU working with this computer :?... would it be that hard?

Thanks,
Nick

Here's something else to look at. http://www.mini-box.com/DC-DC. I have both the M and V versions of the 200W PSU if you are interested. Looking at the specs though the 12v rail only goes up to 13amps.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by d_stilgar

Here's something else to look at. http://www.mini-box.com/DC-DC. I have both the M and V versions of the 200W PSU if you are interested. Looking at the specs though the 12v rail only goes up to 13amps.

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I was eying those, but I can't seem to find a 200W AC-DC converter "brick"; what do you use?

Thanks,
Nick

Ok so I got a hold of an old Thermaltake 250W GPU PSU for free...Now I just need a main PSU for the system...

I've searched the web for nearly an hour: I need a DC-DC power supply capable of running a mini-itx core i3 system (with hard drive, disk drive and fans)

Thanks,
Nick