[ A number of recent Acer and Gateway desktops have this issue -- see this post: . "Which Acer & Gateway desktops have the proprietary 12-pin PSU-to-mobo connector?"
http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2021321/acer-gateway-desktops-proprietary-pin-psu-mobo-connector.html ]
Custom DIY Adapter: . Plug Any Standard (24-pin) ATX PSU Into A Proprietary Acer/Gateway Motherboard
MUST-READ DISCLAIMER: . The procedure outlined herein is offered
for hypothetical consideration and
for discussion purposes only. . Undertaking the procedure [or any similar procedure] is bound to void any applicable warranties. . If the procedure is flawed (or not implemented correctly), your hardware may be damaged [fire may even be a possibility]. . I have not tested the procedure. . The procedure may or may not produce the desired results, and furthermore may produce counterproductive or damaging results. . Do not attempt this procedure [or any similar procedure] unless you are prepared to take full, complete, and sole responsibility for the results.
Having stated the above disclaimer, I'm the sort of person who would regard Acer/Gateway's "roadblock" to a PSU upgrade as an irresistable challenge to overcome, even if considerable DIY time & effort is involved.
A suitable adapter would permit easy installation of any standard ATX power supply -- below is an outline of one possilbe way to make such an adapter.
* I invite and welcome input, feedback, suggestions, corrections, and/or modifications from experienced electrical engineers, techs, builders, modders, and enthusiasts . . .
1) . Source the following [see my later post on sourcing]:
- a duplicate (unwired) unit of the 12-pin connector
- an (unwired) 24-pin ATX connector that will mate with the 24p ATX connector that is already wired onto on your new PSU
NOTE: . The 24p already on the new PSU has female metal pin-receptacles within male plastic plugs. . The 24-pin connector-part that you need for the adapter has male metal pins within female plastic sockets.
- eleven 8"-lengths of UL1007 16awg hook-up wire. . the colors you will need are: . 3x Yellow, 1x Blue, 4x Black, 1x Green, 1x Gray, 1x Purple
- 11 male metal connector pins + 11 female metal connector pins
2) . Get familiar with the Acer-Gateway proprietary pinout [see upper connector in diagram] for the 12p connector that will become the end of the adapter that plugs into the motherboard.
The viewpoint is looking onto the tip-end of a 12-fingered male plastic plug, with 12 individual male plastic "keys", in 2 horizontal rows with 6 plugs in each row. . Each of the individual keys houses a female metal pin-receptacle. . The clip side appears underneath and the smooth side above.
3) . Get familiar with the standard ATX pinout [see lower connector in diagram] for the ATX 24p connector that becomes the end of the adapter that plugs onto the existing ATX connector of the new PSU.
The viewpoint is looking onto the open-end of a 24-holed female plastic socket, with 24 individual female plastic "keyholes", in 2 horizontal rows with 12 in each row. . Each of the individual keyholes houses a male metal pin. . The clip side appears underneath and the smooth side above.
4) . Using a multimeter or power supply tester, check all of the voltages (on the original PSU) at all of the pin sites on the original proprietary 12p connector. . Likewise, check all of the voltages (on the new PSU) at all of the pinsites on the standard ATX 24p connector [one might want to do this under-load, as well as no-load, to better understand things]. . If you think all manufacturers concerned have strictly adhered to the color code standards, you might be tempted to skip using the multimeter. . It would speed things up if the color coding were all you needed to make this adapter -- but remember you are modding "Acer/Gateway Proprietary Design". . The integrity of the motherboard is at stake; the phrase "trust but verify" comes to mind.
5) . After verifying that all of the voltage measurements are consistent with the standard ATX color coding of the wire leads, proceed as follows. . [Note that there are several different viable ways to run the 11 wires to the 24 pin sites in the ATX connector.]
Let P1 = pin 1 (yellow) on the Proprietary [P] 12p connector
Let A11 = pin 11 (yellow) of the ATX [A] 24p connector
w1) . Run an 8" length of yellow wire from P1 to A11
[NOTE: . you'll need to crimp pins onto the wire ends, then insert pins into the correct pin-sites on the housings. . regarding the crimping and insertion, Google such topics as "modding atx connectors", "pin removal, atx connectors", "crimping pins for atx connectors", "pin insertion, atx connectors" . . you may wish to get someone to assist you with this step. . or you could pay a tech to make the whole adapter]
w2) . Run an 8" length of yellow wire from P2 to A10
w3) . Run an 8" length of yellow wire from P3 to ___? . . . hmmm, it looks like there are only two +12V pin sites [A10-yellow & A11-yellow] on the ATX pinout, and both are already tapped. . this minor problem is addressed further below.
w4) . Run an 8" length of blue wire from P4 to A14
w5) . Run an 8" length of black wire from P5 to A17
w6) . Run an 8" length of black wire from P6 to A15
* * * Skip P7 -- leave it empty -- as this pin is unused * * *
w7) . Run an 8" length of green wire from P8 to A16
w8) . Run an 8" length of gray wire from P9 to A8
w9) . Run an 8" length of purple wire from P10 to A9
w10) . Run an 8" length of black wire from P11 to A5
w11) . Run an 8" length of black wire from P12 to A3
Regarding step w3 above, here are two possibilities for providing +12V power to P3 [pin 3 of the 12-pin connector]:
w3.1) . Preferred: . Leave the 8" length of yellow wire connected to P3, but unconnected at its other end . . Then, at the time you install the new PSU, find an unused PSU connector [e.g., an unused SATA connector] that houses a +12V pin, and engineer a way to draw the +12V from that connector.
w3 2) . Alternative possibility? . Remove and set-aside the 8" yellow wire, and just run a very short jumper wire from P2 to P3 (or from P1 to P3) -- Does anyone know whether this approach is acceptable or not?
10 of the 24 pin sites on the ATX 24p connector are now wired, and the following 14 sites will remain unused: . A1, A2, A4, A6, A7, A12, A13, A18, A19, A20, A21, A22, A23, A24
Your pin work on both ends of the adapter needs to be in perfect accordance with the pinouts . . any mistakes here could be very costly.
6) . Review everything you've done for possible errors, and do end-to-end continuity checks for all 10 current paths through the adapter
7) . Plug the 24p connector of your new PSU into 24p side of the finished adapter. . Check the voltages on all 12 pins of the 12p connector.
8) . Install the new PSU
- You may have to get creative in how you fit/screw/secure the PSU box to the interior of the Acer/Gateway case, if the form factor and screw holes of your new PSU is different than the original PSU
- Take the necessary steps to provide +12V power to pin site P3, as discussed in part w3 of step 5 above [unless you decided to simply add a jumper wire to accomplish this]
------------------------------------
BACKGROUND: . Way back in 2007, I bought an eMachines T3522 [a Black-Friday special that I'm using right now to type this answer], promptly removed the stock Bestec Power Supply [which had all standard ATX connectors], and installed a 350W Vantec VAN-350N Power Supply [purchased used off eBay, manufactured 2004, warranty expired 2007, still working here in 2014], after reading numerous online horror stories of how the stock PSU's in some eMachine product lines were failing relatively quickly, and often destroying motherboards when they failed. . [Gateway bought eMachines in 2004, and Acer bought Gateway in 2007, according to Wikipedia.]