dual PSU setup

[Dax_Brandy]

http://www.villagephotos.com/pubbrow...elected=667459

guys, i have made some modification on my generic 300w psu.. check out the link and see what i did. basically i rip the psu, take out the circuit board and place it in a cdrom case, installed it in my cdrom bay drive and now i have 2 psu running in the system. this one handles all my fan voltage sources and other accessories.

please do post your comments..

[PyroSama]

What are your temps like with all that added heat?


PyroSama

[Omardeth]

did you do this for GP ? unless you have dozens of fans and lights why would you need 2 power supplys .

[Jeordiewhite]

While it's interesting, it would make much more sense to just go out and buy a new psu that supply's like 420w. It's usually a common size and works for most people.

However if it was to save money, then more power to ya
Hope you keep the second psu cool as well with a fan or two.

[Eladijaz]

Be careful with your cpu fan particularly. If your rebuilt PSU fails and the other one keeps running ... :-( ... not fun things could happen.
Elad.

[dafanman]

Ive been running dual power supply setup for years, and it worked well for me, all of my fans, opticals and storage drives run off of the 2nd external psu, and the system gets the benefits of the main psu.

Having worked in a mom & pop shop and seeing the # of users that had various psu issues, I decided a long time ago to avert that problem.

Todays Nforce2 systems, ram, video, various optical and hd's, cpu's,intergrated components, ect like as much power as you can give them.

Dax_Brandy, cool mod, Im gonna save that link, Im sure others are intrested in your results.

[Bovon]

Interesting mod!!...good job. One thing I would suggest..if the PSU is a used one, and has seen some service, it would benefit the user to replace the two large filter capacitors. These are what fail 90% of the time due to drying out from heat stress..when they fail, they short..killing the PSU and sometimes taking the computer with it. Replacing the filter caps with very good quality replacements should assure the PSU will work as a new one would for a long time.

Be sure to keep this unit as cool as possible...as I just mentioned, the failure of all PSUs (not related to lightning etc.) is heat.

[Dax_Brandy]

thanks for your reaction guys..

well, my cpu fan remain connected to the psu which supplies the mobo and other cards, while the rest connects to the other one.

one reason is to save money of course and technical side, some fans or other accessories like ccfl, rheobus, etc. are potential time bomb for the psu ... and i am using some extra psu in the house. basically, the psu is new.. i have used it for a while then replaced it with the enermax 350W.

temperature issues are being addressed. i will be placing a bay cooler blowing into the psu and currently there exists a top exhaust fan near the psu. system temp remains at 35C for 5 hours of continues usage.

once again, thanks for your support. dual psu setup here in my place is also being accepted as an alternative way of having more power for the system. some does it for money. they will do the mod for you and you pay.

[dragonfire]

Looks like a good idea - reducing load/stress on the PSU can only result in extended lifetime.

I have to admit though what I'd really like to see is home built redundant power setup, ideally hot swap, without paying $AU10K+ for a full blown server grade machine.

[John Prophet]

I have thought of that idea before...the dual supply deal. I think it would be cool to be able to have the video card on a totally different supply from the rest of the comp.