Power brick used as external GPU PSU question...

[Helgaiden]

Hi all. So i had an idea of doing up an experiment on using a Dell DA-2 power brick, like the ones people use with the Akitio Thunder 2 eGPU setups, to externally power a GPU for use cases like people wanting to run a bigger GPU in a prebuilt PC or OEM that doesn't have a standard type PSU.

When i had this idea, i remembered this power brick is used for a similar purpose (as mentioned above), so i sought to adapt it. Needed the ebay adapter you'd use with the Akitio Thunder 2 for it since it switches the brick on and adapts its plug to a 6+2 pin connector, then an adapter that split that into two 6+2 pin connectors for better usability, and I successfully tested this on my GTX 970 atop my test bench PC.

However, when i turn the PC off the power brick obviously stays on (green light) unless i unplug it from power, or remove the first adapter that forces it to be switched on. Will the power brick being turned ON have any affect on the GPU while it is off? Will it fry anything? For you Akitio Thunder 2 owners (if any of y'all here), does the Dell power brick stay on even when your gear is all turned off?
Thanks in advance!

 

[Sentential]

Hi all. So i had an idea of doing up an experiment on using a Dell DA-2 power brick, like the ones people use with the Akitio Thunder 2 eGPU setups, to externally power a GPU for use cases like people wanting to run a bigger GPU in a prebuilt PC or OEM that doesn't have a standard type PSU.

When i had this idea, i remembered this power brick is used for a similar purpose (as mentioned above), so i sought to adapt it. Needed the ebay adapter you'd use with the Akitio Thunder 2 for it since it switches the brick on and adapts its plug to a 6+2 pin connector, then an adapter that split that into two 6+2 pin connectors for better usability, and I successfully tested this on my GTX 970 atop my test bench PC.

However, when i turn the PC off the power brick obviously stays on (green light) unless i unplug it from power, or remove the first adapter that forces it to be switched on. Will the power brick being turned ON have any affect on the GPU while it is off? Will it fry anything? For you Akitio Thunder 2 owners (if any of y'all here), does the Dell power brick stay on even when your gear is all turned off?
Thanks in advance!

No that light is just measuring or showing capacitance on the power supply. I can't speak for your situation specifically but it is no different than the light showing AC power available on a power supply, also for the record yes the light stays on even with a laptop fully charged and off (source = my AW13r3)

 

[Helgaiden]

Ah cool. Yeah, the light goes amber if i unplug the adapter on the end of the brick's cable. Figure this is "off" but it seems its more like "not enough capacitance" instead?

 

[Nebulous]

I got the DELL PA-1900 powering my E1705. Never seen it turn amber.

 

[Helgaiden]

Well i did it. Worked out great. Still need to make a thumb tho.

 

[Nebulous]

That's not too shabby! Considering the GTX 970 pulls about 225W and that power brick pushes 220w, that's pretty risky. I'm sure that power brick would do great for video cards that pull less than 200w, but anything over that is asking for trouble. Great mod tho!

 

[Helgaiden]

That's not too shabby! Considering the GTX 970 pulls about 225W and that power brick pushes 220w, that's pretty risky. I'm sure that power brick would do great for video cards that pull less than 200w, but anything over that is asking for trouble. Great mod tho!

Thanks! Good thing I didn't run furmark lol. A previous test run if firestrike with this setup (different CPU though) actually had the graphics score higher by 100 or so points vs the PSU (different PSU than one in video). Thought that was weird, but chalked it up to margin of error.

 

[Nebulous]

Yeah, you don't wanna run Furmark with that setup, lol! I'm sure with any video card that pulls less than 200w that brick would do great. How warm does the brick get when you're gaming?

 

[Helgaiden]

Yeah, you don't wanna run Furmark with that setup, lol! I'm sure with any video card that pulls less than 200w that brick would do great. How warm does the brick get when you're gaming?

Probably something I should have checked lol.

 

[Scout]

Get a breakout board for a server power supply like the bitcoin miners use, 1200w of cheap platinum rated power.