Modding a PSU for more wattage?

[goexplodex4]

Ok heres a question.

Ive never really torn apart a power supply so I dunno how much water this question holds.

I have an antec aria case in which I wanted to put a Tforce 6100 mobo, but its having problems with the power supply. It wants a 24 pin case, not to mention biostar reccomended to me with my problems i get a 450watt psu. Well i wsih that were possible, but the psu is a different shape in order to fit the stuff in the case. My question is could I crack open the PSU housing and fit the inards of some 450 24-pin psu inside there or is that impossible?
Here are pictures of the PSU:
http://reviews.pcapex.com/cases/antec_aria_micro_atx_cube_case.php?page=3

This comp is for a girl and I had all the parts but the integrated gfx are F-ed up and biostar said its due to my PSU not being 24 pinn. Can I make my Aria the first 500watt one out there hah. :lol:

Brian

 

[jaguarskx]

Ok heres a question.

Ive never really torn apart a power supply so I dunno how much water this question holds.

I have an antec aria case in which I wanted to put a Tforce 6100 mobo, but its having problems with the power supply. It wants a 24 pin cas...

Try a 20 pin to 24 pin adapter and see if that will work. Otherwise, you'll need to buy a cheap PCI-e video card.

List of 20 pin to 24 pin adapters.

If you are going to be crazy enough to mod a PSU, then I suggest you do a Google search on the phrase "Funeral Services" first and plan accordingly.

 

[Mondoman]

...
You can sure give it a try. ....

8O 8O
Yes, this was said with a disclaimer. Yes, the smart answer of don't touch it came first.
However, given the apparent lack of knowledge of the OP regarding PSs/electricity, there is essentially no chance of the OP succeeding. The DANGER of serious injury and/or death IS VERY REAL. If you have to ask about it, you don't know enough to do it properly -- just say NO.

 

[4745454b]

The DANGER of serious injury and/or death IS VERY REAL. If you have to ask about it, you don't know enough to do it properly -- just say NO.

LOL, I've used this on people before. Yes, it is probably very possible to do what you want, but do to your lack of knowledge, you should not even attempt it. I don't know if this is true with the OP, but I also feel it probably is. If a normal psu won't fit in the case, do yourself a favor and change the case.

 

[battousai831]

now theres a good idea if i ever did hear 1

 

[goexplodex4]

Ok I had to RMA the mobo for an unrelated reason, but when it gets back im gonna try the adapter....

If it doesnt work, well, dont worry I'll be careful....but now that I know its possible....whats 300v gonna do....psh

 

[clue69less]

PSU have Large capasitors that can hold a charge of up to 300+v. Any attempt to modify a PSU may result in personal injury and/or death.

Back in the dark ages, I witnessed a computer tech mod a large power supply. He accidentally grounded a bank of large caps and they basically detonated. A few seconds before, my face had been inches away from those caps but I got lucky and walked away at the right instant. They went off like fireworks and threw schrapnel all over the place - into the computer case, into the brick wall, into the tech's thumb, into the tech's tool case. It was really kind of beautiul in a sick way, watching him use pliers to pull the chunk of metal out of his thumb, whining like a wuss when it was all his fault...

 

[tool_462]

Ok I had to RMA the mobo for an unrelated reason, but when it gets back im gonna try the adapter....

If it doesnt work, well, dont worry I'll be careful....but now that I know its possible....whats 300v gonna do....psh

300v is nothing to a human body. A static spark generates upwards of 40,000v. But as little as 0.10 amps across a human heart can stop it.
It is not the voltage you worry about, people live through lightning strikes, it is the amperage.

In current stun-gun models, the amperage is relatively low (2.1mA=0.0021 amperes to 3.6mA=0.0036 amps) which is based in part on the electrical supply, (for example M-26 Taser models use 8 x AAs batteries generating 500,000 volts, but only 0.0018 amps!). Electrical current above 100mA is considered to be potentially lethal to humans.

For the sake of keeping yourself out of the Darwin Awards, please don't mess with the innards of a PSU unless you are 100% sure you know EXACTLY what you are doing.

 

[ZOldDude]

Ok I had to RMA the mobo for an unrelated reason, but when it gets back im gonna try the adapter....

If it doesnt work, well, dont worry I'll be careful....but now that I know its possible....whats 300v gonna do....psh

It is not VOLTS that kill you as much as the AMPS behind them.
One volt can kill a horse with enough amps.

As far as the caps in any electronic unit (mostly TV sets) you drain the stored charge by shorting the hot to ground with a proper sized resistor depending on the Pf of the cap.

A normal case and a real PSU like a PC P&C would have been the way to go from the start.

 

[4745454b]

you drain the stored charge by shorting the hot to ground with a proper sized resistor depending on the Pf of the cap.

Not sure I would have told him that. I can see it now, him using the biggest resistor he has, but holding onto the exposed metal leads... When/if he wakes up, he'll be pretty pissed and looking for you.

 

[Crashman]

I've NEVER been shocked while working inside a power supply. On the other hand, I've probably been rendered temporarily dead by a few other devices...

 

[Mondoman]

Yes, but you are THE Crashman! Besides, look at the OP's handle... :twisted:

 

[Mondoman]

...This comp is for a girl ...

I think this explains the foolhardy determination in the face of death! :lol:

 

[Crashman]

Don't go stoking his ego...instead, tell him to try adjusting the display width on a standard-VGA monitor.

 

[michaelahess]

Maybe while he's at it he should try to replace his flyback adapter in his crt, 20-30 kV makes for a nice hair do if you touch something you shouldn't

I've actually replaced a couple of these, power supplies are cake to repair compared to these things.

 

[Ford_Prefect]

You can't get more watts out of a PSU because it's limited by the transformer.

Watts = volts x amps

The voltage supplied to the rectifier/filter is governed by the secondary winding on the transformer, and short of rewinding there's nothing you can do about it. The only way that PSU will deliver more watts is by replacing the transformer with a different one with a higher secondary voltage.

 

[PaCanc]

Just to be sure: You guys do unplug from the power outlet before you start working on electrical devices, don't you?

If anything goes wrong, it'll go wrong when you plug it back in...

 

[kylew48]

Just to be sure: You guys do unplug from the power outlet before you start working on electrical devices, don't you?

If anything goes wrong, it'll go wrong when you plug it back in...

I'm no electrical engineer, but I worked in an electronics shop before, and I can tell you first hand that a device is just as dangerous unplugged if it has charged caps 8O

 

[4745454b]

Everything is a piece of cake to repair, assuming you know what you are doing. The last big thing I fixed was a bad cap on a motherboard. I unsoldered the old/bad one, and put a new one it. I'm still using the motherboard/cpu as my sever, it no longer reboots. Can all people on this forum do this? Doubt it, even though it is really simple.

 

[306maxi]

Just to be sure: You guys do unplug from the power outlet before you start working on electrical devices, don't you?

If anything goes wrong, it'll go wrong when you plug it back in...

I'm no electrical engineer, but I worked in an electronics shop before, and I can tell you first hand that a device is just as dangerous unplugged if it has charged caps 8O

Exactimundo. At very least you'd want to unplug it and then turn the PC on while it's switched off to take some of the bite out of the caps.

 

[CleanOldMan]

You don't need more voltage out of the transformer. You need more current. The only way to get more current is to wind the transformer with larger gauge wire. The power transistor/s will also have to be replaced with higher wattage units. And maybe a bigger fan.

 

[fig7]

I'd just buy a new case. I had an Aria and it was a lot of hassle, there wasn't enough room inside, the CPU/GPU were running far too hot, due to the terrible design (the only fan in the system is the PSU fan and the air vents are all in the wrong places so everything inside doesn't get cooled properly). I also managed to break the SATA connector on my hard drive when I was putting the drive cage back in. Finally I got completely fed up with it and replaced it with an Aspire QPack that is so much better!

 

[clue69less]

Maybe while he's at it he should try to replace his flyback adapter in his crt, 20-30 kV makes for a nice hair do if you touch something you shouldn't

I've actually replaced a couple of these, power supplies are cake to repair compared to these things.

Yea, but with an avatar like yours, I bet you could even change the oil in a motocross bike mid-race without breaking a sweat. All this 30kV crap is just child's play.

 

[michaelahess]

Dam straight!

 

[Crashman]

Maybe while he's at it he should try to replace his flyback adapter in his crt, 20-30 kV makes for a nice hair do if you touch something you shouldn't

I've actually replaced a couple of these, power supplies are cake to repair compared to these things.

My point exactly, the old VGA CRT's had to have their width adjusted internally, and the only way to see what you were doing was to do this with the monitor turned on. Hitting high voltage is an assumed risk. You were supposed to use plastic screwdrivers...yeh, like most of us have those!