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**Dougie Fresh** · (This post was last modified: 2012-09-18, 17:05 by Dougie Fresh.)

LOL, sorry about that. I'll try better to explain.

The harness is the little piece that connects the AC adapter plug to the picoPSU. There are two types, the single hole "barrel" connector and then a heavier-duty 4-pin "mini-DIN" connector. According to mini-box.com, the makers of the picoPSU, the barrel type harness can only handle a maximum of 8 amps, so 96 watts (8A x 12V = 96W). However, I often see these higher amperage combinations being sold -- like in the case of the picoPSU 120W with a 120W (10A) adapter. The 10A potentially supplied by the 120W AC adapter exceeds the 8A rating and therefore could be unsafe.

Mini-box.com includes the heavier-duty harness with their 150W and 160W picoPSU and the 4-pin AC adapter. I see these UK sellers do not. I don't know why. I can't say if you got the picoPSU 120 with the 120W adapter if it'd be safe.

I've tended to believe the manufacturer so I either get the 12V picoPSU 120 with a 12V (8A) 96W adapter or I get the picoPSU 120 "WI" version which can take a wide range of input voltages. I've usually found it easier to find a compatible 120W 19V AC adapter. Since it's running at 19V, the amperage for 120W is only 6.3A, below the maximum rating of the harness and therefore safe.

If that still doesn't make sense, you might be better off with a standard PSU. I would say if the PSU you already have is noisy then just swap out the fan.

discmeister · (This post was last modified: 2012-09-18, 17:50 by discmeister.)

Nicely explained. I get it now. So I either need to buy a regular PicoPSU with a 4-pin AC adapter for 120W, or a 120 'WI' and a 19v 120W AC adapter.

I'll get looking.

The current PSU will probably end up being slotted into my home server - the basis for which will be the current media player set-up. So I may as well look for a totally silent solution. Hence PicoPSU.

Discy

One other question - many of the PIcoPSU pictures I see, including those of the 'WI' (which I've already found in the UK - good start!), don't appear to show it having the extra 4-pin power connector that you connect into the motherboard - only the larger connector. Is that common?

Discy

**Dougie Fresh** · 2012-09-18, 18:07

(2012-09-18, 17:47)discmeister Wrote: One other question - many of the PIcoPSU pictures I see, including those of the 'WI' (which I've already found in the UK - good start!), don't appear to show it having the extra 4-pin power connector that you connect into the motherboard - only the larger connector. Is that common?

Unfortunately, yes. You need to get a molex-to-P4 adapter and a splitter as well if you need molex power. The 150 and 160 comes with a P4 and the 12V 90W does as well but for some reason neither 120W models do.

discmeister · 2012-09-18, 18:12

Ah, right. I'll have a look around for that. One final question - what size is the barrel socket that the brick cable has to fit? I've found this 19V 120W supply - http://linitx.com/viewproduct.php?prodid=13458 - and can find some evidence of FSP bricks being used to evaluate the 'WI' unit. Though frustratingly, the one that was tested had a single letter different in its model code - which can make a huge difference!

Thanks again for all your patience,

Discy

**Dougie Fresh** · 2012-09-18, 22:18

2.5mm x 5.5mm fits the barrel plug. No worries. Happy to answer and help!

discmeister · (This post was last modified: 2012-09-19, 11:20 by discmeister.)

Great stuff. Ready to press the button on a lot of orders here...!

Am just wondering - do you think a G530 will be able to play HD video with its own integrated graphics? Or should I just take the hit and buy an entry-level i3? And if I did that, would the PicoPSU be able to cope? I'd be using Eden via XBMCBuntu, most likely.

Discy

**Dougie Fresh** · 2012-09-19, 17:52

At idle and for 1080p video the G530 and i3 use nearly the same power. It's only at the top end that they differ. The picoPSU 120 will be able to handle either.

The G530 will definitely be able to play 1080p video -- whether it's GPU or CPU rendered. The GPU is basically the same as what was in all the Clarkdale chips and the CPU is a 2.4GHz dual-core so don't let the "bottom of the line" or Celeron name fool you -- it's still a very powerful processor.

discmeister · 2012-09-20, 13:19

Thanks for all your help, Dougie. I think I'm going to order the PicoPSU you suggested, with that 19V brick, then probably a G620 processor and the Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3H mobo (http://www.ebuyer.com/351614-gigabyte-ga...a-b75m-d3h).

My only remaining concern was really whether the processor would be able to give me slick menus in XBMC regardless of skin - but then I looked at benchmarks and the G620 blows away the Athlon X2 (my current set-up), which is plenty slick enough for me as it is. So hopefully I'll end up with a bit better compatibility, less noise and still a slick system.

I'll report back in a week or so when I've made the final build.

Discy

**Dougie Fresh** · (This post was last modified: 2012-09-20, 16:22 by Dougie Fresh.)

That 19V FSP AC adapter one is a great choice with the 120-WI-25. If you haven't come across this article yet, take a look:

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?nam...9&reid=207 (about 2/3 of the way down)

"FSP power brick shows that it's the best power brick... and I like what the PicoPSU 120-WI-25 can do with it. "

G620 is what I have in my HTPC. It runs Windows, XBMC and WMC without a hitch, especially with an SSD. Have fun and please come back and post your build.

discmeister · (This post was last modified: 2012-09-20, 16:32 by discmeister.)

Will do. I won't be touching Windows, though - this will be an XBMCBuntu box.

Do you run a standard heatsink and fan on yours, Dougie? I'm looking at 'upgrading' to a low-profile Akasa K25, because I hear the standard fan won't go below 1200rpm and the Akasa goes down to 600 or 800.

Kind regards, and thanks again,

Discy

Just committed the first funds to the project: the 120-WI-25 and FSP 19V are ordered! Very respectable £62.80 including next-day delivery.

The build date for 'Operation Rolldown' (which involves three machines) will be a week on Saturday....

Now to go shopping for CPU, fan and mobo!

Discy

mprassel · 2012-09-20, 16:35

What about bitstreaming. Can the G620 do that without a seperate GPU?

discmeister · 2012-09-20, 22:38

Incidentally, Dougie, I took the lid off the case this evening, briefly disconnected the CPU fan and fired it up. The noise I heard and mentioned before is definitely coming from the EA-380D. There's not a whisper from the Shuriken fan on the CPU - and those are the only two fans in the machine.

So providing the Akasa does a similar job with the G620 as the Shuriken does with the X2 right now, the Pico PSU should ensure that I have a nice quiet system.

Discy

discmeister · 2012-09-21, 23:02

Thanks to everyone, particularly Dougie, for your suggestions. Following this advice - and some views on Intel NIC compared with the latest Realtek chipsets on Ubuntu - I went for a G620 with an Intel motherboard, the DH67BL.

Fingers crossed this does the trick. The whole 'nVidia bug' thing with XBMCBuntu has frankly tired me out...!

Will post back when the build has happened so others can benefit from my experience (and mistakes, probably!).

Discy

**Dougie Fresh** · (This post was last modified: 2012-09-21, 23:10 by Dougie Fresh.)

(2012-09-20, 16:25)discmeister Wrote: Do you run a standard heatsink and fan on yours, Dougie? I'm looking at 'upgrading' to a low-profile Akasa K25, because I hear the standard fan won't go below 1200rpm and the Akasa goes down to 600 or 800.

I use the Gelid Slim Silence i-Plus in that HTPC. The Realan E-i5 case it's in is only 60mm tall. It's a 1U (28mm) cooler with a 75mm fan. I glance at temps every once in a while and it's usually 38C-45C.

discmeister · 2012-09-29, 18:29

Dougie,

I'm in the middle of building the machine now - and will probably have to stall until I get myself a longer adapter lead for either the 4pin connector or my SATA power cable.

In any case, I've a couple of quick queries that maybe you could help me with?

1) Pico PSU is a 20-pin adapter but my mobo has a 24-pin power socket. I've read that this isn't a problem, and it does just install flush at one end of the socket, leaving 4 pins empty. But is that really correct?
2) I bought the bracket for the power socket connector at the rear of the case, and it's install nicely. Seems a nice solution. However, there's a nut and a washer on it, and I can't work out whether to have the washer between the cable and in the inside of the rear of the case, or between the nut and the outside of the rear of the case. Any hints?

Thanks again for all your help with this. The machine is looking very neat inside with no PSU, I can tell you that much...

Discy