Question 600 watt Pico ATX Power supply Possible? Is it enough power for a mini itx build?

reaper89971

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Jun 2, 2023
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Hello I am going to build a computer in a really small space or case. I would have to use a pico atx power supply. I found a 600 watt Pico ATX Power supply and im wondering if 600 watts is actually possible with a pico power supply? Will the pico power supply be enough to power my system?

My computer build specs
Motherboard: Asrock IMB-1220-D industrial Mini ITX
Motherboard has 4 usb ports, 1 serial port, at least i think its a serial port, 3 display ports, 2 lan ports
Processor: Intel i9-10900 65watt 10th generation socket 1200
Ram: 2 sticks of DDR4 32gb 2933
Graphics card: Nvidia PNY or PNY Nvidia T1000 8gb gddr6 50 watt
Hard Drive: Samsung 870 EVO 4tb 2.5 inch sata hard drive
PCIe x16 adapter vertical 90 degree

600 watt Pico Power supply output claims
5v 7amp
3.3v 6amp
12v1 43 amp
-12v 1amp
5vsd 3amp

So again im concerned the 5v rail and 3.3v rail are to weak. How strong of a 5v rail and 3.3volt rail do you need these days?
The 12v rail seems strong enough but idk about the other rails.
 

kanewolf

Titan
Moderator
Hello I am going to build a computer in a really small space or case. I would have to use a pico atx power supply. I found a 600 watt Pico ATX Power supply and im wondering if 600 watts is actually possible with a pico power supply? Will the pico power supply be enough to power my system?

My computer build specs
Motherboard: Asrock IMB-1220-D industrial Mini ITX
Motherboard has 4 usb ports, 1 serial port, at least i think its a serial port, 3 display ports, 2 lan ports
Processor: Intel i9-10900 65watt 10th generation socket 1200
Ram: 2 sticks of DDR4 32gb 2933
Graphics card: Nvidia PNY or PNY Nvidia T1000 8gb gddr6 50 watt
Hard Drive: Samsung 870 EVO 4tb 2.5 inch sata hard drive
PCIe x16 adapter vertical 90 degree

600 watt Pico Power supply output claims
5v 7amp
3.3v 6amp
12v1 43 amp
-12v 1amp
5vsd 3amp

So again im concerned the 5v rail and 3.3v rail are to weak. How strong of a 5v rail and 3.3volt rail do you need these days?
The 12v rail seems strong enough but idk about the other rails.
Can you share a link to the power supply in question ?
 
Motherboard: Asrock IMB-1220-D industrial Mini ITX
Motherboard has 4 usb ports, 1 serial port, at least i think its a serial port...
That motherboard has two serial (COM) ports on the back. They're the turquoise coloured ports on the far left, one above the other.

Not sure what you were looking at. If it was a blue port in the upper middle, (a) that's a VGA port and (b) it's only on the -L, not the -D.
 

wwenze1

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Mar 22, 2020
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Getting power into a small space is easy. Getting heat out of that small space is hard. Experience as the owner of Sugo 13, a mini-ITX 2.6L case, and currently a laptop with RTX4050. 600W PSU aren't small either. But these are not related to the thread topic.

PicoPSUs can have very small to very large ratings but the size remains similar. The secret is that most PicoPSUs and most normal ATX PSUs today in general don't have a lot of +3.3V or +5V. So the PicoPSU only needs a bit of circuitry to convert +12V to +3.3V and +5V, and the rest of the wattage rating is on the +12V which all it needs to do is to get a few high-current MOSFETs to pass DC through. Something with a 2.2mohm RDSon and 40A rating and it can pass 480W of 12V with 3.52W of heat easy peasy.

CPUs and GPUs use mostly +12V. +3.3V and +5V are used for peripherals including those on the motherboard. Desktop PSUs still keep some amount of +3.3V and +5V because some people still have multiple SSDs/HDDs for example. But for a barebones PC with not many parts, the PicoPSU is enough.

Reason for asking the PSU model is because many untrusted sellers just pull the wattage and amp rating from their backside. Is the 600W rating real? You probably need only 200W btw.
 

reaper89971

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Jun 2, 2023
136
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585
Well I am now considering just trying to crame in a flex atx.

DPS-400AB-12 A Delta electronics​

But not sure if it would be enough power. It has 2 12 volt rails that claim 21amps each at a combined rating of 32.5 amps

How does that work? How do the rails combine if there separate circuits. How would the 12v rails combine to get 32.5 amps if they are separate from one another?
 

wwenze1

Reputable
Mar 22, 2020
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There is only one transformer winding that generates all the 12V. That winding (and the switching devices) is capable of 32.5A. It splits into multiple cables or cable group or "rails". Each rail can draw max 20A (due to some ATX standard limit or something).

No different from how your house has a circuit breaker of multiple 25A circuits coming from an outside line of a higher capacity.
 

reaper89971

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Jun 2, 2023
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Well i can fit the flex atx power supply in my case but i have to have it open framed. Would i be able to Pot the flex atx or would the psu die from heat. It is air cooled with a 40mm fan. Wondering if i could get away with potting the power supply then having air blow on it. Cause i have to squeeze it right next to my other components. The power supply will sit above the motherboard or above the graphics card opened framed. I really think potting my graphics card might be the better option. They will be millimeters apart from one another. I am building a PC inside of a fat model playstation 2. So there isn't much room in there. I can get my board and graphics card in there just fine. The only issue is power. The best fitting power supplies are not strong enough for my components. I will post some photos later