Thinking inside the box...

[spence4]

I hope that catchy title got everyone's attention.

I would like to get rid of the external brick for my cube. I have a DQ77KB with a Dell laptop power supply. I know I can feed the power internally from a two pin 19V source. However, I would then need to power that internal source. Since pico PSUs seem to require the same kind of brick I am currently using I don't think that will help and will only make for more spaghetti inside my Cube.

How about this. Take the PSU from a 2011 Mac Mini, and make it spit out 19V. Just add an extra hole to the base plate of the cube, plug it in, and boom.

Anyone know what kind of voltage the Mac Mini PSU spits out? Anyone want to comment on whether this is a good idea or not.

Thanks.

 

[minihack]

I hope that catchy title got everyone's attention.

I would like to get rid of the external brick for my cube. I have a DQ77KB with a Dell laptop power supply. I know I can feed the power internally from a two pin 19V source. However, I would then need to power that internal source. Since pico PSUs seem to require the same kind of brick I am currently using I don't think that will help and will only make for more spaghetti inside my Cube.

How about this. Take the PSU from a 2011 Mac Mini, and make it spit out 19V. Just add an extra hole to the base plate of the cube, plug it in, and boom.

Anyone know what kind of voltage the Mac Mini PSU spits out? Anyone want to comment on whether this is a good idea or not.

Thanks.

Hi Spence,
Not quite sure what it is exactly you are wanting to achieve, so correct me pls!
Is what you want basically a small source of 19v that will power your board and that you can put inside the cube so you can then just hook up your Cube to the mains, is that right? Or is it that you want a 19v source for the board but also need other voltages to power some extra peripherals etc??

Probably in either case a Mac Mini psu will not be what will do the job for you as they (I mean Apple!) usually make their power boards to need some non-standard sort of power okay or confirm signal to actually turn on and also they are very much tailored to the power requirements of the Mac Mini itself. Much more sensible then (my opinion) to find a dedicated solution to what you want to achieve than to buy a Mac Mini PSU and try to hack it up.

Anyway, let us know a little more on the different voltages and powers drawn from the different lines you needs and let's see if we can help. I have looked at lots of different power config.s so maybe something will strike a chord and come up with a reasonable suggestion

 

[spence4]

Hi Minihack,

It is the former. I like how the Mac mini power brick is inside the computer. I know the original cube had the external brick but I want just a skinny cord going from the wall to the cube if possible. All I need is 19v for the board- it has its own sata power out which gives me 3.3, 5, and 12. The board also has a 5VSB pin so that takes care of the proximity switch.

Any ideas for putting a brick inside?

 

[rehpotsirhc]

Seems like you'd be bringing unnecessary heat and bulk to an already cramped and thermally challenged case by internalizing the power brick.