Do-It-Yourself Solar-Powered PC: Hardware
Comparing Energy Draw: MSI Vs. Gigabyte
The foundation for our solar-powered PC is the AMD 690 chipset. The Northbridge portion of this chipset uses 80 nm technology, and consumes less power because the memory interface is integrated into the CPU. That explains why this Northbridge includes fewer transistors and requires a smaller surface area.
The AMD 690G chipset uses 80 nm technology and occupies a surface area of 49 mm².
The SB600 Southbridge occupies a surface area of 36 mm²
The functionality that the Southbridge SB600 delivers is pretty meager when compared to competitive chips. We don't need RAID support, though, so it's perfectly adequate for our solar-powered PC. The SB600 also uses 80 nm technology, and consumes far less power than competing chips as well.
Athlon 64 X2 BE-2350 on the Gigabyte motherboard (sans cooler)
Even the three-phase voltage regulator that handles power for the CPU contributes to lower energy consumption.
A three-phase voltage regulator also keeps power consumption low
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Raigedas i bought this M2-ATX PSU (actually to of them). but i was unable to start it.Reply
1. first quick question: is it possible to start (for testing purposes) the PSU without connecting it to the computer? is it enough to short circuit J8 only to start?
2. docummentation is unclear about 10 (J6). it looks like J6 is purely for controlling stereo amplifier. but other place of the manual says "if J6 is cnnected to the motherboard". where to motherboard?
3. how should PSU be connected?
for testing i have taken 12V 7Ah lead acid battery fully charged.
connected battery "-" to J4.
battery "+" to J1.
J3: tried to leave not connected and tried to connect battery "+".
disconnected power switch cable from motherboard and connected it to J9.
connected J8 with motheboard (using little cable included in the package) where power switch was originally connected.
left J6 not connected.
J10 not connected (P0 mode). also tried P1 mode.
connected ATX and P4 (J2).
pressed power on my pc but nothing happened and no voltage on MOLEX cable.
could authors of the article (or maybe other owner of the PSU) describe how did they start the PSU?