i7 7700k on a pico PSU 150w?

[cluelessgenius]

so i have my old 7700k laying around and was wondering if i could put the itx board in a tiny case using a pico psu and an external 12v brick. 

 

thing is those things only go so high up in wattage and now im wondering if i could undervolt/downclock the cpu and get away with it.

 

its supposed to be a simple internet machine. nothing more.

 

7700k, 2x ram, 1x m.2 ssd, stock cooler and a slim line dvd drive.

 

anyone any input or experience on it? 

online calculators say varying things from 117w to 270w. 

 

i do have an atx psu laying around to test and see how much it comsumes but id really like to use a pico for a minimal desk footprint.

 

[Alex Atkin UK]

6 minutes ago, cluelessgenius said:

so i have my old 770k laying around and was wondering if i could put the itx board in a tiny case using a pico psu and an external 12v brick. 

 

thing is those things only go so high up in wattage and now im wondering if i could undervolt/downclock the cpu and get away with it.

 

its supposed to be a simple internet machine. nothing more.

 

7700k, 2x ram, 1x m.2 ssd, stock cooler and a slim line dvd drive.

 

anyone any input or experience on it? 

online calculators say varying things from 117w to 270w. 

 

i do have an atx psu laying around to test and see how much it comsumes but id really like to use a pico for a minimal desk footprint.

 

If you limit its power then sure, but bear in mind a 150W PicoPSU also needs good airflow if its going to run close to its limit.

Personally I moved away from PicoPSUs as I found 12v power bricks wear out a lot faster than SFX/ATX PSUs.  Plus its just neater to have the PSU internal than the tangle of wires you get with external bricks.

[cluelessgenius]

15 minutes ago, Alex Atkin UK said:

If you limit its power then sure, but bear in mind a 150W PicoPSU also needs good airflow if its going to run close to its limit.

Personally I moved away from PicoPSUs as I found 12v power bricks wear out a lot faster than SFX/ATX PSUs.  Plus its just neater to have the PSU internal than the tangle of wires you get with external bricks.

ok that sucks. extra fans, even tiny once, again add to power comsumption...hmmm

 

yeah i would also love to use the sfx psu i have laying around but im really going for minimal desk space and i cant find a case that takes sfx psu and 5 1/4" slime line optical drive...thats not..a tower

[Bob__]

55 minutes ago, cluelessgenius said:

so i have my old 7700k laying around and was wondering if i could put the itx board in a tiny case using a pico psu and an external 12v brick. 

 

thing is those things only go so high up in wattage and now im wondering if i could undervolt/downclock the cpu and get away with it.

 

its supposed to be a simple internet machine. nothing more.

 

7700k, 2x ram, 1x m.2 ssd, stock cooler and a slim line dvd drive.

 

anyone any input or experience on it? 

online calculators say varying things from 117w to 270w. 

 

i do have an atx psu laying around to test and see how much it comsumes but id really like to use a pico for a minimal desk footprint.

 

assemble the 7700K system and undervolt it. Then use HWmoniter or something like it to figure out the wattage of the system. Then run from there but also 

 

43 minutes ago, Alex Atkin UK said:

If you limit its power then sure, but bear in mind a 150W PicoPSU also needs good airflow if its going to run close to its limit.

Personally I moved away from PicoPSUs as I found 12v power bricks wear out a lot faster than SFX/ATX PSUs.  Plus its just neater to have the PSU internal than the tangle of wires you get with external bricks.

This is super valid

[Alex Atkin UK]

It just blows my mind how power bricks are encased in plastic and if you're lucky they might be sealed in thermal epoxy to help spread the heat, if not there is literally hot air stuck inside.  On rare occasions there are fan assisted models but being a power brick people just dump them somewhere with bad airflow and forget to clean the dust off them.

The Xbox 360 PSU was a good example, dust would build up around the intake like crazy whereas at least a PC case you can stick a magnetic filter on the intake and not have it on the floor where all the dust collects.

[cluelessgenius]

4 hours ago, Alex Atkin UK said:

It just blows my mind how power bricks are encased in plastic and if you're lucky they might be sealed in thermal epoxy to help spread the heat, if not there is literally hot air stuck inside.  On rare occasions there are fan assisted models but being a power brick people just dump them somewhere with bad airflow and forget to clean the dust off them.

The Xbox 360 PSU was a good example, dust would build up around the intake like crazy whereas at least a PC case you can stick a magnetic filter on the intake and not have it on the floor where all the dust collects.

yeah those frustrate me too. but i must say most higher wattage (120 and up) bricks i found were at least ventilated. 

 

but i think i got away with one here. i found a, although a bit fugly, case that supports a slim line optical drive, fits my slightly taller ram, is small enough and actually comes with a psu. still only 150w but at least its a real psu. (In Win BQ656)

 

 

also turns out, i didnt even have to go into undervolting, i activated the power saving mode that comforms to eu norms and the whole system didnt exceed 86w under cinebench r23.