Inverter or Laptop?

Jackal65

Jackal65

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is 12v DC-DC power supply the answer? Can it be done on a budget?


I hope those who got their feelings hurt can sleep tonight. I personally thought there was a bid of good humor in all that but hey guess it is a serious forum with only serious people.
 
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WAslayer said:
Not sure I get what you are asking here.. perhaps less ranting and rambling and more of a clear question..
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I was trying to make light of an otherwise serious situation, we are losing work. But if went over your head don't worry about it.

is 12v DC-DC power supply the answer? Can it be done on a budget?
 
No 12v solution will be viable to bridge loadshedding.
It's costly to maintain, doesn't last long enough and doesn't charge fast enough.
 
Jackal46 said:
I was trying to make light of an otherwise serious situation, we are losing work. But if went over your head don't worry about it.

is 12v DC-DC power supply the answer? Can it be done on a budget?
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Nope.
 
Jackal46 said:
I was trying to make light of an otherwise serious situation, we are losing work. But if went over your head don't worry about it.

is 12v DC-DC power supply the answer? Can it be done on a budget?
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Make light of a serious situation all you want, fact is, if you want a serious answer make sure your question is at least clear..

IF you are asking about running your PC off a 12v battery, the answer is no..
 
A3@MBB said:
No 12v solution will be viable to bridge loadshedding.
It's costly to maintain, doesn't last long enough and doesn't charge fast enough.
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And add costs of thick cabling and DC-DC voltage converter inefficiencies.
 
WAslayer said:
Make light of a serious situation all you want, fact is, if you want a serious answer make sure your question is at least clear..

IF you are asking about running your PC off a 12v battery, the answer is no.
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No worries, I am sure I am out of luck but was just wondering if anyone ever did it.

I know laptops have a 12V charger that will work with most HP brands. I got an old HP figured I test it first. Ordered one today. The reviews on it is bad but figured I got nothing to lose at this point.
 
Ďąhristopher said:
What are your actual requirements? I doubt that your PC consumes 600W.
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Was looking into that today. Was hoping for a tester that I can place between the motherboard and the power supply to see what it maximum draw is. It is using a 600Watt power supply currently so I figured it is a good place to start. but the link I provided showed a 160Watt adapter type power supply that was 160Watts I think.
 
Jackal46 said:
Was looking into that today. Was hoping for a tester that I can place between the motherboard and the power supply to see what it maximum draw is. It is using a 600Watt power supply currently so I figured it is a good place to start. but the link I provided showed a 160Watt adapter type power supply that was 160Watts I think.
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Wasting time. Measure the AC draw at the plug. Use something like this:

www.geewiz.co.za

Digital Watt Meter (Kill A Watt) - Measure your electricity usage

Measures electricity usage Wattage: 0~3300W (Max 3300 watts) Voltage Current: 0-15A (Max 15A) Power Factor Electricity Cost
www.geewiz.co.za www.geewiz.co.za

I doubt your PC, including monitor, is chomping more than 300W. Then you can size a portable power solution like this:

https://www.geewiz.co.za/geewiz-por...-year-warranty-used-excellent-condition-.html

For 300W, one should suffice for 6 hours. If you want more than that, buy another, or get one with more than 2.2 kWh battery storage. Finish and klaar.
 
Jackal46 said:
Was looking into that today. Was hoping for a tester that I can place between the motherboard and the power supply to see what it maximum draw is. It is using a 600Watt power supply currently so I figured it is a good place to start. but the link I provided showed a 160Watt adapter type power supply that was 160Watts I think.
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That would be needlessly complicated, your PSU has multiple outputs, 3.3V, 5V, 12V for drives, GPU, MB etc.
 
RonSwanson said:
Wasting time. Measure the AC draw at the plug. Use something like this:

www.geewiz.co.za

Digital Watt Meter (Kill A Watt) - Measure your electricity usage

Measures electricity usage Wattage: 0~3300W (Max 3300 watts) Voltage Current: 0-15A (Max 15A) Power Factor Electricity Cost
www.geewiz.co.za www.geewiz.co.za

I doubt your PC, including monitor, is chomping more than 300W. Then you can size a portable power solution like this:

https://www.geewiz.co.za/geewiz-por...-year-warranty-used-excellent-condition-.html

For 300W, one should suffice for 6 hours. If you want more than that, buy another, or get one with more than 2.2 kWh battery storage. Finish and klaar.
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got one of those thanks
 
Jackal46 said:
I was trying to make light of an otherwise serious situation, we are losing work. But if went over your head don't worry about it.

is 12v DC-DC power supply the answer? Can it be done on a budget?
Click to expand...
You're aggro and simply need to chill if you want help here. Projecting your anger onto random strangers isn't helpful at all.
Saying you need 6000 watts is pointless. 6 kilowatts for 10 minutes isn't going to see you through loadshedding.
And what's this about 12v DC? You want to power a PC? A PC needs 12v, 5v and sometimes 3.3v. You'll need a charger, battery and some buck converters to get the correct output voltage... then you'll want to charge the battery while it powers your equipment and bang... you're building a UPS.

If this is to allow you to work during outages, just count the cost of not working and put a number to it, then consider a small loan or buy on credit from a reputable supplier.
R42k will get you a fully installed Luxpower 5.5kw inverter and 5kwh battery. That'll keep your system running nicely for extended load shedding, particularly if you just connect your PC and lights. You can add solar to that later too.
 
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RonSwanson said:
So how much is it, both low and high?
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You might want to consider a proper inverter and battery.

Baby Luxpower SNA5000 -- R10k
Magneto 5.1kWh battery --R21K

Altogether just over 30K, 5-7k for an install, make it 38K and you can draw 300W for longer than 12 hours and still not be at 80% DoD on the battery.

No lead acid smells and hydrogen gasses, nothing to trip over, no extension cords. Just power, plain and simple, all the time.
 
RonSwanson said:
So how much is it, both low and high?
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If the system is just doing normal office work it sits at about 240Watts but If I push a benchmark on it 325 to 334Watts on the high end but then all the fans are screaming at me.
 
Jackal46 said:
If the system is just doing normal office work it sits at about 240Watts but If I push a benchmark on it 325 to 334Watts on the high end but then all the fans are screaming at me.
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Your biggest issue is using a gaming PC for business. What business are you in?
Better to go with a good power conscious machine.
 
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