William Wong
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ED Online ID #13443 |
September 8, 2006
There is not much to the $49.95 picoPSU (see the figure) from ITuner Networks. It plugs directly into the ATX power connector found on most small motherboards such as the Mini-ITX form factor boards used in one recent project (see “Building A Multimedia Home Control Center, Part 1,” ED Online 13330).
Normally, the case for such a motherboard includes a small DC-DC converter board that must be mounted somewhere in the case. The picoPSU incorporates all the circuitry into the module that plugs directly into the motherboard allowing the case to be made even smaller. The picoPSU still requires an external DC power brick that all the other solutions use as well but this is normally found near the power outlet away from the motherboard and case.
The picoPSU-120 delivers 120W of power. It requires a 12V source and it can handle the 20-pin and 24-pin ATX power connectors. The cable harness includes two additional power connectors that are typically used for an optical drive and a hard disk drive. With a 96% efficiency rating, it is targeted at fanless systems. A 60W is also available.
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