Could a desktop PC run on batteries?

[laliman96]

Could 4 of this manage it (ordinary PC with around 300W draw)?
http://

If yes, could modify a regular PSU to do it, or it is harder than that.
Also heard about picoPSU, but can it do 300W?
Ah*V=Wh also works for batteries? I mean 4 of that battery would give 960Wh? Because I think it sounds a bit ridiculous.

 

[Jester Maroc]

It can but not for long, and also do not expect the batteries to last very long as they have a limited amount of cycles, especially if you will be discharging them below 50% frequently.

80000mAh or 80Ah @ 12v = .96kWh. However, you will need to power your PSU at 110/220v, not at 12v. So you will need an inverter, which will mean energy loses. Do not expect to get more than 1 hour at 300watts.

 

[USAFRet]

And then you also have to power the monitor.

 

[laliman96]

But this is the full load power consumption. Would a desktop PC in idle draw significantly less?

 

[laliman96]

And then you also have to power the monitor.

That's not too much, around 20-30Wh.

 

[laliman96]

It can but not for long, and also do not expect the batteries to last very long as they have a limited amount of cycles, especially if you will be discharging them below 50% frequently.

80000mAh or 80Ah @ 12v = .96kWh. However, you will need to power your PSU at 110/220v, not at 12v. So you will need an inverter, which will mean energy loses. Do not expect to get more than 1 hour at 300watts.

Is it possible not to use an inverter? I mean every PC component needs 12V or less.

 

[Jester Maroc]

It is very risky to not use an inverter, especially with batteries like these since they will not be producing a consistent output of 12v (actually, they may not even produce a consistent 12v when full and brand new). The volts will decrease as the energy in the batteries gets drained. Rather purchase a solar battery or two, connect it to an inverter, and you will be assured of safe operation.

 

[USAFRet]

For a comparison as to what you might need, look at a UPS configuration.
APC UPS selector - http://www.apc.com/tools/ups_selector/US/en/home/device

Going through the config thing, to gain 11 minutes of runtime on my not outlandish PC (330 watts by their calc), is a $180 UPS, weighing 24 lbs, with an 8 hour recharge time.
http://www.apc.com/shop/us/en/products/APC-Power-Saving-Back-UPS-Pro-1000/P-BR1000G

 

[USAFRet]

It can but not for long, and also do not expect the batteries to last very long as they have a limited amount of cycles, especially if you will be discharging them below 50% frequently.

80000mAh or 80Ah @ 12v = .96kWh. However, you will need to power your PSU at 110/220v, not at 12v. So you will need an inverter, which will mean energy loses. Do not expect to get more than 1 hour at 300watts.

Is it possible not to use an inverter? I mean every PC component needs 12V or less.

And how, exactly, would you wire those batteries into the components that need 12v, and those that need 5v?
That's what your PSU does.

 

[laliman96]

It is very risky to not use an inverter, especially with batteries like these since they will not be producing a consistent output of 12v (actually, they may not even produce a consistent 12v when full and brand new). The volts will decrease as the energy in the batteries gets drained. Rather purchase a solar battery or two, connect it to an inverter, and you will be assured of safe operation.

I was thinking about a laptop made out of desktop parts, so that wouldn't be quite practical.
Could 2 linked up battery which would provide 24V regulated?
Sorry for all those questions but I am not an expert.

 

[laliman96]

It can but not for long, and also do not expect the batteries to last very long as they have a limited amount of cycles, especially if you will be discharging them below 50% frequently.

80000mAh or 80Ah @ 12v = .96kWh. However, you will need to power your PSU at 110/220v, not at 12v. So you will need an inverter, which will mean energy loses. Do not expect to get more than 1 hour at 300watts.

Is it possible not to use an inverter? I mean every PC component needs 12V or less.

And how, exactly, would you wire those batteries into the components that need 12v, and those that need 5v?
That's what your PSU does.

Damn I accidentally chose this as an answer.
But is there a way to use a 12V input PSU?

 

[Jester Maroc]

Why? I mean it would be way easier for you to purchase a laptop where the components are already designed for low power consumption as opposed to using desktop parts. Plus, you will lose the mobility aspect by trying to put together a battery powered desktop.

 

[USAFRet]

Accidental best answer undone.

You're trying to build a portable laptop type thing, but with desktop parts, powered by a battery.
Not gonna work for any rational use time.

If you want the portability, just buy a laptop.
If you don't need the portability, you don't need the batteries.

 

[laliman96]

Accidental best answer undone.

You're trying to build a portable laptop type thing, but with desktop parts, powered by a battery.
Not gonna work for any rational use time.

If you want the portability, just buy a laptop.
If you don't need the portability, you don't need the batteries.

(Gaming) Laptops are too expensive and I would need it to be portable, and it wouldn't be a problem if it would have 1h battery. Most of the time I could plug it in the wall, only around once or twice in a day would the battery be used.

 

[USAFRet]

Accidental best answer undone.

You're trying to build a portable laptop type thing, but with desktop parts, powered by a battery.
Not gonna work for any rational use time.

If you want the portability, just buy a laptop.
If you don't need the portability, you don't need the batteries.

(Gaming) Laptops are too expensive and I would need it to be portable, and it wouldn't be a problem if it would have 1h battery. Most of the time I could plug it in the wall, only around once or twice in a day would the battery be used.

OK, now we're off into a whole different set of requirements.
Just buy a UPS. Won't cheap or light, but it will do what you need.
At a 275 watt load, an hour runtime would cost about $400 and weigh ~50lbs.

 

[laliman96]

OK then I guess I have to stick with the weak and expensive option.

 

[unksol]

You can absolutely run a desktop on on lithium ion cells at slightly above 12 volts. It's not even that hard since most PSUs regulate to 12V then use simple ICs to regulate to 5V/3.3V. But it would require a custom PSU circuit design just Like a laptop. And it makes no sense. Flee what you described.

However. Gigabyte does make some "desktop" sff motherboards designed to be fed from an external PSU that feeds it DC.

This would be easy to convert to battery but you should NEVER ever use ridiculously cheap eBay China cells. Half still be dread and the other half might kill you. It's

 

[laliman96]

You can absolutely run a desktop on on lithium ion cells at slightly above 12 volts. It's not even that hard since most PSUs regulate to 12V then use simple ICs to regulate to 5V/3.3V. But it would require a custom PSU circuit design just Like a laptop. And it makes no sense. Flee what you described.

However. Gigabyte does make some "desktop" sff motherboards designed to be fed from an external PSU that feeds it DC.

This would be easy to convert to battery but you should NEVER ever use ridiculously cheap eBay China cells. Half still be dread and the other half might kill you. It's

Could you post a link about those motherboards?

 

[Jester Maroc]

Where are you located? Also, what are your requirements for gaming?

It might be an option to purchase a mini-ITX case like this http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Graphite-380T-Mini-ITX-Portable/dp/B00LA6X38O which will be semi-portable. With a smart choice of components you could potentially game using a UPS for 30min-1hr. But, a gaming laptop would still be a far superior solution.

 

[laliman96]

Where are you located? Also, what are your requirements for gaming?

It might be an option to purchase a mini-ITX case like this http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Graphite-380T-Mini-ITX-Portable/dp/B00LA6X38O which will be semi-portable. With a smart choice of components you could potentially game using a UPS for 30min-1hr. But, a gaming laptop would still be a far superior solution.

Mid-EU. I wanted a i5-6500(65W, works perfectly with stock cooler which is pretty small) with GTX 960(120W) but I abandoned the idea, because of the power source. I would really enjoy building something like this, but I guess it won't happen until somebody invents a better power source.