Are external desktop PSUs a real thing?

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Philip Shaw

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Dec 4, 2014
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(Quick version: Are there any good external PSUs for desktops that come with a "modifying" wire harness for the hardware?)

Hi guys,

First post, woo hoo! How's everybody doing?

I'm new to fixing PCs, but since my computer's PSU and GPU both died in a power outage (thanks, faulty surge protector) I'm learning quickly. I have a question about desktop PSUs:

Why are they conventionally on the INSIDE of the case?

An external PSU seems like it would allow more space for other components, better airflow, smaller cases, isolated surge protection, and MUCH easier replacement. What am I not seeing here?

When my Xbox's power brick quit, all I had to do was bug Microsoft for a new one and plug it in. So far, with my computer, I've already installed, removed, and returned one 460W PSU because I didn't realize that my GPU was dead too... and upgrading a GPU means more power required. I doubt that the GPU would have died in the first place if the PSU was external (with replaceable fuses).

Now that I have to go through the process all over again, I'd prefer to rig up all of those annoying cables to an external power brick. Do I have any (good) options?
 
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The reason why a laptop/console can have an external power supply is because a laptop and an xbox have minimal upgradability options, thus you can integrate the power distribution into a board much easier. You are not going to put more then the 1 hard drive into an xbox, you are not going to add a GPU that requires 200 more watts of power.

You could not just make a power brick and have one barrel plug or 4 pin cable going into the case as a PC needs many many more connections.
The only way to pull this off is to have the power generation brick on the outside, and then a box that splits it all out on the inside. In which case now instead of having one internal box, you now have the same internal box AND an external box.

In short it...
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boosted1g

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Jun 12, 2013
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The reason why a laptop/console can have an external power supply is because a laptop and an xbox have minimal upgradability options, thus you can integrate the power distribution into a board much easier. You are not going to put more then the 1 hard drive into an xbox, you are not going to add a GPU that requires 200 more watts of power.

You could not just make a power brick and have one barrel plug or 4 pin cable going into the case as a PC needs many many more connections.
The only way to pull this off is to have the power generation brick on the outside, and then a box that splits it all out on the inside. In which case now instead of having one internal box, you now have the same internal box AND an external box.

In short it would be a HUGE step backwards to make a PC power supply external.
 
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boosted1g

Titan
Jun 12, 2013
14,846
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74,965
No one wants a bulky box sitting on the floor beside their desktop with a bunch of cables running from it to the PC, much easier to just make the PC case a little bigger. Not to mention the cost of making those cables an extra 2 feet longer and having to make a hole in the case big enough for the 24 pin connector.
 
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