Help with power supply for NAS and HTPC
#1
Guys
I'm planning an UnRaid NAS build and want to repurpose the PSU currently in my HTPC for the NAS box and getting a quieter picoPSU for the HTPC.
Those online wattage calculators seem to be way conservative. Some questions:

1. Will the Antec EarthWatts Green EA-380D 380W power supply be enough for the NAS?
2. Will a picoPSU be sufficient for the HTPC? How much Watts do you recommend?


Planned UnRaid Build
[CASE] LIAN LI PC-Q25B Mini-ITX
[MOBO] Asus P8H77 LGA 1155 Intel H77 Mini-ITX
[CPU] Intel Pentium G850 65W
[RAM] Kingston HyperX 2x2GB 240-Pin DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) KHX1600C9D3K2/4GX
[STORAGE] 5x2TB Samsung F4 5400
[PSU] Antec Earthwatts 380WHuh

Existing HTPC
[CASE] Silverstone ML03b
[MOBO] Gigabyte 880GMA-UD2H
[CPU] Athlon II X2 240e 2.8GHz 45W
[RAM] 2x2Gb GSkill DDR3
[SSD] Crucial M4 64Gb
[PSU] picoPSU 120WHuh
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#2
I am trying to remember what the power draw was of my old 5050e/780G system. I think it was close to 200W with the Antec 380W. I don't think a picoPSU is a good idea for that build. However, if you want something small around the same price look at this PSU for the ML03B:

FSP Group FSP300-60GHS-R 300W SFX12V 80 PLUS Certified Power Supply. It's much smaller than a standard ATX PSU but has the adapter plate to install it in an ATX PSU bay. I have one in a Lian-Li PC-Q08 for my home server and it's (IMHO) silent.
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#3
Thanks Doug.
Forgive my ignorance but how is it I can get away with using a 120w pico for a mini-ITX Sandy Bridge build with TDP 65w but not for the Athlon II build which is 45W TDP?

Based on what you're saying I'll probably then keep the Antec 380W PSU in the HTPC and buy something like a Corsair 430CX for the NAS.
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#4
(2012-11-06, 21:49)mattchapman Wrote: Thanks Doug.
Forgive my ignorance but how is it I can get away with using a 120w pico for a mini-ITX Sandy Bridge build with TDP 65w but not for the Athlon II build which is 45W TDP?

With this particular instance, there are a couple of reasons.

First, TDP is not a measure of power consumption. It's a measure of the heat that needs to be dissapated by a cooling system to keep the CPU from overheating. You also cannot compare TDP between processors, even between generations of the same brand. 45W TDP AMD Athlon II X2 doesn't mean the same as 45W TDP i7-3770T.

Second, with the Athlon II X2 240e, remember that is only the CPU unlike the SandyBridge which has the CPU+GPU on the same 65W TDP chip. The 880G GPU resides on the motherboard in the northbridge and it would have a separate TDP rating. I would bet combined they are higher than 65W TDP.

Overall, the Athlon II CPU + the 880G motherboard have a higher power consumption than the SandyBridge based on many factors such a die size, efficiency, etc. not necessarily related to TDP.
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#5
OK thanks for clarifying Doug.

I guess the only way to really measure the power draw is to buy a Kill-A-Watt meter and take those results.
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#6
(2012-11-07, 01:06)mattchapman Wrote: OK thanks for clarifying Doug.

I guess the only way to really measure the power draw is to buy a Kill-A-Watt meter and take those results.

Which, to drive us all nuts, will vary depending on the powersupply for all the same parts. Even different AC adapters, 84W vs. 120W, will make a difference because a PSU runs most efficiently between 20-80% of load.
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