Thread: Should i get a Keypower?

Originally Posted by carpal tunnel

So i'm looking to power a P3 550 desktop tower with a Keypower 250w supply
This one

I'm also looking at using Jeff Mucha's shutdown controler

questions:

a) Does anyone have experience cranking while running the keypower supply? does it cut out? or keep running?

b) The temerature range on the keypower is not nearly as good as the opus. Does anyone have experience running it below freezing?

c) is there a any other dc-dc supply that will provide at least 200w and have better temp and overal extreams tolerence than the keypower?

any other sugjestions would be great. i'm pretty set on running a DC-DC.

thanks

Will that connector plug into an ATX connector (EPIA M-series)? I too am going to go with a Jeff Muchas shutdown controller but im thinking about keypower also....if it fits my mini-itx board

jusatry:

Yes, this particular model is ATX

How much is this DC-DC PSU?

when I click on "shop online", that product is not listed =(

froogle lists it at $170.....

Originally Posted by carpal tunnel

c) is there a any other dc-dc supply that will provide at least 200w and have better temp and overal extreams tolerence than the keypower?

thanks

Not yet. Opus is eyeing something more powerfull though, should be very interesting around March. Let's just say I am holding off the carpc part of my vehicle until closer to summer.

OOO!
sounds nice! I hope they dont keep us holding our breath too long though.
The one problem here is that its bound to be expensive.

Originally Posted by Maxis24

Not yet. Opus is eyeing something more powerfull though, should be very interesting around March. Let's just say I am holding off the carpc part of my vehicle until closer to summer.

Yeah, I talked to Kris at Opus a while ago - Last April, to be exact. He said that they were looking at a release of August '03 for the 250W. I hope you're right! I'd love to get an Opus but need the higher power. March would be great!

- Jeff

What else you got in that P3 550 tower that you need so much juice?

Have you calculated your rail requirements yet? Opus 150W may be more than enough to power your setup.

I power a P4 2.4 system off the Opus. I've seen a few posts here of users running AMD Athlons off the Opus. Both use significantly more power than a P3 550. Its not quite an apple to apple comparison, as newer CPUs tend to use the 12V rail while the older ones (ie P3) use the 5v rail.

Verify the rail and power requirements. Search google for PSU power calculators.
Heres one that was stickied here in the past:
http://www.mymp3car.com/MP3Car/PSUpower.asp
The CPU is not included the rail totals for that particular calculator. You'll need to do the conversion yourself (P = IV or I = P/V using the right rail for your CPU).

Once you know what you need on each rail, compare it to the Opus data sheet. You can also give Kris at Opus a call. He may have tested a similar setup or have customers that use it on a similar setup.

I've only run across one person that claims to have overloaded an Opus, and that person's claims were dubious. The Opus 150w is rated rather conservatively, it actually puts out somewhat more than 150 watts. I've seen multiple 2ghz plus systems run off these units. Unless you have 3 pci cards and 3 desktop harddrives along with that 550mhz chip, you will have no problem.