[mythtv-users] Lowest power HD frontend?

[Raymond Wagner]

On 5/28/2013 6:05 PM, Mike Perkins wrote:
> On 28/05/13 20:46, Raymond Wagner wrote:
>> On 5/28/2013 2:01 PM, Jeff Siddall wrote:
>>> I just went and measured my IONITX fronted and it idles at 23 W and
>>> peaks at
>>> 28 W when playing 1080p video.
>>
>> Last time I checked, my 55W TDP system was runing 25W idle and 32W
>> playing 1080p
>> video.  45W was the absolute maximum I managed to coax out of it.  Had
>> I gotten
>> a DC-DC power supply (like a PicoPSU) with an external brick, I could
>> be running
>> around half that within the case itself, and stored the brick behind
>> my cabinet
>> in the open air.
>>
> Using a PicoPSU brings other benefits. Any power supply itself expends
> power on its own. I have noticed that using a PicoPSU vs. a Flex-ATX PSU
> on the same motherboard can drop total wattage by half. Those things are
> designed for low-power use, where a regular PSU might not be. (Of
> course, YMMV.)

That's not at all true. The PicoPSU itself is going to run 96%+ 
efficiency, compared to an average ATX PSU which is going to be down in 
the 50s or 60s at those low power outputs, but don't forget, something 
has to supply that DC power in the first place. The average power brick 
isn't too efficient either. Unless you are running DC off battery, the 
only real advantage is it allows you to move that power brick, and all 
the additional heat it generates, somewhere else.