Question Powering tons of LEDs???

[Snoopyisme]

So... I am trying to decide if this is the way to go or not, as it would make everything neater and easier for me, and that is the goal of this project in the first place.

I want to be able to power ~300 RGB LEDs (ws2812) from my computer's PSU. They use 5v and take slightly less than 20 amps to reach max brightness on white. My current (hehe) PSU is a CX600 and only supplies 25a on the 5v rail. I believe that this is not enough for the lights AND everything that the computer itself needs (including hella USB connections, which also use 5v afaik)

My question is two parts: should I try and find a power supply that can power all of these LEDs? I don't want to spend a million dollars on a super OP PSU just fora few more amps on the 5v rail.

If this is a feasible option, where might I find a power supply with a higher than usual output on its 5v rail? how do I even search for something like that?

PS. I don't know a ton about electricity so if this is completely off then pls let me know, I'm trying to learn.

 

[velocityg4]

Are these all going inside your case? 100 Watts worth of LED will be very bright. Uncomfortably bright.

Anyways, other components on your computer also use the 5-volt lead. It's much too close to the upper limits of your PSU. I would consider an upgrade.

 

[doolittle]

Yes I would absolutely get a dedicated 5v PSU like this one, 5v @ 60A for $22

 

[Snoopyisme]

They are actually going underneath my desk as a little bit of ambient lighting. I could use half brightness but that is still 9 amps. I'm 90% sure someone else replied to this thread then deleted their post about my CX600 and Ill just say that it is 5 years old and was my first power supply when I built my computer.

@doolittle My goal behind all of this is to make it so that all I have to do is tell my computer to go to sleep and all of the lights associated with it turn off. The easiest way to do this in my eyes it to power everything off of the same power supply.

@velocityg4 I definitely agree I need an upgrade but the issue is that even up to 800W, most PSUs still only give about 20-25A on the 5v Rail. So I'm wondering where I might find one with a higher than usual 5v output, while not sacrificing its 12v output (I have a i59600k @5ghz and a 1070ti)

 

[velocityg4]

They are actually going underneath my desk as a little bit of ambient lighting. I could use half brightness but that is still 9 amps. I'm 90% sure someone else replied to this thread then deleted their post about my CX600 and Ill just say that it is 5 years old and was my first power supply when I built my computer.

@doolittle My goal behind all of this is to make it so that all I have to do is tell my computer to go to sleep and all of the lights associated with it turn off. The easiest way to do this in my eyes it to power everything off of the same power supply.

@velocityg4 I definitely agree I need an upgrade but the issue is that even up to 800W, most PSUs still only give about 20-25A on the 5v Rail. So I'm wondering where I might find one with a higher than usual 5v output, while not sacrificing its 12v output (I have a i59600k @5ghz and a 1070ti)

Based on the wattage. 100w of LED will be more than a little ambient light. When you see a 100w LED bulb in the store. It is a 100w incandescent equivalent. The actual wattage is between 14w and 20w. If those LED use 100w that would be somewhere in the range of 5 or 6 100w LED light bulbs. It will be very bright.

Finding a PSU will be tough. Most people building a high powered computer don't need much 5w. You'd probably be better off finding a 5w ac to DC adapter. Then wiring it in to power the lights.

 

[Snoopyisme]

These lights are nowhere near as bright as "standard" home lights. this full strip might be as bright as 1 8w super bright bulb, but its not 6 of them for sure. These strips are nowhere near as efficient as those white LEDs.

Anyways though, is there a way for me to have a standalone PSU hooked in to when my computer goes to sleep? the whole point of this project is to make it so I dont have to take extra steps to turn on or off the lights other than wake/sleep my computer.

 

[doolittle]

...@doolittle My goal behind all of this is to make it so that all I have to do is tell my computer to go to sleep and all of the lights associated with it turn off. The easiest way to do this in my eyes it to power everything off of the same power supply...

You can get a energy saving power strip like this one, just plug in your PC as the master plug and all the green energy saving plugs will power on and off with your PC.

 

[ElectrO_90]

Brightness of lights is NOT measured in Watts, it's measured in Lumens.

LED Wattage	CFL Wattage	Halogen Wattage	Lumens
6W	12W	40W	700 lm
9W	15W	60W	900 lm
12W	20W	70W	1,300 lm

Most LED's for common things are between 70-100 lumens.

 

[Snoopyisme]

You can get a energy saving power strip like this one, just plug in your PC as the master plug and all the green energy saving plugs will power on and off with your PC.

that is an interesting device, I will have to look more into that. Thank you for telling me about it.

As for @ElectrO_90 I know that brightness is not measured in watts but velocity was trying to tell me it was too bright....

 

[Karadjgne]

For ws2812, you are looking at 20mA per led. That works out to maximum Amps for 300 leds at 18A. When you figure 150 led strip is 5m (16.4ft) that's a ton of lighting, 32 ft worth. You could easily light up the entire underside of a desk with just a 5m strip, full ampacity being 9A, which even on that 25A capable Cx600 leaves plenty of room.

You are looking at @6 lumens per led, 400 lumens per meter, 5m is 2000 lumens, that's friggin bright as a standard 100w light bulb under your desk. And you want double that?

 

[Snoopyisme]

For ws2812, you are looking at 20mA per led. That works out to maximum Amps for 300 leds at 18A. When you figure 150 led strip is 5m (16.4ft) that's a ton of lighting, 32 ft worth. You could easily light up the entire underside of a desk with just a 5m strip, full ampacity being 9A, which even on that 25A capable Cx600 leaves plenty of room.

You are looking at @6 lumens per led, 400 lumens per meter, 5m is 2000 lumens, that's friggin bright as a standard 100w light bulb under your desk. And you want double that?

The strip I have is the twice as dense one, so 300 LEDs in 5m.

Either way I have already tested it out with a temporary power supply and it gives me the look I want. I know what LEDs I have, How much power they draw, and how bright they are.

My question remains: Does anyone know of a ATX PSU with w higher than normal 5v output that doesnt compromise the 12v output?

 

[Karadjgne]

Yes and no. You can always find older group regulated psus that have seriously high 3.3v and 5v outputs in the 30-35A range, but they usually aren't healthy for a modern pc since they'll also have seriously debunked 12v outputs as well.

I'd suggest a work around, something that won't involve the pc as anything more than a switch.

https://www.amazon.com/Yeeco-Contac...ocphy=1026082&hvtargid=pla-348940504259&psc=1
Use this just stuck into a molex connector on the 12v wire. The input/output will be a lamp cord cut in half, input from the wall and output to this->

https://www.jameco.com/z/RSP-150-5-...ction-5-Volts-30-Amps-150-Watts_2189097.html?
This'll hookup 5v at upto 30A (I'm sure there are cheaper versions, you just need 100w+ (20A at 5v) but I'd leave a little headroom for heat output. This powers the strip. It says it has remote on/off but I couldn't find anywhere saying exactly what that remote consisted of. I guess you could call and find out.

So relay switches the 120v on/off by molex (that's only powered when the psu is on, or you could use any 12v source, even put a switch in the pc), the 120v is from wall to led psu through the relay.

So when pc is on, lights are on (unless you add a switch) and nothing interferes with the pc psu as such.

 

[AllanGH]

You stated:

...I am trying to decide if this is the way to go or not...

However, you appear to have already decided that you are going to go in the direction that is neither economically feasible nor advisable.

You have been given a link to a 5VDC power supply that will power the LED strip, inexpensively and SAFELY.

Furthermore, you still need to supply data to the LED strip, to achieve the lighting levels and effects that you presumably want to use this lighting strip for. You will need a purpose dedicated controller for this, or to construct the same thing yourself, using an Arduino or RaspberryPi platform.

You are far better-off constructing this as a stand alone aggregation of components and, if you want to control it via your computer, this is easily achieved using WiFi or USB protocols--or a simple 433MHz ASK/OOK remote control transmitter.

 

[Snoopyisme]

So... I am trying to decide if this is the way to go or not

This was almost a day ago at this point and Ive not been just sitting here waiting for replies, Ive done more research and have decided that this is the way that I want to go, but multiple replies here have shown that there are other ways to do what I want, and probably safer/easier. I still need to do more research on various suggestions provided here (thank you doolittle and Karadjgne) including yours.

I'll have a look at what you suggested @Karadjgne, thank you

 

[Karadjgne]

Keeping the pc psu out of that loop and using a dedicated power supply is the better option for sure. That's a lot of power draw on that strip and not something I'd recommend the pc's psu have to deal with. Granted 5v usage is getting minimal nowadays, basically the usb and storage but in modern dc-dc psus the 3.3v and 5v is made from the 12v rail by transformer, vrs old group regulated where the 5v and 12v were made from the same transformer and the 3.3v was seperate. So high current draw on 5v won't affect any other voltages. But thats one of those things where you'd have to hope that the psu could sustain such a high draw.