Linear psu requirements and choices

[RubenV]

Hi all,

 

I would like to finally (I've been busy with this sometime) give my audio pc a decent linear psu. I've done a lot of reading and a few things are not clear for me. That is why I started this topic, to gather a good vision on what's best and what is affordable.

The first thing I need to know is what I need to power and what power requirements these components have. (I also put a few components in from the control pc, because I would to power this one also in the future, the ones I would like to power first are in bold and italic).

 

[TABLE]

[TR]

[TD]Component[/TD]

[TD]Voltage[/TD]

[TD]Ampere[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]i5 3340 (77W TDP)[/TD]

[TD]12V[/TD]

[TD]6.42A?[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]i5 3570T (45W TDP)[/TD]

[TD]12V[/TD]

[TD]3.75A?[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]PPA CF Card[/TD]

[TD]5V?[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]PPA USB Card[/TD]

[TD]5V[/TD]

[TD]3A[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]Intel 520 120GB SSD[/TD]

[TD]5V?[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]PICOPSU-150 – XT[/TD]

[TD]12V?[/TD]

[TD][/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

 

Since voltage x ampere = watts, I was thinking I could calculate the ampere figure I need to power the cpu. Is this true? Or am I overlooking something?

 

From what I have red on the forum and also my own experience with feedback from Paul Pang, the PPA USB card could use 5V and 1A but it sounds better when it is 5V and 3A.

 

I use a ASRock Intel H77 H77M ITX and a Asrock B75 Mini ITX motherboard. Both are equiped with Crucial ballistic 4GB sticks (2sticks, 8GB a system). Both systems are powered with PICOPSU-150 – XT + seasonic 12 Volt 80 watt power supply.

 

So they feed these components I need 4 lines (one for the CPU, one for the CF card, one for the USB card and one for the Pico psu). Are there any benefits to power the CF card and USB card separate with a battery for example?

 

 

The Balkoon route with two Balkoon's powering the CF and USB card will be to expensive for me (it is about 1000 euro's with shipping for me). I have red a lot about the Anker E4 battery, is this better then a good linear psu?

 

There is a Quad-Rail ATX PSU on ItemAudio, but this one only has one 12V which means I can not feed both the CPU and Pico seperately. (Quad-Rail ATX PSU - Item Audio)

 

PPAstudio has a few options but with shipping it is expensive and I use for both pc's a Streacom FC8 case. Which means the regulator bords will not fit into the case. He does sell a 120W psu, wich might would be strong enough to power both CPU and Pico (dual rail12V, 6A each). http://ppaproduct.blogspot.tw/…..r-psu.html This option would fit in my budget when I would use two cheaper batteries for powering the CF card and USB card. But then again, would be two of those supplies better then one with batteries for the other two components?

 

Is it realistic to think one audio pc can be properly fed with a linear psu (or multiple) for about 1000 euro's?

 

Thank you for reading and if you have some valid info please reply

[Hifidelit]

A 12v 4amp linear can feed a Zuma powering the pico psu which supplies the cpu if you turn turbo boost off, I would recommend an extra 12v linear 4 amp for whichever cpu you use if you go that low on the amperage or if you only buy 1 linear make it an higher amperage but things can get expensive. You are quoting CPU TDP which is important for cooling and to a lesser extent specifying the power requirements if you are using a music server.

 

In the UK people sometimes buy 2 Maplins XM21X 13.7v linear PSUs and internally adjust the voltage to power the picoPSU and CPU. The 4 rail PSU you have linked to replaces the picoPSU with a custom ATX loom. Some also use an Anker to provide the power to ssd and a usb card, some use linear and battery to provide power to all the components and you can easily do it for less than £1,000 or a lot more it all depends what you go for - 2 Bakoon's as you have said takes you past half way in your budget. There is a large thread about linear PSUs on JPlay which is worth reading and gives opinions on removing the picoPSU as well as battery and linear power and shows how the connections are made in some posts using relays.

 

 

In your position I would probably buy the best single linear PSU to power the picoPSU and let it provide the CPU and use Anker batteries on the SSD and usb card then buy another quality linear to power the cpu as funds allow later and replace the Anker with Bakoon over time.

[RubenV]

Hi Hifidelit,

 

Thanks for your reply. So it is safe to say a 12V. and 4A. line will be good enough to power those i5's I got? The i7 from the Zuma (i7 i3770S) has a 65W TDP. I know TDP stands for Thermal Design Power, but I thought it might be a "clever" way of calculating the maximum amperage.

 

A good psu for me could be the PPAstudio 120W. This should be more then enough to power the whole streamer, since I currently use an 80 Watt Seasonic power supply (did not think about that when I made the startpost).

 

Do you also know how much ampere a SSD uses?

[Hifidelit]

There are some good linears in your budget e.g Teddy Pardo does the 12v 4a one that Sligolad used to power the Zuma with TB disabled.

I notice you have asked the question on JPlay, here is the thread I was talking about:

Linear Power Supply for Pico PSU - Anyone done this? | Computer Audio | Forum | JPLAY - hi-end audio player for Windows

 

SSDs will vary but this is from the Zuma write up:

According to Samsung the 840 Pro Series consumes 0.068W active and 0.042W idle.

 

[dc2bluelight]

The Intel 520 120GB SSD specs are here:

Intel® Solid-State Drive 520 Series: Product Specification

 

Budget for 1W peak, though those seem a little bloodthirsty for an SSD.

[RubenV]

There are some good linears in your budget e.g Teddy Pardo does the 12v 4a one that Sligolad used to power the Zuma with TB disabled.

I notice you have asked the question on JPlay, here is the thread I was talking about:

Linear Power Supply for Pico PSU - Anyone done this? | Computer Audio | Forum | JPLAY - hi-end audio player for Windows

 

SSDs will vary but this is from the Zuma write up:

According to Samsung the 840 Pro Series consumes 0.068W active and 0.042W idle.

 

 

I am aware of the thread on Jplay, and also posted my questions in. But it went a bit to technically and I did not wanted to disrupt the discussion with my n00b questions. They are multiple threads here as well, but I wanted to be sure on the figures of powerusage before spending a few 100 euro's.

 

So how many Amperes does a SSD use? The Intel spec says max 850mW, so 1W peak. 1W/5V=0.2A?

[RubenV]

The Intel 520 120GB SSD specs are here:

Intel® Solid-State Drive 520 Series: Product Specification

 

Budget for 1W peak, though those seem a little bloodthirsty for an SSD.

 

Thanks for the link. I searched this afternoon but could only find the specsheet of the Intel 530 series...

[dc2bluelight]

I Googled "Intel 520 120GB SSD Specs". The link I posted was on the second hit. How's that for "above the fold"?

[obee]

So are you going to DIY one linear PSU with 12V to PicoPSU and 5V separately for USB? Or you're not going to use PicoPSU and you want to DIY power supply separately for 12V, 3.3 and 5V?

[RubenV]

I am not going to DIY a psu, but I have several options on buying one made for me. But therefor I need to know the power requirements (voltage and amperes) so that is why I started this thread. My plan is to get linear power to my audio pc and probably in the future to the control pc also. I want to power separately the cpu, pico, PPA CF card (For OS) and the PPA usb card.