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ATX Power Supply

These supplies are made for desktop PCs and serve very well as a power supply for 3D printers. Specifications diidn't change much over the last decade, so salvaging one from an older PC is a good idea.

ATX24 vs. ATX20

An older ATX20 connector fits just nicely into the ATX24 header.

An older ATX20 connector fits just nicely into the ATX24 header.

Some 6 years ago the main power connector of these supplies got 4 additional pins. The older 20-pin connectors fit nicely into newer headers, so unless these new 4 pins are used, there is no drawback. Generation 7 Electronics does not use these 4 additional pins.

Base Load

This shows a simple way to connect a lightbuld to an ATX PSU. The 5\_volts string is on the red wire.

This shows a simple way to connect a lightbuld to an ATX PSU. The 5 volts string is on the red wire.

Some older ATX PSUs (not all) require a minimum load on the 5 V rail to work properly. Whether your ATX PSU requires a base load or not has to be tried. A symptom of this problem is that the PSU will simply refuse to turn on, it immediately shuts down after being turned on, or emits a clearly audible high pitch whine, all unless there is a minimum load on the +5 V rail. Connecting a 4.7 ohms 10 W resistor, an old CD drive or a 12 V light bulb (into the 5 V rail, see picture) are well proven methods to generate this “dummy” load.

atx_power_supply.1448982555.txt.gz · Last modified: 2018/05/27 16:10 (external edit)