This is seriously one of the most useful videos I've ever seen. How has your channel not taken off yet? Well edited, great useful information broken down for anyone, and just all around pleasant to watch.
You were completely right, we now have a ZOTAC Mini 1080 and mini 1080ti. We have second generation Ryzen chips running at 65W TDP. Performance leaps can be done with low TDP! Subbed and hopefully can buy one of your systems in the future!
Thanks so much! I've been looking everywhere for small power supplies. They're all so big and so much more watts than necessary. I don't think anyone realizes how little power is used by modern hardware
Thanks for this. I have been looking to understand a bit more about this mini PSU items and you my friend just nailed it. I love small factor PCs or HTPC I don't care what they are call but thanks and keep up the great work you do.
Wow what a call - 2-3 month later and we now DO have a mini 1080. Nice and informative video - can't wait for powerful gaming rigs too shrink even more :)
Pico PSU...if you're thinking out of the box, this thing clearly can replace messy 24-pin cables! Pico PSU just delivery power from the power brick, so it's possible to delivery the power from ATX as well, but you should have some sort of compatible ATX PSU. If you bought 250W pico PSU, you should use 250W ATX PSU as well.
Yeah impresse but... You're looking at a total cost of over 200$. 90 for the HDPLEX and 110$ for a decent brick. No one has a 240 Watt brick just laying around.... Better go with a nice and more convenient SFX PSU
Go look for the Dan A4-SFX-Case. And please... don't forget to include the bulky powerbrick to the volume! You just get too many cons with this kind of setup.
The DanA4 is not the sort of form factor that would fit in my backpack. Having a power brick has the benefit of being storable in the front compartment of my backpack.
This is pretty awesome! But if I were to measure the outgoing wattage with a regular PSU, would it still be the same as with the ones you showed here? I always see people recommending at least 600w 80+ PSUs for a build with a 1080
Yes, you would see the same. The only difference is if you were using a low quality PSU you might see SLIGHTLY higher wattages (like and extreme difference of 5-10) from increased resistance after part temp is reached.
Ok ill bite, can’t stand watching the chatter about power supplies any longer, Oh and by the way nice video love the case design and the smart use of space and power options BUT. Before I give my two cents worth, here’s how to calculate Watts ( for those who don’t know how!) The formula is Watts= Amps x Volts. Using this information The Brick will draw from the wall ( US Power) 330watts = 3amps * 110Volt's (I hope that's correct as I'm in AU and we have different voltages) However on the brick you get this! Watts(330) / Volts(19) = 17.36 Amps Watts is a way of expressing Volt+amps like a quick reference sheet. so the Pico 160XT board ( Correction Should have Been HDPLEX 250 not Pico 160XT ) steps the volts down some more and outputs a stable 12volts of between 16 and 18amps this is important because!... Nvidia state’s on their web site that the 1080 requires 180Watt’s to operate correctly, this means the GTX1080 would need 15amps at 12Volts.which I believe is the cards operating voltage. so using the Information above this shows that the Pico 160XT( Correction Should have Been HDPLEX 250 not Pico 160XT ) and the Dell 19v 330w can indeed run the GTX 1080 and the system but with not much else... Lucky the system doesn't have much space for Peripherals However n a note of caution you would be pushing the Dell Power brick ( be pretty hot ) however it was noted that the system was having some voltage issues and need to be adjusted, more than likely this was due to the voltage correction on the Power Brick, Pico Board( Correction Should have Been HDPLEX 250 not Pico 160XT ) , and the Motherboard!. which kind of Indicates the Power supply wasn't really stable enough to run more then this!
Thank you for the compliments and for taking the time to write all that. Please don't be offended, but you TOTALLY are confused about what I showed in the video and I have no idea where you came up with using the Pico 160XT with a 19v power brick as that isn't even possible let alone demonstrated here. Peace.
Also I was just explaining what you can get out of a power supply and why People should pay more attention to the output Side not input, because what a PSU is capable of outputting has no correlation with its input as a bad PSU will still draw up to and beyond its rated Wattage But may not at any time output anything close to its rated output!
My apologies you did use the HDPLEX DC-DC board With a Power brick(wether its a dell or what ever) however my comment still stands, please note in no way was I disputing what you used and tested, just stating that from a watt stand point the 1080 would run in this system but at the Dell PSU's upper watt rating Including the System of cause!. which you did test at the end Correct? As I understand it, The HDPLEX DC-DC is a voltage step down unit correct? and the Pico 160XT is just a converter? to output the required Connectors?, and step down voltage for the 5 and 3 volt rail? from a 12volt Power brick?
You could probably run a graphics card from a regular 12v SMPS and let the smaller pico PSU deal with the other voltages, 5v and 3.3v. Connect the pico PSU to the regular 12v SMPS.
The 192W I think means that the, with efficiency of 80% where 80% from 192 is exactly 160W. So 160 is in the name correct and the PSU is calculated for max power draw of 160W (80%)
TDP is the *thermal* energy dissipated by the components, not the electric energy ""produced"" or consumed by electronics. Hence the name [T]hermal [D]esign [P]ower. You're words have been misleading and due to the video's uploade date, I hope you were already aware of that. Other than that, it's a great video and a nice topic for anyone wanting to build a more special PC.
That's very interesting, but I feel like with sfx getting more common and cheaper, might not be worth the extra cost of the picos. A slightly larger case is an acceptable compromise, imo
ill say it, they are the future. people are not putting 4 hard drives in their computers anymore, people dont need 700 watt psu's anymore, power supplies are the limiting factor for how small a pc case can get. Honestly they are the biggest thing aside from the gpu, there will be a computer with a single slot gpu (like the xfx rx 460 and like an i5-6400t) which someone will custom build to be 1 slot thick. it will happen and it wont be wierd
If I was a manufacturer I would recommend a 500w+ PSU too, because you can't guarantee quality power supplies, and alot of cheapo ones will rate for peak. If your system draws 300 watts your 300w power supply needs to be amazing quality to keep up. It's much easier to just recommend a 500w PSU. The HDPLEX PSUs are DC-DC distributors and have extremely good efficiency, somewhere between Platinum and Diamond. Peace my friend.
impressive ! I can imagine if this DC PSU is having for 5% of market, people may start different method of system build, through changing different power brick can be very handy, I believe for some system builder dont want to update or change their PSU it may have parts of reason for replace current PSU. and last, for one tiny suggestion for your system burning software as I know the most hardcore system burning software would be Intel burntest IT WILL PUSH YOUR SYSTEM TO THE TOP OF SPEC LIMIT!! if your system able to survive Intel burntest, it will running stable in any reasonable condition!
true PSU is the BIG black box(which transforms from 220V to 12V), the "tiny PSU" transform from 12V to 12V, 5V, 3.3V, and splits voltage.... overall is not tiny
If you could build using the laptop version of the 1000 GTX series how small would you go? Do you think they'll release the laptop size cards for small builds as well?
They are available, but only to SIs in big quantities. The amazing thing is that they aren't much different at all in terms of TDP, aka, they are basically shrunk versions of the desktop cards...basically. I've built MUCH smaller chassis with "gaming" power, but the S4 is about modularity with off the shelf parts. THANKS for your comment!
Well and all this is not considering efficiency, cause the PSU is rated at its output wattage, not input. Im still waiting for a low profile 1060/480 or better and a waterblock for them too.
okay, cool you got a dc-dc power power supply... but the real question is can i build a battery to run the pc to make it "even more mobile" . id like to see some 18650 battery pack adaption for something like this.
i think an important note to this video is that its kind of important to use an ssd, as most hdds as far as i know are at around 40 watts, while an ssd is at what, 7-9? thats 30 watts more on something else that can be crucial! dont thikn ill use one of those anytime soon, but i sure im getting interested in itx, even tho im aiming for matx more. i feel like atx and eatx are the parts that are becomming irrelevant. especially now that nvidia dont even support more than 2 gpus! :P and well, cfx and sli arent really that refined anyways. m atx allows a nice combo of sli if you really need it, or a card and either a networkscard, sound card, raid card or soemthing like that, not to mention it doesnt look as bad as itx(sry, but badly placed ports really messes with cable management, but not all computers are build for eyecandy)
Hello, Ulf, and thank you for responding! The most power hungry HDD on the market is the WDBlack 7200 3.5" drive, which pulls 9w under max load. The MINI only supports 2.5" drives and most drives operate about 3w under load. I use a 2TB Seagate for media caching and it adds less than 2w when pulling. I think you might have accidentally read another 0 in there. Excellent comment though, people need to know it's not a problem power wise to use HDDs. Peace!
That being said I don't recommend HDDs anyway unless you have a cool GPU like a 1050ti for long term life reasons. Though some customers use dual HDDs and run a 1080 in their MINIs...soooo xD Peace
"In the future graphics cards will become more power efficient" Me looking at the upcoming 500W+ RTX 4000 cards: Yeah sure lol On the other hand, this video has given me confidence in building a Ryzen 7 5800X + RTX A2000 build since they consume roughly the same power as what's shown here. Thanks!
In every "psu calcualtor" recommend to buy a psu with more than 600w for a i7+1070/1080 configuration. I can't understand how can you run your pc (or in other videos other pc's with high end pc gaming) with this HDPLEX 400W
There are many reasons why (the PSUs here are super efficient, use premium parts, and micropeaking isn't calculated) but PSU calculators only use the manufacturer's recommended specs. Manufacturers use wildly high wattage numbers in order to ensure your PSU is actually capable of running their product. It's not uncommon to see power requirements on a GPU box be twice over what the GPU is physically capable of using. A simple watt meter can show you what your PC is actually using--I recommend you pick one up for 20 bucks and then use a so-called "PSU Calculator" and see what the difference is. I build i7+1080 systems all the time and they draw about 270-290w depending on the CPU. Peace.
And when you measure MPD from the wall with an Intel + Nvidia system you will find that almost magically the sum of the advertised TDP of the CPU and GPU equal what you see on the power graph. You are correct, it is not the same thing and there are exceptions, but it is used to ballpark average power draw at peak loads. AMD chips are more off...though I have yet to test Polaris and RYZEN. Peace to you and happy modding.
big thanks for making this vid josh, gives me so much more confidence to go for the bigger spec when i get my s4. Edit: Quick question, what mobo where you using there?
ASUS Z170i PRO GAMING. Great board, lots of overclocking (or undervolting features). The RAM I bought was NOT good, but the tweaks allowed it to run flawlessly.
wait,tdp watt are for thermals...not electric usage...so yea everything he is saying is wrong... but my question is,for a strong CPU and GPU,can you use 2 power bricks? (one of them can be bridged)
There is a big difference between being technically accurate and being WRONG, especially for the sake of my audience. I want to help new users not be intimidated by DC-DC kits, and if I bring in vTDP, cTDP, Nominal TDP, Intel's SDP, LET ALONE ADP, Burst Load, CMS State it will get too overwhelming too fast. Since a watt is a unit of measurement of energy transfer over time, and because Intel and Nvidia have have done an excellent job with their published TDP to MPD ratios it works quite well for approximating nominal energy draw. AMD has gotten alot better too, though they still need more thermally efficient products to really be included in these mini-itx chassis. And yes, please check out my other video on using two power bricks and two DC-DC power supplies. Peace! ruclips.net/video/NX4G6I4FPY8/видео.html
Hah, true. If you really want to make your parts bleed OCCT can do it too. (Don't use OCCT unless you know what you are doing or you might see magic blue smoke...)
@Not From Concentrate Question if you have the time: how did you power the 1060 in the video using the PicoPSU? I want to get a 6GB 1060 or a 4 GB 1050Ti running from the 12V power brick if possible. I have achieved this using a dual power brick-dual PicoPSU approach before, but would rather keep it down to one, especially if I can use the 200W HD-Plex LPSU. The system has an optical drive, a 2.5" SSD, an i7 8700 (65 TDP), and ideally a GTX 1050Ti or 6Gb GTX 1060. It will be used for MadVR UHD HDR video rendering, not maxed out gaming; do you think the 160W Pico is up to the task? If the video card requires PCI-E power, do you just add splitters to the 4-pin molex connector on the PicoPSU?
The Mini-Box brand 160XT is a beefy unit and can easily handle a 1060--you just need to make a cable harness for it. I believe I have an example where I make an adapter for a 285 in one of my first videos. The 160XT doesn't have a cut-off power limit, so it can definitely power your system. Keep in mind it is a 12v PSU and HDPLEX products are typically 19v. I would recommend you go the HDPLEX route because you won't have to do any new wiring--HDPLEX is very supportive of this community. Peace
@@NotFromConcentrate Thanks, man! I will look up the cable harness thing. The HDPlex LPSU I mentioned was for their external linear PSU which has both 12V and 19V DC outputs. I'm a longtime customer of Larry's, and am working with him right now on some other business. Between you both, I am indebted! I own a very reputable (but VERY small - one man!) computer audio company, and you have already taught me a lot about the components I regularly use. I see an S4mini or 3 in my future to replace some of my personal aging full-size HTPC builds.
Have you tried the newer HDPlex 160 that is now competition for the Pico? What do you think of it? It's a bigger unit so is there any advantage to the size?
This is absolutely awesome. I've been considering a small form factor pc for portability reasons, but up till now, nothing was quite small enough. A question if you're available, would it be possible to squeeze a 6700k, 32GB@2400Mhz, 2TB of M.2, and (the kicker) a Titan X pascal into this? If so, I need to cancel an sli laptop order...
If you are talking about the S4 Mini, then no--it only supports 8" cards. It is really tiny. It looks bigger than it is because I stand behind it. The fastest GPU you can put in it RIGHT now is the Gigabyte 1070 Mini, but I suspect there will be mini 1080s next year. Thanks for watching, and maybe check this out: ruclips.net/video/azlP8iiMb-4/видео.html
I agree these psu are great I have used them and they defiantly have their purpose. But wait, don't gpu's require a certain amount of wattage to run correctly? You must be doing some bios mods to turn down the components right? Also, there would be no overclocking options with these then...
Well, I had no clue you could even run those cards on a Pico PSU so that is awesome!! Thanks :) And because of this video I did some more digging and found that that each GPU has a peek power draw (that you have to search for) which is usually quite a bit less than the recommended PSU wattage, which makes a lot more sense now LOL.
The DAN-A4 is a beautiful, benchmark-chassis and I highly recommend it for people who aren't looking for maximum portability. Supporting Dan and other small SFF innovators is what this channel is about. Ego, competition, and mudslinging are not in my vocabulary. I want to build people up not tear them down. Peace. www.dan-cases.com/
Great video. I noticed you had to up the ram voltage in order to get the system to work. Is that something you do often with pico PSU builds? Can I know by how much you had to level it up? I am having issues with my 32GB (2x16) crucial, I have random reboots at 1.2v. Thanks
Nice video, man. Planning the following for a mid-range S4 Mini build: Intel Core i5 8400- 65W TDP MSI B360 motherboard EVGA GTX 1060 SC Mini- 120W TDP, running the small factory overclock 1x m.2 pciE SSD 1x 2.5" 5400rpm SS hybrid drive 2x8gb DDR4 ram Oculus Rift system- 3xUSB 3.0, 1x USB 2.0, 1xUSB 2.O keyboard/mouse The CPU/GPU combo alone gives me a TDP of 185W. I'm planning on using one of the KPKMT Dynamo PSUs from your website- just love that polished black look- along with a Dell 19V 240W power brick. My question is: do you think the Dynamo 160 would be sufficient? Or would it be a good bet to go for the Dynamo combo with the 160+ the 360? Thinking of the latter, if for nothing else than future-proofing. Thanks.
Also, another question: since I'm not gonna be OC'ing the processor and it's only a 65W, would a cooler like the Noctua L9i be necessary? Or would the stock intel cooler do? I've never used a stock cooler so don't know what they're capable of in a case this size.
Howdy! Yeah, I think the Dynamo 160 will be great for your build. Send me an email though as I have a better power brick for you for the same price as I clear out inventory. Peace!
i have basic question couz i m not good in this...if u have Pico 160XT and Dell 19v 330w Brick, are you limited to pico 160-200w or u can get almost 500W from it together with dell brick?
Great overview and tutorial! If i want a 51 W i3-6300 CPU + noctua nh-l9i + 100 W GTX 950 GPU + 1x 2.5" SSD + odd + 3x 60x15 mm fans (evercool) + 3x 50x15 mm fans (evercool) should I go for the picoPSU or the HDPLEX? The TDP of the cpu + gpu is well within the range of the Pico, but can it handle the rest of the components as well? There would be room for atleast 2x additional 2.5" drives as well (total 3) and an m.2 pcie3x4 SSD. My head tells me to go with the HDPLEX just to be on the safe side. What do you say/think?
Would the 160W picoPSU plus the 192W Power Adapter give you a total of 352W or a total of 160W for your system? I just don't understand how this works.
Have you recomend the 160 Watts Pico PSU for a Ryzen 5 3400G, 16GB DDR4 HyperX 3000MHZ, Aorus B450i (The ITX Verstion), Noctua L9i cooler and a Samsung Evo m.2??????
I'm a nut. I am thinking of a computer I can take place to place but leave a gpu at home to plug into (basically an external gpu). Except I don't want to pay an extra $200 on an rx480 just so I can have a little more umph. Is there something powerful enough for that?
sorry, can;t understand this point ,what is the different between the pico and hdplex when the 330 watt charger is the source of power ? i love your videos because i was searching online to make tiny powerful pc,i found imagic case look like mac pro but it took only lp bracket Gpu,and node 202 from domitry channel and DAN case from linus channel ,but yours is the tinest but beast ,i will pay mini 1070&asus mini itx&this case ,and need to learn how to power it ,i;m Egyptian dentist and wish some help?and some product links for this tiny port to the charger
Hello! The Pico is 12v, the HDPLEX is 16-24v (but you will be using 19v bricks with it). Secondly, you should use the PICO for builds under 200 watts (220 peak) and the HDPLEX for builds over 200w and a 380w peak. All the links you need are in the description. Peace!
ive got Chinese copy of 300w psu. problem - cables dont come with gpu leads. would a 4 pin to dual pci-e 6 pin+2 splitter work? would have to use split for cpu and gpu power?
I want to create a gaming PC that can run off of a solar system / battery. The DC-DC power supply would work fantastic for this. Any ideas on if this has been done or any ideas on how to do it? I dont want to use an AC power supply due to the fact that means I would need an inverter to convert the battery /solar DC to AC. Great video. Thanks!
How would you suggest I get an "off grid" PC powered for 6-8 hours? I would be looking at an RX580 and ryzen 5. Any recommendations? I never see anyone doing this stuff, and you are literally the only result worth anything on google! Thanks again for making such interesting content!
An RX580 is not the GPU I would pick. You can make a 1060 get similar performance at 90 watts less. I would even try and find a 35w i7. That's the part I can help with-you'll need to go to a drone or rc forum and get help picking your batteries, but you probably are going to use the HDPLEX units for power distribution for your parts because they are "wide input" 16-24v and it gives you some flexibility. If they make good 12v batteries then go with the Pico PSU and follow the mods on my channel (early video) because it will be a little more efficient. Peace!
Nice, I have an i5 build with a 1050ti in it I can use. I am still just super confused as to how the batteries work to hook up to the power supply. In your videos you have an external AC brick that provides the correct voltages; do I need any external convertors for the battery operated setup? Or does the pico power supply regulate what is coming off of the battery. I am looking to setup the PC in a solar system, so the batteries would be a lot larger than the RC batteries. Wondering if I need some kind of voltage regulator (the batteries in the solar array are going to be 12v output). Also, I can't find a single place online to really check how long a PC can last, power draw, power factor, etc... I am going to keep doing research on it, do you know of any one else doing DC-DC power supplies for PCs? Like I said, you were the only resource I could find.
I've not done any scientific testing. Just been building systems with it (no active cooling), and if it passed through the 285ITX era of computing, I'd say we are good! Operating temperature is specified at 70C.
This is seriously one of the most useful videos I've ever seen. How has your channel not taken off yet? Well edited, great useful information broken down for anyone, and just all around pleasant to watch.
Thank you! Subscribing might help my RUclips visibility. I have lots more videos like this too if you want to take a look. Thanks!
Took me a while to realize that he wears that hat unironically.
It took a while for flat bills to gain their current status
Blue Beefalo would you look at that there is a itx gtx 1080
Its something else seeing a tech reviewer/tutorial guy dress like a good ol'boy.
And we did see a XOTAC itx version of the 1080. And if I was going to every build a very tiny pc, definitely would consider these options.
my brain expects a deep south accent coming out of your head/hat
I clean it up for RUclips. My accent of course. Not my hat. The transmission fluid would ruin my washing machine...
You were completely right, we now have a ZOTAC Mini 1080 and mini 1080ti. We have second generation Ryzen chips running at 65W TDP. Performance leaps can be done with low TDP! Subbed and hopefully can buy one of your systems in the future!
HE CALLED IT, MINI ITX 1080!
Thanks so much! I've been looking everywhere for small power supplies. They're all so big and so much more watts than necessary. I don't think anyone realizes how little power is used by modern hardware
Thanks for this. I have been looking to understand a bit more about this mini PSU items and you my friend just nailed it. I love small factor PCs or HTPC I don't care what they are call but thanks and keep up the great work you do.
Fur mark and prime 95? You're quite the sadist to your PCs.
Gneiss Guy Kind of the point. Pushing the PC to the absolute limit to see if it holds
Fur mark cooked one of my GPUs in under 5 seconds. Use with caution!
pls do more tech videos , tbh you are better than most youtubers doing tech videos and reviews
Wow what a call - 2-3 month later and we now DO have a mini 1080. Nice and informative video - can't wait for powerful gaming rigs too shrink even more :)
This would solve so many problems with my plan to build a PC inside a dead xbox 360. *hypes some more*
Pico PSU...if you're thinking out of the box, this thing clearly can replace messy 24-pin cables! Pico PSU just delivery power from the power brick, so it's possible to delivery the power from ATX as well, but you should have some sort of compatible ATX PSU. If you bought 250W pico PSU, you should use 250W ATX PSU as well.
This video talked me out of upgrading from a 450w SFX PSU to a 600w one for my i5 3570k and GTX 1060 mITX build. Subscribed!
Thanks man! I am a firm believer in high quality PSUs, but high quality PSUs are so over capacity now it is silly. Peace
You're an idiot honestly,that build needs like 350w. 450 is more than enough,600 is stupidity at its finest.
Yeah impresse but... You're looking at a total cost of over 200$. 90 for the HDPLEX and 110$ for a decent brick. No one has a 240 Watt brick just laying around.... Better go with a nice and more convenient SFX PSU
Controlremotehp this is a ussf enthusiast case. Any time you move into enthusiast space things get much more expensive.
The smallest SFX case isnt that much bigger than this case. Benefit: all internal and for a third of the price.
Controlremotehp The Node 202 is significantly larger than this
Go look for the Dan A4-SFX-Case. And please... don't forget to include the bulky powerbrick to the volume! You just get too many cons with this kind of setup.
The DanA4 is not the sort of form factor that would fit in my backpack. Having a power brick has the benefit of being storable in the front compartment of my backpack.
Didn't have to wait a year for the mini GTX 1080. Zotac just showed it off at CES today. It's going to be sweet in your case
The HDPlex 300 is one of the PSUs I'm looking at for a tiny build. Seems to fit the bill for what I need.
This is pretty awesome! But if I were to measure the outgoing wattage with a regular PSU, would it still be the same as with the ones you showed here? I always see people recommending at least 600w 80+ PSUs for a build with a 1080
Yes, you would see the same. The only difference is if you were using a low quality PSU you might see SLIGHTLY higher wattages (like and extreme difference of 5-10) from increased resistance after part temp is reached.
Ok ill bite, can’t stand watching the chatter about power supplies any longer, Oh and by the way nice video love the case design and the smart use of space and power options BUT.
Before I give my two cents worth, here’s how to calculate Watts ( for those who don’t know how!)
The formula is Watts= Amps x Volts.
Using this information The Brick will draw from the wall ( US Power) 330watts = 3amps * 110Volt's
(I hope that's correct as I'm in AU and we have different voltages)
However on the brick you get this! Watts(330) / Volts(19) = 17.36 Amps
Watts is a way of expressing Volt+amps like a quick reference sheet.
so the Pico 160XT board ( Correction Should have Been HDPLEX 250 not Pico 160XT ) steps the volts down some more and outputs a stable 12volts of between 16 and 18amps this is important because!...
Nvidia state’s on their web site that the 1080 requires 180Watt’s to operate correctly, this means the GTX1080 would need 15amps at 12Volts.which I believe is the cards operating voltage.
so using the Information above this shows that the Pico 160XT( Correction Should have Been HDPLEX 250 not Pico 160XT ) and the Dell 19v 330w can indeed run the
GTX 1080 and the system but with not much else... Lucky the system doesn't have much space for Peripherals However n a note of caution you would be pushing the Dell Power brick ( be pretty hot )
however it was noted that the system was having some voltage issues and need to be adjusted, more than likely this was due to the voltage correction on the Power Brick, Pico Board( Correction Should have Been HDPLEX 250 not Pico 160XT ) , and the Motherboard!.
which kind of Indicates the Power supply wasn't really stable enough to run more then this!
Thank you for the compliments and for taking the time to write all that. Please don't be offended, but you TOTALLY are confused about what I showed in the video and I have no idea where you came up with using the Pico 160XT with a 19v power brick as that isn't even possible let alone demonstrated here. Peace.
Also I was just explaining what you can get out of a power supply and why People should pay more attention to the output Side not input, because what a PSU is capable of outputting has no correlation with its input as a bad PSU will still draw up to and beyond its rated Wattage But may not at any time output anything close to its rated output!
My apologies you did use the HDPLEX DC-DC board With a Power brick(wether its a dell or what ever) however my comment still stands, please note in no way was I disputing what you used and tested, just stating that from a watt stand point the 1080 would run in this system but at the Dell PSU's upper watt rating Including the System of cause!. which you did test at the end Correct?
As I understand it, The HDPLEX DC-DC is a voltage step down unit correct?
and the Pico 160XT is just a converter? to output the required Connectors?, and step down voltage for the 5 and 3 volt rail? from a 12volt Power brick?
Thanks dude, this is exactly what i was looking for, for my build
Great video Josh, keep it coming!
This is a very thoughtful video, and super informative. Gets straight to the point. Thanks Sniffen.
You could probably run a graphics card from a regular 12v SMPS and let the smaller pico PSU deal with the other voltages, 5v and 3.3v. Connect the pico PSU to the regular 12v SMPS.
The 192W I think means that the, with efficiency of 80% where 80% from 192 is exactly 160W. So 160 is in the name correct and the PSU is calculated for max power draw of 160W (80%)
very informative video! liking the s4 mini a lot but not in my budget yet, but hopefully in the future
TDP is the *thermal* energy dissipated by the components, not the electric energy ""produced"" or consumed by electronics.
Hence the name [T]hermal [D]esign [P]ower.
You're words have been misleading and due to the video's uploade date, I hope you were already aware of that.
Other than that, it's a great video and a nice topic for anyone wanting to build a more special PC.
+1 from Down Under.
That's very interesting, but I feel like with sfx getting more common and cheaper, might not be worth the extra cost of the picos. A slightly larger case is an acceptable compromise, imo
Always on the mark with advice. Thank! :)
ill say it, they are the future. people are not putting 4 hard drives in their computers anymore, people dont need 700 watt psu's anymore, power supplies are the limiting factor for how small a pc case can get. Honestly they are the biggest thing aside from the gpu, there will be a computer with a single slot gpu (like the xfx rx 460 and like an i5-6400t) which someone will custom build to be 1 slot thick. it will happen and it wont be wierd
:D Josh is bae. I'm seriously considering just undervolting a 6700k now since I planned on using this motherboard, gota love a good bios.
I like the board. I would buy another fosho. Peace!
Very promising indeed!
good stuff..very informative,, thanks
the 1050 and 1050ti did come out ur prediction was right !!!!
they were already out when he filmed this
seth newman no GTX 1050 and 1050ti were both released on October 25, 2016 this video was made on the 13th of October in 2016.
The 1080 mini versions are also out!
@@Droobie03 the specs were already leaked by that time and he probabley got one fron nvidia
Ali0The0King I seriously have a problem making that comment, that was a while ago.
Thanks for reminding that I don't actually need a 500 W PSU, when Gpu manufactures says it's recommended.
If I was a manufacturer I would recommend a 500w+ PSU too, because you can't guarantee quality power supplies, and alot of cheapo ones will rate for peak. If your system draws 300 watts your 300w power supply needs to be amazing quality to keep up. It's much easier to just recommend a 500w PSU. The HDPLEX PSUs are DC-DC distributors and have extremely good efficiency, somewhere between Platinum and Diamond. Peace my friend.
Completely silent too. Seems a lot of people complain about the noise of the current SFX PSUs.
impressive ! I can imagine if this DC PSU is having for 5% of market, people may start different method of system build, through changing different power brick can be very handy, I believe for some system builder dont want to update or change their PSU it may have parts of reason for replace current PSU. and last, for one tiny suggestion for your system burning software
as I know the most hardcore system burning software would be Intel burntest
IT WILL PUSH YOUR SYSTEM TO THE TOP OF SPEC LIMIT!!
if your system able to survive Intel burntest, it will running stable in any reasonable condition!
bro you blew my mind
Can you connect this to solar panels and a battery via converter and have it running 24/7 ? If yes can you make a video of how to do so?
My big criticism is how messy an external power brick is. Something like the streacom 240 or sfx seems cleaner.
You can use an all-internal DC-DC system, if you use a lighter load and shorter length GPU, like a 1050ti and all half-height cards.
Keep up the good work man
That PC is incredible, I'm never buying another console.
true PSU is the BIG black box(which transforms from 220V to 12V), the "tiny PSU" transform from 12V to 12V, 5V, 3.3V, and splits voltage.... overall is not tiny
If you could build using the laptop version of the 1000 GTX series how small would you go? Do you think they'll release the laptop size cards for small builds as well?
They are available, but only to SIs in big quantities. The amazing thing is that they aren't much different at all in terms of TDP, aka, they are basically shrunk versions of the desktop cards...basically. I've built MUCH smaller chassis with "gaming" power, but the S4 is about modularity with off the shelf parts. THANKS for your comment!
4 years later i have a ryzen 7 with 1080ti brickless build in a skyreach s4 mini :D
Theres a case on your website with backwards Japanese characters, just letting you know! I think you just put the acrylic on backwards
i5 8400t and 1060 6gb is my main pc rn. it sips power at 140w furmark not undervolt yet
wich psu do you use? Pico or HDPLEX?
subbed instantly. Totally sold !
Is that a Nuka-Cola Quantum above your workbench?
Well and all this is not considering efficiency, cause the PSU is rated at its output wattage, not input. Im still waiting for a low profile 1060/480 or better and a waterblock for them too.
okay, cool you got a dc-dc power power supply... but the real question is can i build a battery to run the pc to make it "even more mobile" . id like to see some 18650 battery pack adaption for something like this.
People are doing it for VR--you can check out the blog on my website for Leonard Lin's battery pack build and BOM. Peace!
Where can I get your case? I really love the way it looks.
Chang Ye Email him directly. He should have some still
Awesome! this guy needs more exposure!
REALLY REALLY GOOD VIDEO MATE :)
i think an important note to this video is that its kind of important to use an ssd, as most hdds as far as i know are at around 40 watts, while an ssd is at what, 7-9? thats 30 watts more on something else that can be crucial! dont thikn ill use one of those anytime soon, but i sure im getting interested in itx, even tho im aiming for matx more. i feel like atx and eatx are the parts that are becomming irrelevant. especially now that nvidia dont even support more than 2 gpus! :P and well, cfx and sli arent really that refined anyways. m atx allows a nice combo of sli if you really need it, or a card and either a networkscard, sound card, raid card or soemthing like that, not to mention it doesnt look as bad as itx(sry, but badly placed ports really messes with cable management, but not all computers are build for eyecandy)
Hello, Ulf, and thank you for responding! The most power hungry HDD on the market is the WDBlack 7200 3.5" drive, which pulls 9w under max load. The MINI only supports 2.5" drives and most drives operate about 3w under load. I use a 2TB Seagate for media caching and it adds less than 2w when pulling. I think you might have accidentally read another 0 in there. Excellent comment though, people need to know it's not a problem power wise to use HDDs. Peace!
That being said I don't recommend HDDs anyway unless you have a cool GPU like a 1050ti for long term life reasons. Though some customers use dual HDDs and run a 1080 in their MINIs...soooo xD Peace
ah, yea. my research mustve been 'lill' off then haha!
Don't use valley however...not representative...armored warfare is a must to test power consumption...:)
"In the future graphics cards will become more power efficient"
Me looking at the upcoming 500W+ RTX 4000 cards: Yeah sure lol
On the other hand, this video has given me confidence in building a Ryzen 7 5800X + RTX A2000 build since they consume roughly the same power as what's shown here. Thanks!
In every "psu calcualtor" recommend to buy a psu with more than 600w for a i7+1070/1080 configuration. I can't understand how can you run your pc (or in other videos other pc's with high end pc gaming) with this HDPLEX 400W
There are many reasons why (the PSUs here are super efficient, use premium parts, and micropeaking isn't calculated) but PSU calculators only use the manufacturer's recommended specs. Manufacturers use wildly high wattage numbers in order to ensure your PSU is actually capable of running their product. It's not uncommon to see power requirements on a GPU box be twice over what the GPU is physically capable of using. A simple watt meter can show you what your PC is actually using--I recommend you pick one up for 20 bucks and then use a so-called "PSU Calculator" and see what the difference is. I build i7+1080 systems all the time and they draw about 270-290w depending on the CPU. Peace.
Furmark and prime95.... and AIDA64 *mind blown*
would it be possible to put the power brick into the case to make less clutter outside the case?
Is it possible way to power PC using car battery?? Without using inverter.
TDP is VERY different than power draw... TDP is the heat generated by an electronic componant, power draw is what you gotta be worryed about
And when you measure MPD from the wall with an Intel + Nvidia system you will find that almost magically the sum of the advertised TDP of the CPU and GPU equal what you see on the power graph. You are correct, it is not the same thing and there are exceptions, but it is used to ballpark average power draw at peak loads. AMD chips are more off...though I have yet to test Polaris and RYZEN. Peace to you and happy modding.
As usual...GG
Is there any advantages other than being small? Does power bricks draw less idle power than normal ATX psu?
Nice video brah. Keep it up.
big thanks for making this vid josh, gives me so much more confidence to go for the bigger spec when i get my s4.
Edit: Quick question, what mobo where you using there?
ASUS Z170i PRO GAMING. Great board, lots of overclocking (or undervolting features). The RAM I bought was NOT good, but the tweaks allowed it to run flawlessly.
I like the video. Can you make a video on installing these into the system?
Thank you for watching and your comment! For that video please check out my website nfc-systems.com/s4-mini/
wait,tdp watt are for thermals...not electric usage...so yea everything he is saying is wrong... but my question is,for a strong CPU and GPU,can you use 2 power bricks? (one of them can be bridged)
There is a big difference between being technically accurate and being WRONG, especially for the sake of my audience. I want to help new users not be intimidated by DC-DC kits, and if I bring in vTDP, cTDP, Nominal TDP, Intel's SDP, LET ALONE ADP, Burst Load, CMS State it will get too overwhelming too fast. Since a watt is a unit of measurement of energy transfer over time, and because Intel and Nvidia have have done an excellent job with their published TDP to MPD ratios it works quite well for approximating nominal energy draw. AMD has gotten alot better too, though they still need more thermally efficient products to really be included in these mini-itx chassis. And yes, please check out my other video on using two power bricks and two DC-DC power supplies. Peace! ruclips.net/video/NX4G6I4FPY8/видео.html
Could you just go with an external GPU?
Legend has it that AIDA64 can get higher temps...
It got my 8700K to 95 degrees ;-;
Hah, true. If you really want to make your parts bleed OCCT can do it too. (Don't use OCCT unless you know what you are doing or you might see magic blue smoke...)
nice this was new for me definitly will get one for my itx build! what exactly u had to do with the ram? dont they work out of the box with the pico?
Are you for hire? I have plans for modding a classic Xbox into a PC case.
@Not From Concentrate
Question if you have the time: how did you power the 1060 in the video using the PicoPSU? I want to get a 6GB 1060 or a 4 GB 1050Ti running from the 12V power brick if possible. I have achieved this using a dual power brick-dual PicoPSU approach before, but would rather keep it down to one, especially if I can use the 200W HD-Plex LPSU. The system has an optical drive, a 2.5" SSD, an i7 8700 (65 TDP), and ideally a GTX 1050Ti or 6Gb GTX 1060. It will be used for MadVR UHD HDR video rendering, not maxed out gaming; do you think the 160W Pico is up to the task? If the video card requires PCI-E power, do you just add splitters to the 4-pin molex connector on the PicoPSU?
The Mini-Box brand 160XT is a beefy unit and can easily handle a 1060--you just need to make a cable harness for it. I believe I have an example where I make an adapter for a 285 in one of my first videos. The 160XT doesn't have a cut-off power limit, so it can definitely power your system. Keep in mind it is a 12v PSU and HDPLEX products are typically 19v. I would recommend you go the HDPLEX route because you won't have to do any new wiring--HDPLEX is very supportive of this community. Peace
@@NotFromConcentrate Thanks, man! I will look up the cable harness thing. The HDPlex LPSU I mentioned was for their external linear PSU which has both 12V and 19V DC outputs. I'm a longtime customer of Larry's, and am working with him right now on some other business. Between you both, I am indebted!
I own a very reputable (but VERY small - one man!) computer audio company, and you have already taught me a lot about the components I regularly use. I see an S4mini or 3 in my future to replace some of my personal aging full-size HTPC builds.
What GPU did you use for your Pico PSU demo? Is that a gtx 750ti or gtx 1060?
Have you tried the newer HDPlex 160 that is now competition for the Pico? What do you think of it? It's a bigger unit so is there any advantage to the size?
I love the funny looking hat.
This is absolutely awesome. I've been considering a small form factor pc for portability reasons, but up till now, nothing was quite small enough.
A question if you're available, would it be possible to squeeze a 6700k, 32GB@2400Mhz, 2TB of M.2, and (the kicker) a Titan X pascal into this? If so, I need to cancel an sli laptop order...
If you are talking about the S4 Mini, then no--it only supports 8" cards. It is really tiny. It looks bigger than it is because I stand behind it. The fastest GPU you can put in it RIGHT now is the Gigabyte 1070 Mini, but I suspect there will be mini 1080s next year. Thanks for watching, and maybe check this out: ruclips.net/video/azlP8iiMb-4/видео.html
Adjust the brightness and contrast on your screen, bro.
You consider the 1060 pretty decent while the 6gb version is VR ready...
I agree these psu are great I have used them and they defiantly have their purpose. But wait, don't gpu's require a certain amount of wattage to run correctly? You must be doing some bios mods to turn down the components right? Also, there would be no overclocking options with these then...
These are 100% stock power profiles and they run great. Overclocking a 1080 is not ideal, but it would be against the point of the video...Peace!
Well, I had no clue you could even run those cards on a Pico PSU so that is awesome!! Thanks :) And because of this video I did some more digging and found that that each GPU has a peek power draw (that you have to search for) which is usually quite a bit less than the recommended PSU wattage, which makes a lot more sense now LOL.
do you think the streacom 160w would handle a 1060 with a max 65w cpu?
The Dan sfx seems like a better form factor and has maxed out specs?
The DAN-A4 is a beautiful, benchmark-chassis and I highly recommend it for people who aren't looking for maximum portability. Supporting Dan and other small SFF innovators is what this channel is about. Ego, competition, and mudslinging are not in my vocabulary. I want to build people up not tear them down. Peace.
www.dan-cases.com/
Not From Concentrate Sorry I just thought it was a better shape for fitting in bags
Dude this power supply is compatible for Hp 8200 sff pc
Great video. I noticed you had to up the ram voltage in order to get the system to work. Is that something you do often with pico PSU builds? Can I know by how much you had to level it up?
I am having issues with my 32GB (2x16) crucial, I have random reboots at 1.2v.
Thanks
There is no way for me to know if my Power brick is flawed or just the ram voltage that needs tweaking. The system is stable with a regular PSU.
do u know if a pico psu 160xt can handle this.
core i7 7700
nh-l9i
Asus z270i
2x8GB Dominador Platinum
Silverstone 12.7mm bluray drive
samsung m2 960evo
WD Black 2.5 7000rpm
Nvidia Quadro P1000
2x92mm noctua fans
case Streacom F7C Alpha
Nice video, man. Planning the following for a mid-range S4 Mini build:
Intel Core i5 8400- 65W TDP
MSI B360 motherboard
EVGA GTX 1060 SC Mini- 120W TDP, running the small factory overclock
1x m.2 pciE SSD
1x 2.5" 5400rpm SS hybrid drive
2x8gb DDR4 ram
Oculus Rift system- 3xUSB 3.0, 1x USB 2.0, 1xUSB 2.O keyboard/mouse
The CPU/GPU combo alone gives me a TDP of 185W. I'm planning on using one of the KPKMT Dynamo PSUs from your website- just love that polished black look- along with a Dell 19V 240W power brick. My question is: do you think the Dynamo 160 would be sufficient? Or would it be a good bet to go for the Dynamo combo with the 160+ the 360? Thinking of the latter, if for nothing else than future-proofing. Thanks.
Also, another question: since I'm not gonna be OC'ing the processor and it's only a 65W, would a cooler like the Noctua L9i be necessary? Or would the stock intel cooler do? I've never used a stock cooler so don't know what they're capable of in a case this size.
Howdy! Yeah, I think the Dynamo 160 will be great for your build. Send me an email though as I have a better power brick for you for the same price as I clear out inventory. Peace!
Not From Concentrate ok sounds good. Will hit you up soon.
Will the PicoPSU 160XT hold up my GTX 750 and i5-4460 (84 TDP)
What's with the shutter speed of that camera?
What setup would you suggest for me with 1660 super and ryzen 3 3300x or r5 3600
i have basic question couz i m not good in this...if u have Pico 160XT and Dell 19v 330w Brick, are you limited to pico 160-200w or u can get almost 500W from it together with dell brick?
Great overview and tutorial!
If i want a 51 W i3-6300 CPU + noctua nh-l9i + 100 W GTX 950 GPU + 1x 2.5" SSD + odd + 3x 60x15 mm fans (evercool) + 3x 50x15 mm fans (evercool) should I go for the picoPSU or the HDPLEX?
The TDP of the cpu + gpu is well within the range of the Pico, but can it handle the rest of the components as well? There would be room for atleast 2x additional 2.5" drives as well (total 3) and an m.2 pcie3x4 SSD. My head tells me to go with the HDPLEX just to be on the safe side. What do you say/think?
Pico KIT no question!!! Have fun.
Not From Concentrate Ok, thanks!
Would the 160W picoPSU plus the 192W Power Adapter give you a total of 352W or a total of 160W for your system? I just don't understand how this works.
Great question! It would give you 192w of power. Use the number from the power brick, not the DC-DC adapter. Peace.
good video!
Have you recomend the 160 Watts Pico PSU for a Ryzen 5 3400G, 16GB DDR4 HyperX 3000MHZ, Aorus B450i (The ITX Verstion), Noctua L9i cooler and a Samsung Evo m.2??????
Why is it so hard to find a Pico that has a 7.4*5 port!? Driving me mad!
All the 19v "plug in style/Pico" units I know of do. Check out the HDPLEX 200. Peace
I'm a nut. I am thinking of a computer I can take place to place but leave a gpu at home to plug into (basically an external gpu). Except I don't want to pay an extra $200 on an rx480 just so I can have a little more umph. Is there something powerful enough for that?
sorry, can;t understand this point ,what is the different between the pico and hdplex when the 330 watt charger is the source of power ? i love your videos because i was searching online to make tiny powerful pc,i found imagic case look like mac pro but it took only lp bracket Gpu,and node 202 from domitry channel and DAN case from linus channel ,but yours is the tinest but beast ,i will pay mini 1070&asus mini itx&this case ,and need to learn how to power it ,i;m Egyptian dentist and wish some help?and some product links for this tiny port to the charger
Hello! The Pico is 12v, the HDPLEX is 16-24v (but you will be using 19v bricks with it). Secondly, you should use the PICO for builds under 200 watts (220 peak) and the HDPLEX for builds over 200w and a 380w peak. All the links you need are in the description. Peace!
can you put 2-3 in parallel?
ive got Chinese copy of 300w psu. problem - cables dont come with gpu leads. would a 4 pin to dual pci-e 6 pin+2 splitter work? would have to use split for cpu and gpu power?
I want to create a gaming PC that can run off of a solar system / battery. The DC-DC power supply would work fantastic for this.
Any ideas on if this has been done or any ideas on how to do it?
I dont want to use an AC power supply due to the fact that means I would need an inverter to convert the battery /solar DC to AC.
Great video.
Thanks!
Sure it would work. Use RC car/drone batteries--it's a whole 'nother world to dive into.
How would you suggest I get an "off grid" PC powered for 6-8 hours? I would be looking at an RX580 and ryzen 5. Any recommendations? I never see anyone doing this stuff, and you are literally the only result worth anything on google!
Thanks again for making such interesting content!
An RX580 is not the GPU I would pick. You can make a 1060 get similar performance at 90 watts less. I would even try and find a 35w i7. That's the part I can help with-you'll need to go to a drone or rc forum and get help picking your batteries, but you probably are going to use the HDPLEX units for power distribution for your parts because they are "wide input" 16-24v and it gives you some flexibility. If they make good 12v batteries then go with the Pico PSU and follow the mods on my channel (early video) because it will be a little more efficient. Peace!
Nice, I have an i5 build with a 1050ti in it I can use.
I am still just super confused as to how the batteries work to hook up to the power supply.
In your videos you have an external AC brick that provides the correct voltages; do I need any external convertors for the battery operated setup? Or does the pico power supply regulate what is coming off of the battery.
I am looking to setup the PC in a solar system, so the batteries would be a lot larger than the RC batteries. Wondering if I need some kind of voltage regulator (the batteries in the solar array are going to be 12v output).
Also, I can't find a single place online to really check how long a PC can last, power draw, power factor, etc...
I am going to keep doing research on it, do you know of any one else doing DC-DC power supplies for PCs? Like I said, you were the only resource I could find.
How much air flow might the hdplex need? How much heat does it pump out when maxed out?
I've not done any scientific testing. Just been building systems with it (no active cooling), and if it passed through the 285ITX era of computing, I'd say we are good! Operating temperature is specified at 70C.