ATX PSU Hack - I make a 12 volt 200 watt power supply for $10

I build a 12 volt 200-watt desktop power supply for less than $10

In this video, I will demonstrate a PSU Hack where I take a power supply from a PC and convert it into a reliable 12-volt desktop power supply. The resulting 12v rail can be used to build USB charging banks or operate car stereo equipment – anything that requires 12 volts and a decent amperage supply.

12-volt wall warts are typically rated at 0.5 or 1.0 Amps, so are as useful as inflatable anchors. This PSU Hack will deliver approximately 216 watts of power (12V X 18A), which is considerably greater than the typical 60-watt USB charging banks that you can purchase from your local electronics store or online.

As a general rule, PCs fail because of the motherboard, CPU, or peripheral issues. Often, this occurs on older computers, and typically when it is just outside its warranty period (Warranty and Design Obsolescence are very closely coupled concepts). Unless the unit took a power surge and blew the power supply, the PSU will likely be recoverable and useful.

This PSU Hack can be used on all ATX computer power supplies, as there is a general industry standard on wire colour conventions; however, although 9 out of 10 times the wire colours will be consistent, the standard should probably be treated more as a suggestion rather than a “lay down misère”, so I would confirm wire outputs before cutting wires and soldering for this PSU Hack.

This PSU Hack will use an ATX power supply from an Acer computer although I believe some Lenovo models use the same PSU. The power supply is an FSF500-50AAGA and has a maximum output rating of 500 watts, although as mentioned earlier, we will only be tapping into 216 watts in this PSU Hack. Besides the different pinouts on the motherboard connector (12 pins instead of the more typical 20 or 24), the PSU Hack process on this power supply will be the same as on more traditional power supplies. Additionally, as you will see in the video, this PSU Hack power supply also lacks the 3-volt rail that is found on 20 and 24-pin connector-type PSUs.

My total cost for the PSU Hack is as follows:
Power Supply $5.00
Binding Post $1.50
Red LED $0.20
LED Holder $0.35
Power Switch $1.00
TOTAL $8.05

In this PSU Hack, I have decided to retain the ground, 12-volt, and 5-volt wires of the power supply for possible future projects. If you were to keep the PSU Hack power supply as a 12-volt unit only, then these other wires could be removed rather than insulated, coiled, and tucked out of the way.

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The intro music is: Jason Shaw - RockIntro3
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