Old PSU as an outlet?

H

Hass

New Member
Okay.
So like, I'm building a little entertainment thing.
Like, you know those media towers, where you put DVD players and game consoles and stuff in?

That stuff puts off a lot of heat.
and I have a ton of CPU fans laying around.
So what if I stole a PSU out of one of my old cpus (like a 486 or something), and used that as an outlet/converter?
Like...
Plugged in the PSU...
Then plugged the molex connectors in to the fans and mounted them discretely in the entertainment area... Since they're so small and quiet, I think they'd be perfect...

Just using it for cooling, and nothing else.
Not plugging in a mainboard, or any of that crap.
I just don't want shit to start on fire, lmao.
:o

In theory, would it work?
cheap cooling solution?

Unless someone has a better idea :p
 
I'm an idiot, but on topic, I think theres a way to turn it on when not hooked up to the motherboard, shorting certain pins on the main connector? If so it would work, yeah.
 
Ah yeah, I remember reading about that a long time ago.. forgot about that though.. I'd have to look up that part of it before I do it.
But I just want to make sure I won't start something on fire, lol.
I don't want to leave it on and forget to turn it off... Then come back home to find my house a piece of rubble :p
haha.
 
It's about as likely to catch fire outside the case as it is inside. If you're still worried, install a sprinkler thing on the ceiling. Or just turn it off when you leave, i dunno lol :D
 
That would work. If it's from a system as old as a 486 it'll be an AT power supply, so no need to short any pins - the on/off switch is on the PSU itself. If it's a newer ATX PSU you'll need to short the green wire on the 20/24 pin ATX main with any black wire.

Alternatively, you could buy something like http://www.coolerguys.com/840556029977.html. Smaller, quieter, more efficient, and capable of handling quite a few fans (with the use of molex splitters).

If you're using CPU fans, though, they probably won't use a 4-pin molex connector, so you'll need to either use adapters or splice some wires.
 
Yeah, but through shotty installation techniques, you never know :]

hmm.. thanks cee =]
 
Last edited:
hermeslyre said:
I'm an idiot, but on topic, I think theres a way to turn it on when not hooked up to the motherboard, shorting certain pins on the main connector? If so it would work, yeah.
Click to expand...

No no, 486's used an "Switch", it was an button that you pressed on and off. I'm guessing that the PSU is the 2 motherboard connector type, one wire connecting to the case for ground, and an thick black wire as the switch? Just take the ground off, take out the 2 screws... and just press the switch. I have used my old 166mhz's PSU as an HDD/CD drive tester before. Easy. Click on, click off...
 
I ran a cooling fan off of usb before but it runs slower because usb is only 5 volts and the regular is 12v but it works you just splice a usb cable and hook the red to the red and the black to the black and then cover the wires and you should be good
 
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