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Computer power supply question

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ktalebian

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Hi there,

I need a power supply that can provide 12V, 20A. I wanted to use one of the power supplies from an old computer.

I found one that has power rating of 350W, but on it, it says that at 12V, it can provide 16A. Is there no way to get 20A out of this power supply? I just need the 12V, and none of the other +/- 3V,5V.

Cheers
 
No there is no way outside of a full modification of the supply (not practical) which is far beyond the scope of your post.

Get yourself a good 400-500 watt supply and you may get a 12V rail that meets your needs.

I would de-rate a PC supply as they're almost never run near their maxvalues so for getting a solid 20amps out of the PC supply you want, it should be capable of say 30amps to reliably sustain 20amps.

Most computers come now where near their rated current values in normal operation
 
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If your intended load would be happy with, say, 11.5V @20A it might be posssible with some power FETs and clever electronics to use two of the 16A supplies in a load-sharing arrangement. The complexity probably isn't justified though. Go with Sceadwian's suggestion.
 
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