need a good quality 12-19v dc power brick for pc use - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: linux-works
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 18, 2014, 03:20:11 pm
content: going to change my psu on my mini-itx box to a 'pico-psu' fanless style unit.from what I've read, the 'wide input' ones are the ones you want; they regulate the 12v line as well as the others. the non-WI ones depend on the 12v brick being accurate, which sounds like a risk to me.if I go WI, I can choose a 12v psu brick or even 19v laptop style. I'd like to get 90w or more from it, just in case I run a lower end i3 or i5 someday from this.what I would like to have is a rec. from users on the power brick. browsing amazon, I read a lot of complains about poor quality in the bricks and that's my experience, too. they are all made to low end standards and last a short time, only.are there ANY good ones out there? I don't mind paying extra and I'd like a real honest U/L rated one, if possible.can anyone point me to one that is trustable? do they even exist, anymore, or are they all 'take your chances' quality?(should be 8amp or higher, just for extra headroom in future cpu choices.)

author: AndyC_772
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 18, 2014, 04:02:18 pm
content: My laptop uses an FSP FSP180-ABAN1, which is 19V @ 9.47A output. Perhaps a bit big for your application, but I have three of them and they've all been reliable - and, more interestingly, I've tested one for radiated emissions in an EMC lab and found it to be really surprisingly quiet.I regard that as a very good sign that it's not simply been built down to a price, but has in fact been built to far exceed the minimum legal requirement for EMC performance. Hats off to FSP for producing a product that isn't crap.

author: Kevman
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 18, 2014, 04:07:06 pm
content: The problem is that most adapters out there on Amazon are cheap replacements or downright counterfit.If you can find a GENUINE Delta power brick or something similar, you're golden. I'd recommend something like an original HP replacement adapter, but you'd likely have to replace the output connector, and HPs use Smart Pin, but I think (I'd have to double check) they still put out 19v without the pin connected. Original laptop PSUs, dells, Samsung, Sony, Acer, Etc. are all going to be very good quality.FSP (Fortran Source), Delta, Mean Well, Seasonic, SPI (Sparkle Power) are all good OEMs.Best one I can find is this:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA0ZX1AJ7399I found this:http://www.amazon.com/FSP-Notebook-EliteBook-NB-AD90/dp/B005SHOS9YFSP is a big name PSU manufacturer. I'd trust 'em.Wanna be really future proof?http://www.amazon.com/FSP-Group-19V~9-47A-Adapter-FSP180-ABAN1/dp/B004TA7AVE/ref=sr_1_52?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=undefined&sr=1-52

author: gxti
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 18, 2014, 04:21:37 pm
content: The 12v rail doesn't need to be particularly accurate, because it's only used to feed point-of-load buck converters anyway. Anything put out by a 12V brick would be fine, and mini-box even sells them in combos with the ATX supply. The extra conversion step for the 12V rail also lowers efficiency slightly. You only need the wide input ones for e.g. running from a lead-acid battery where the voltage is expected to be significantly out.

author: Kevman
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: August 18, 2014, 04:52:43 pm
content: yeah, but 12v means more current to deal with and the power supplies are a bit harder to find.Here's a 12v unit if you want to go that route...http://www.jameco.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10001_10001_2129211_-1

author: Phaedrus
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 19, 2014, 06:54:02 pm
content: FSP, Antec, and Cooler Master all make respectable 3rd party 19V and 12V bricks. FSP makes their own, Antec uses a mix of FSP and Delta Electronics, Cooler Master uses Enhance OEM.If you use a 12V brick and a "non-wide input" PicoPSU then you'll want to make sure the brick meets at least ATX12V v2.x standards: +/-5% voltage regulation under load, <120mVpk-pkripple (20MHz bandwidth limited, 10uF and 0.1uF capacitors at point of measurement). Preferably a bit better than that.

author: Monkeh
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 19, 2014, 07:32:13 pm
content: 95W 19V supplies are pretty common for laptops. Toshiba, Lenovo, etc. Genuine ones are quite easily available (look second hand! Hell, salvage them from people throwing out broken laptops, I do it all the time), and if you're not feeling trusting, you can buy them as spares directly from the manufacturer in many cases.