Gizmodo: power supply

5,000 Volts Is More Than Enough Power To Crush a Soda Can

Sean Fallon — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:40:00 EST

Bob Davis scored a complete power supply including a 5 KV transformer, 100 uf Capacitor and a contactor on eBay for $100 and did what any sane person would do—he built a can crusher.

The first test was caught on tape, and despite issues with a broken meter, the device managed to crush the hell out of that soda can. In fact, it was so powerful that the power transformer shorted out and the diode was "blown to bits". Interesting, but not quite as manly as it could be. I'm waiting to see someone build a crusher that smashes a can flat on a dummy's skull. [Bob Davis via Gadget Lab]

The GameDr Doesn't Have a Ph.D, But Will Drive Your Kids Nuts

Jason Chen — Tue, 19 May 2009 18:59:00 EDT

I'm so very glad this didn't come out twenty years ago, or my parents would have used it to set my console usage at 15 minute increments, allowing me to never reach a save point.

The GameDr—whose degree I'm almost positive is honorary—can beep warnings at T-10 and T-1 minutes, hopefully to let them reach a checkpoint and turn the game off gracefully.

Why wouldn't your kids be smart enough to just take the power cord off and plug it in directly to the power strip? Because it's "tamper proof", which means they'll have to break part of it to get to the cable.

It'll be $30 this June. [Digital Innovations via Oh Gizmo]

Portable USB Power Supply Doubles as a Flashlight

Sean Fallon — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 18:00:00 EDT

Unlike so many other portable backup power supplies, this version from USB Geek can do more than just one boring trick. When it's not charging your portable gadgets, the power supply doubles a handy little flashlight. In other words, it's convergence that actually makes some sense. Plus, it comes with every charging adapter you could possibly need for a fairly reasonable $32.

[USB Geek via GeekAlerts]

How To: Power Your Computer With Car Batteries

Mark Wilson — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 08:36:07 EST

Taking a lesson from the Tim Allen school of modding, one man rebuilt his UPS with a bit more kick. Because the UPS was only able to run his RAID-wielding desktop for three minutes before shutting down, he decided to add two 24V car batteries to the equation (the maximum that his UPS could tolerate). The good news: it worked, and will run his computer for an hour plus.

The bad news is that these larger lead acid batteries are not sealed, and will be releasing some not-so-good gases into his computer room. Hit the movie at about halfway for the money shot. [techspot]

ThermalTake's Outrageous 1500W Power Supply

Sean Fallon — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 09:00:32 EST

If you are into building your own computers, you know how expensive it is to keep up with the latest hardware requirements. That having been said, if you are planning on building a quad-core rig sometime in the near future, you can now step up to 1500W of power (1600W peak) thanks to the latest model in the ThermalTake Toughpower series. No pricing details have been made available, but it is safe to assume that this one will set you back a few bucks — and that's not even considering the smoking crater left in your wallet after the monthly power bill arrives. [ThermalTake via Ubergizmo]

Man Reviews 105 Power Supplies, Goes Insane, Recommends a Few

Jason Chen — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 17:45:09 EDT

If you're hardcore enough to review 105 power supplies, you'd better have some kind of spectacular testing regimen in place. The guys at matbe do, and they've come out the other side with a handful of recommendations on which one you should buy.

For the nonmodular units, they recommend Akasa Power80, Antec Trio 650, Seasonic S12 (three of them) and Silverstone ST40EF/ST50EF. For the modular units, they prefer Antec Neo HE, Corsair HX-620, Enermax Infinity, Nexus NX-8040, and Seasonic M12. For the fanless ones, since they only tested two, they'd recommend the better one—the Fortron Zen.

Head on over to their site if you're interested in reading all 105 reviews, or if you want to make a decision between the best. – Jason Chen

Reviews [Matbe]

Keian Gaia 1200 Power Supply Has 1400W Peaks, Feeds Quad-Everything, Probably Travels In Time

www.gizmodo.com — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 05:35:49 EST

Perhaps requiring your own nuclear reactor to run, the Keian Gaia 1200W is a power supply that not only looks better than most PC, but can also feed everything. And with everything, I mean everything, from dual Quad-core processors (both Intel Core 2 Duo and AMD Socket AM2 processors are supported), to three Quad SLI or CrossFire cards and four PCI-Express cards. It can also drive four USB ports when the PC is off or four computers with its split-combine function.

The Gaia can reach power peaks of 1400W, making sure that your DeLorean never needs an electrical storm. And with a self-contained plug-n-play design, its own integrated 120mm fan and all kinds of electric protections, you can just put it inside your custom PC and start sucking into that grid in a snap. If you find it outside Japan, that is. – Jesus Diaz

Product page (in Japanese) [Keian via Akihabara News]

CES 2007: 2000W ATX Power Supply From Ultra Products

Jason Chen — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 18:10:31 EST

If you feel the need to have a nuclear reactor in your gaming case, the 2000W ATX Power Supply from Ultra Products should be enough for you. Being unveiled at CES, the 2000W PS is modular, and feeds up to 1800W on the 12V connection alone.

With all that power, you're going to be able to support quad core, quad GPU cards, or a gigantic RAID system to store all your homemade movies. No word on price, but we're guessing somewhere around the PlayStation 3's price tag. – Jason Chen

Product Site [Ultra Products]

NEC Desktops Go Up in Flames

Louis Ramirez — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 17:44:48 EST

Just when we thought we had heard the last of the exploding-laptop stories, word has it that two NEC desktops in Japan have caught fire. In both cases, the fire was due to a faulty coil in the power supply, which NEC said they'd replace at no charge to their customers. Fortunately, there were no injuries to report of and it appears the faulty power supplies are limited to NEC's Valuestar PCs only. Let's hope it stays that way too. – Louis Ramirez

NEC Says 2 Desktop Power Units Caught Fire in Japan [Reuters]

MacBook Power Supply Is Normal-Sized, Praise Jobs

gizmodo.com — Tue, 16 May 2006 15:59:07 EDT

Zack wrote in to point out that the power supply that comes with the newly-announced MacBook is "normal size now", instead of the huge white monstrosity that surprised those of us who purchased MacBook Pros. Like Zach, we wish Apple would replace the gigantic power supplies with the newer smaller ones, but we're not going to hold our breath.

Also on his mind: "It'll also be interesting to see if Apple has quietly fixed any of the MBP complaints with the new revisions. Perhaps less thermal grease?" Anyone with a new MacBook want to take its temperature? Maybe open it up and void your AppleCare? C'mon, you know you wanna.

(Photo by Pedro Alcocer)

MacBook Reborn [Gizmodo]
How To Cool Your MacBook Pro Down (And Void Your Warranty) [Gizmodo]