05 January 2019, 01:16 | #1 |
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Choosing a new ATX power supply for an expanded Amiga 4000
Hello,
i have a quite expanded Amiga 4000, i noticed that i have a lot of troubles with the SCSI chain with unexpected hung ups and resets. The chain is properly terminated with active terminators so it's not the problem, if I unplug some devices it seems to be working better, so I'm thinking to buy a new, high quality, power supply, now I have an unbranded ATX one with 400 WATT power, quite old. this is my configuration: - Amiga 4000 Desktop 64MB ram in full tower - CSPPC 200Mhz e 68060, 66MHz, 128mb RAM - Mediator A4000D - Picasso IV - Delfina Lite - Ati Radeon 9200 128MB - Voodoo 3 16mb - Ethernet PCI - 2x Hard Disk SCSI UW 15k rpm - SSD Ata on a ACARD SCSI3=>SATA adapter - Iomega Zip100 SCSI - Iomega JAZ 2GB - DVD-ROM SCSI2 - Cd-Burner 6x4x16 SCSI2 - CF IDE Adapter what power is supposed to be enough for such a configuration? I was thinking about 500Watt but with so much devices and expansion maybe it could be underpowered. |
05 January 2019, 01:49 | #2 |
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My A4000D in a tower case which is pretty similar to yours only draws about 95W under load at the wall. That is with:
CSPPC 200Mhz, 50MHz 060 128MB. Mediator Voodoo3-3000 Ragnarok PPC@950MHz SB128 10MB PCI NIC Spider USB 300GB 10,000 RPM SCSI U320 drive SCSI DVD 200GB SSD with SATA->IDE->SCSI adapters 64GB CF with CF->IDE->SCSI adapters Multi Card Reader Some fans(ok a lot of fans) I use a Corsair CS550M and 5V voltage on drive connectors is usually 4.98V. So I would recommend the CS550M. Only thing is that the fan on it isn't under enough load to run at a reasonable speed so it's powered via a 5V drive connector. |
05 January 2019, 02:24 | #3 |
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ahhhh i forgot to say that I have a SpiderII too!!!!
Anyway I was thinking about this power supply: EVGA 500 B1, 80+ BRONZE 500W here there is an amazon Link. https://www.amazon.it/gp/product/B01...PNWYJU7H&psc=1 Anyway, how can it draws only 95watts if my 400 watts power supply seems not to be enough? I have to use a lot of molex splitters to give power to all the devices but I don't think that this could be the problem! |
05 January 2019, 02:59 | #4 | |
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Quote:
If you're like me and using Molex splitters of unknown origins, some of which might be 20+ years old, the mating surfaces are likely dirty and oxidized, which maybe you can take apart and clean, sometimes that helps. But your old OEM power supply likely does not have a stable 5V supply, as most of that load is on it (the 5V rail). It can be for a variety of reasons. If the behavior changes somewhat just by unplugging all of your cables and plugging them back in different places that's sort of a hint that it's connectors. Power supplies especially cheap no-name ones don't have an unlimited life, like original A4000 Power supplies or the motherboard itself capacitors generally have a finite life and start to fail either by leaking, bulging or drying out. I can't recommend that particular EVGA power supply, your best bet is looking what other heavily loaded A4000 users are using. Make sure it has at least 20A rating on 5V, and generally has active PFC. Other than that I can't tell you one is better than another, many ATX power supplies can be rated for 750W yet have a very weak 5V rail when only loaded at 10%. |
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28 August 2019, 01:40 | #5 |
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Innnnnteresting thread. I'm now considering the same PSU as Reflex has. Though I just bought this StarTech 300 Watt ATXPOWER300. My A4000D boots fine..
A4000D Picasso 4 (IV) CyberStormPPC @375 / zer060 @ 60.5. 128MB RAM. CyberVisionPPC BigRAMPlus (256MB) X-Surf 100 - Z3 enabled. DataFlyer with a Zip Drive 100 connected to it. SCSI2SD V6 connected to CSPPC's SCSI.. Only powered by SCSI (so far). IDE CompactFlash.. powered by ATX.. Amiga Floppy. The ATX is connected to the Amiga-Kit adapter with the power switch added. Everything seems to be functioning very well except for when I use the CyberVisionPPC to play Payback PPC, Wipeout 2097 or ShogoMAD...and let them run for over 30 minutes. The CVPPC has a fan of it, which is powered by the ATX PSU also. I bought the ATX to replace the original Amiga 4000 PSU...of course. If I reconnect everything to the functional Amiga PSU it all functions as it should, and without any PPC crash or 68K controller crashing..in the background from a PPC game. I'm not real voltage savvy and I don't have any equipment to check it. The handle comes from the 80's and so on when I was into the band, and into some code. So I'm wondering if the Amiga-Kit connector https://amigakit.amiga.store/product...roducts_id=615 is not completely connected correctly? OR...am I missing something I don't fully understand? I read this thread a couple times, but I'll read again after submitting this. Any clues? Ask whatever...and I'll do my best to answer. I have an A4000T (yes, not an A4000D in a tower) and it's connected to a DA series DIABLOTEK 450W..and not any graphics board. I thought I'd give it a go, so when I connected it to A4000D the Picasso 4 didn't show my AmigaDOS menu but it was there, but did display for CVPPC. Then I saw the Picasso 4 Workbench, but the "brown/blank" screen bugged me, and I didn't want to have any possibility for the Picasso 4 to burn out..so I powered off, and disconnected that PSU. Last edited by AC/DC HACKER!; 28 August 2019 at 01:50. |
28 August 2019, 01:59 | #6 | |
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Are you operating the A4000D with the case off while trying that ATX power supply? The Amigakit ATX adapter is not really great for a heavily loaded system, the 5V wire is too thin. What I and others did was connect the 5V pin on the A4000 power connector to multiple pins on the ATX connector and that seemed to help. Others connected a 5V wire from the ATX connector to various other places in the A4000 and that helped them. If you notice on the A4000 PSU, the 5V wire is about 2x as thick as the others, the Amigakit adapter is the same on all wires, at least the version I have is. Also when in doubt, point a huge box fan at the A4000 when the case is off to rule out any sort of cooling issue. |
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28 August 2019, 03:00 | #7 | ||||
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What do you mean take a 5V pin from the ATX connector (bypassing the Amiga-Kit adapter) and connect it in "other places"?? What....are the other places? Other places...ON the Motherboard?!.. The Motherboard power connector is the only valid place I'm aware of to connect it. Perhaps I should pull the thin 5V from the Amiga-Kit's Power Connector and replace that with one from one of the Hard Drive connectors (4-pin) and connect it to it? Quote:
I've had the A4000D out of the box for a while and I clean it all once in a while. There have been zero problems with heat and the CVisionPPC functions well. But since I got the ATX PSU I added a fan "just because" and the inside I was getting "That's not the problem." and my eyes kept going to the Amiga-Kit adapter. Now I KNOW why. Ha! I was thinking I might have to return it, but now I'm notice there's something I can do. Just gotta make sure I'm following you correctly before I do anything that could cause damage..even as resilient as the A4000 is...and parts are. Really, really appreciate the reply. So, when I'm understanding better I make a change to get correct power to it. But first..I shall check your reply. Last edited by AC/DC HACKER!; 28 August 2019 at 03:50. Reason: Added subsccription. |
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28 August 2019, 04:00 | #8 |
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Well not many people run really fully loaded A4000s any more. There are a few of us, sure, but how many times do you see a post about power supplies with say, A4000D with a fully loaded Toaster System, including say, a pair of 10,000 RPM drives? They'd probably have the same problem with the Amigakit adapter.
It's like this, here's what I did with one of the Amigakit adapters: 1) Use a pin to push the little metal latches in on the A4000 side of the adapter, and extract the 5V err pin. 2) Use a pin to push the little metal latches in on the ATX side of the adapter and extract the 5V ... pin that goes into the ATX cable from the power supply 3) Crimp a new A4000 side pin onto a pair of copper wires and on the other end, insert them back into the ATX adapter which goes to two different ATX 5V pins on the ATX connector which goes to the ATX power supply. The reason I asked if the case was open or not, the original A4000 power supply was designed for the only exhaust and airflow in the system. If you don't have a closed system the heat is just radiating into the air and parts around it, even though it's open this is not how the system was designed to operate. And I don't know how hot it is in the room, or any kind of airflow. Which is why I said just in case, point a big fan at the system. As far as other places to "inject" 5V power into the system, sure you could just pick any old place on the motherboard (that has thick traces and is connected to 5V supply) to solder a 5V onto, which you would plug into any of the extra free 5V pins on the ATX cable. Some folks like Wrangler made a "5V Injector" out of veroboard and plugged that into a Zorro connector, for him the problem was getting enough 5V supply to the Zorro/PCI busboard. What I do, is just buy the connectors and pins for the A4000 Motherboard connector, ATX female connector and make my own with copper wire (not the tin that Amigakit uses). Also get the gold plated connectors as the price isn't really much more and might oxidize less over time (?). Also since it's going on 25 years, replace the A4000 motherboard connector again with rich heavy yellow gold, or at the minimum clean the inside of those pins with alcohol or some "safe" electric cleaner, use a tool that can abrase the inside of those pins until they are not coated with a layer of gunk. The Amigakit ATX adapter is probably ok or just fine for A4000D Tower conversions, as those Mediator busboards have the P9 connector to get a little more 5V supply onto the busboard/motherboard. Specs for reference just because, maybe gives a little perspective: A4000D Warpengine 060/66MHz will run 80MHz, but I don't really need the speed. Mediator Ragnarok PPC @ 800MHz Voodoo 3-3000 SB128+LAN 256GB SSD (used to have 10K 300GB SCSI drive but I didn't want the noise) Optical Drive CF Reader Ratte Switch 64MB motherboard mod PSU is a Corsair SF450 SFX +Fan in busboard area +Voodoo exhaust fan at the Expansion slot between the Zorro slots and the PSU Last edited by grelbfarlk; 28 August 2019 at 04:29. |
28 August 2019, 05:06 | #9 | ||||||
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I was getting ready to pit it back in the case when I got the ATX because I thought that would be it. Put the ATX in the Case, as I've seen in other posts, and put it all back together or build some kind of new case for it. So I don't have to clean it as often as I have. On the days when it's a little warm, and I don't use the big AC...I have a fan that blows on it. Which is why I knew it was some kind of power problem, and then narrowed it to CVIsionPPC not getting enough juice. Quote:
[QOUTE]What I do, is just buy the connectors and pins for the A4000 Motherboard connector, ATX female connector and make my own with copper wire (not the tin that Amigakit uses). Also get the gold plated connectors as the price isn't really much more and might oxidize less over time (?).[/QUOTE] Annnn Idea. Quote:
Now that the 5V makes a lot more sense to me, I understand why the A4000D is totally stable even with the CVisionPPC not taxing any real power except general display; not even Workbench on it. Add more demand..more power needed over time. Then crash because it's not being met. Quote:
I'm seeing the Ragnarok PPC at times, I'll check into it. The speeds I get now I'm very pleased with. Since I bought the SCSI2SD V6 and use PFS3 AIO..it's really quick. I agree, I'm glad to be away from the older SCSI drives I had before. They were sweet at the time...but yeah. Not so much anymore...and one stopped working. It was showing problems before I stopped with Amiga for a while...so I was glad to get it dumped with WinUAE when I did. (Much appreciation to Toni all others). Your described method doesn't have any soldering to preform. Project like this I view as Zen moments. I'll give it a go. Last edited by AC/DC HACKER!; 28 August 2019 at 20:12. |
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28 August 2019, 08:45 | #10 |
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Ac/dc - what do you mean by scsi2sd powered only by scsi? You dont have floppy power connexted?
Btw: share pics of your nice config |
28 August 2019, 18:05 | #11 |
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It's AC/DC...same as the band. Smiling. The SCSI on the CyberStorm PPC (MK3..or MKIII). The SCSI2SD V6 has a floppy connector but isn't needed because there's enough juice coming through the SCSI to power it. The Docs also show to not use that if the SCSI powers it because it could blow a particular chip..and the "magic" of the Chip will escape and then you have to replace the Chip to get it working again. For the price, I'm not gonna to do that...haha!
I also removed the SCS2SD to check if it was pulling too much power away from the CVPPC but..same result. The table is looking a bit messy, haha, but I suppose soon I'll post 1 or some soon. Ostrava...it's pretty cool how so many people of the same interest can connect via a Web page. The Internet has really offered both negatives and positives in such a way that we can all connect across the globe. Now, once we get on Mars (and examine the created structures there), we could further the connection - not merely people to people. Haha. Pretty sweet, Waving to you from Oregon. Edit: With Workbench, I'm showing my current stuff with Workbench 3.1.4.1..and I muse it has the ability to drag stuff off the screen. Zip drive, HxC2001 Floppy Emulator. Display shows filename, which I prefer over a lot of other devices rather than 001, 002...etc. I don't have the HD floppy connected (I swap them as needed..and HD Floppy isn't used much anymore..since WHD and Emulator). If you want to see more, or something else I'll post elsewhere because I don't want to really want to go way off topic for the forum. Or PM. Last edited by AC/DC HACKER!; 28 August 2019 at 18:44. |
28 August 2019, 20:41 | #12 |
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Looking at the wires they don't appear to follow the original PSU. The "fatter" yellow on the original is the 5V...from this conversation. It's not the same color on the Amiga-Kit adapter. Just use the different color but same location wire? Again, I don't have a voltage checker. So I'm providing video to hopefully really clarify...and help.
[ Show youtube player ] Update: From this site: http://www.ianstedman.co.uk/Amiga/am...ml#atxadaptors The 5V is gray...not yellow on the original PSU - going by Power pin 1, it's 6 to push out..which the Site is helpful about locating. Since the Amiga-Kit adapter is using different colors I was a little confused. I have a challenge with seeing shades. So it's: 234 165 ...on the original PSU since it's the red wire. I think that's blue on the Amiga-Kit A4000 connector, same spot #6. Hmm.. Last edited by AC/DC HACKER!; 29 August 2019 at 01:13. |
28 August 2019, 23:08 | #13 |
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One picture is worth fifteen words, so maybe this will help explain what I mean.
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29 August 2019, 01:52 | #14 |
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I'm having a little challenging time (even zooming) to see where all the black wires are going. Also, is the Amiga power...laying so the 1/2 circle and 1/2 edge connector is what the camera is seeing? Confirm that and I'll have a better idea of what I'm looking at.
It looks like..the wires from the "middle" part of the adapter could be used, pop them from it (perhaps a good tug?)..and insert into Amiga Power in..2, 3, and 4..? Looking at mine again, and this image..looks like some wires need to be switched around some. So, if I took the wires from the middle piece I could connect them and create the split in Amiga Power connector...as well as adjusting them to further to match what I see here. Last edited by AC/DC HACKER!; 29 August 2019 at 02:01. |
29 August 2019, 02:00 | #15 |
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The black wires from my picture are just the grounds, which I also split up for reasons, don't recall what they were, oh it was because the 64MB motherboard mod was being extra finicky about grounding. If you look at an ATX pinout diagram, you'll see four of the pins are 5V.
I can't say for sure what the pinout of the P9 connector is, I would assume they are 5V but you should really check against the diagram to make sure. The ATX pins are held on the mating side (not the wire side) by little hooks. If you insert a very thin needle just the right way you should be able to bend them back in so it slides out with little resistance. If you just pull on them you'll break those little hooks and it won't stay in place and you'll have to hold those wires when you plug it in, and and don't just yank it out. P9 connector, this is one half of the old AT standard of power supply connector. This is intended, generally, on the Amigakit adapter to be plugged into a Mediator tower version busboard. Which they should have put that connector on the Desktop version of the busboard too, but didn't, grumble, grumble, <more unintelligible grumbling lasting 25 minutes> Last edited by grelbfarlk; 29 August 2019 at 02:34. |
29 August 2019, 02:36 | #16 |
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The picture above this message IS the P9? The P9 is what connects to the connector with the "Amiga-Kit" logo on it? Which is a male P9 (okay, that reads as really funny to me..with my sense of humor)..? I think I'm getting a crash-course in this so I'm wanting to make sure the jargon is correct to the piece.
Correct, I see 4 V5..from a very novice view this "seemingly" complicated, but been around enough that was Seems to be really isn't. I just have to be careful about the wiring..I start to see doubles with road maps and a lot of small wires. Not like cracking..haha! Knock the the head a little...back on track..I'm starting to think about this in a more complicated way...but then I look at what you've done, and realize I just have to remove the wires, and reconnect. Or..get better wires as you suggested, and copper, and reconnect. This IF...and that's all it is, is pure curiosity - if I remove the wires from (I wasn't going to tug, it was a funny for a reaction..)..the middle part (6 pins connector) simply, would those wires, if I removed them from it and the P9 with the Amiga-Kit Logo, and then use them be enough juice to work? Because that would be an increase x1?..per se? I updated my last reply before this with an arrow showing which one I was meaning to take wires from. If you didn't see it. I guess I should make a trip the local electronics Mom and Pop store here and see if they have three copper 5V wires.. I also reconnected one of my original PSU's just for fun, as I knew it would work, have let Payback PPC as well as Wipeout 2097 run, and zero problems. I didn't there was any damage done. |
29 August 2019, 02:46 | #17 |
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The P9 is the white connector with three red wires that you have a a black arrow pointing at in your picture. The big black connector with the A4000 and Amigakit on it in your picture is the ATX connector. Which I guess the ATX connector housing is um female, but the pins that go into it are male. The ATX power supply cable has a 'male' connector but female pins.
I don't think you'll do damage with the adapter, it's just not going to be stable, which will stop you from using the system long before it breaks something-probably. What you'd do, is sure, remove one of the Red Wires from the P9 connector (that's the flat white one), and remove the A4000 5V pin from the connector, connect the now 'extra' 5V wire to the A4000 5V pin. Then insert the pin back in the connector. Though it's hard to say that is really going to fix your issue. Like I said before we-I mean I-started this derail was just listing examples of ways people dealt with their issue. Best bet is to just look up the parts on Digikey, Mouser, etc and build a fresh one properly. You can get the wire lengths exactly to the right length of where you want to put them and start with better components, copper wire of a lower (fatter) gauge, gold pins, all the bells and whistles. And while you're ordering that stuff pick up a new female A4000 PSU motherboard connector (more motherfucking gold) and have a friend replace that as well. Last edited by grelbfarlk; 29 August 2019 at 02:52. |
29 August 2019, 02:54 | #18 | ||
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Quote:
Took a split moment for me to recognize what they are for. I've been using a magnifier to see the connectors. I haven't pushing with a pen or anything else yet to get the wires free. Examining to understand first. Quote:
Again, really, really appreciate the help. I was really considering the wires removal from the P9..since they're the same size and should be same current as the others, but...when it comes to electronics and lots of details - Dazzzzz not always accurate and there could be tiny details I'm unaware of. My A4000D motherboards have been recapped and one needed a lot of repairs. Both have replaced PSU motherboard connectors. So, all done there. Haha, I sure have seen the word-bomb coming since my comments. Ha. Last edited by AC/DC HACKER!; 29 August 2019 at 03:08. |
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29 August 2019, 03:19 | #19 |
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Something else people have done, and while I don't recommend it, they connected a floppy drive connector to the fan input on the CSPPC. That would be just the 5V and Ground side of a floppy drive power connector to the 5V and Ground pins of the CSPPC fan connector.
Now you'd still have to find some way of powering the fan on your PPC, but that was used by a couple people at least to give the CSPPC a bit of extra POWAR. I want to say it was Mechy that told me about this, but I'm not sure whom to attribute it to. |
29 August 2019, 03:25 | #20 |
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Isn't that opposing electrical forces?? The fan connector is an output, not input. Maybe I'm not understanding? But that seems dangerous to the CSPPC.
Logic does suggest that if an opposing electrical force doesn't overpower something that's already flowing in 1 direction that it could be stable enough at the source to reroute power to another part part of the machine. Hmm... Not sure I want to use that idea though. Last edited by AC/DC HACKER!; 29 August 2019 at 03:33. |
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