Power Supply And Wiring
Lian Li bundles a 300 W power supply manufactured by FSP, which arrives already mounted in the front section of the locomotive. FSP sells decent power supplies, but this unit's output rating is well in excess of what you'd need for a platform without room for an add-in graphics card. Why didn't Lian Li just use a PicoPSU and an external power adapter? If only to make a point about power use, one of my configurations employed a Core i7-3770K on a Z77-based motherboard. Such a setup would have stretched the capabilities of a PicoPSU, but we don't think it's particularly realistic to put such high-end hardware into a whimsical little case like this anyway.
So long as you use the right motherboard, FSP's power supply complies with ErP/EuP requirements. Stand-by power was measured at a mere 0.5 W, which is exemplary. The PSU passed several short circuit and overload experiments, and its sound level is also admirably low, even under full load. The power supply fan is temperature-controlled, which we think deserves recognition.
| Model | FSP300-60GHS |
|---|---|
| Input Spec | 100-240 V (Full Range)4.5-2.5 A50-60 Hz |
| Output Spec | 3.3 V + 5 V = max. 125 W12 V1 + 12 V2 = max. 264 W (22 A)Total power draw on all rails, maximum 300 W |
| Connections | 24-pin Mainboard Connector4-pin CPU Connector 12 V1 x PATA (Four Molex Connectors, 1 x Floppy Connector)2 x SATA (Two SATA Connectors) |
Although the cables aren't sleeved, I consider that to be in advantage in a cramped chassis like Lian Li's locomotive. Rigid leads would be more difficult to route. Thus, there's really no reason to replace the factory-installed power supply. Its output power proved sufficient, and all of our testing with it was successful.
