PSU replacement for IBM PC? \ VOGONS

PSU replacement for IBM PC?

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First post, by red_avatar

Posted on 2019-01-03, 21:13

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I'm basically taking all my old PCs under a magnifying glass and seeing which bits I can replace and improve. Extra RAM, better CPU, that sort of thing. One thing that bugs me about all my old IBM PCs, is the rather noisy PSUs. With noise I don't mean fan rattling or resonance but it's like this high metallic whirring sound. I've always known it to exist and I imagine that's how old PSUs sounded like, but I wonder if there exist modern versions that are silent or at least less noisy. On top of this, it's not a bad idea to keep the old one as a spare since PSUs are bound to die sometime.

The main one I'd like to replace is my IBM Aptiva 2144 PSU - a 145W PSU 5V 18A, 3.5A 220V, etc. It's the oldest PC I regularly use and because its case is underneath the monitor, the sound is more noticeable.

So, anyone know where I could find an affordable replacement?

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Reply 1 of 4, by SirNickity

Posted on 2019-01-04, 06:26

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Are you comfortable opening it up to replace parts? These old PSUs need maintenance at this point - usually, at least some of the capacitors, and the fans. I don't think having an un-maintained spare is much use, personally .. it's just as likely to give up the ghost as one you use daily. So that either leaves repair or replacement.

If you are pretty sure that removing the screws would be a death sentence for either or both of you, then maybe one of the Pico supplies would work? 145W is on the verge of being able to use a simple DC-to-DC supply, but it depends on how much of that 140-ish you actually need. Some of the lower end old IBMs didn't need all that much.

Reply 2 of 4, by cyclone3d

Posted on 2019-01-04, 06:40

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Looks like it is smaller than a regular ATX PSU to me.

What are the actual measurements?

A SilverStone Strider Gold S series might work:
https://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=448

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Reply 3 of 4, by red_avatar

Posted on 2019-01-04, 15:22

red_avatar Offline

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SirNickity wrote:
Are you comfortable opening it up to replace parts? These old PSUs need maintenance at this point - usually, at least some of the capacitors, and the fans. I don't think having an un-maintained spare is much use, personally .. it's just as likely to give up the ghost as one you use daily. So that either leaves repair or replacement.

If you are pretty sure that removing the screws would be a death sentence for either or both of you, then maybe one of the Pico supplies would work? 145W is on the verge of being able to use a simple DC-to-DC supply, but it depends on how much of that 140-ish you actually need. Some of the lower end old IBMs didn't need all that much.

I'd rather not screw around with a PSU - my PCs are like babies to me and the idea of potentially destroying them by making a mistake does not sound very good to me 😉

Reply 4 of 4, by red_avatar

Posted on 2019-01-04, 17:17

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cyclone3d wrote:
Looks like it is smaller than a regular ATX PSU to me. […]
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Looks like it is smaller than a regular ATX PSU to me.

What are the actual measurements?

A SilverStone Strider Gold S series might work:
https://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=448

Yeah these PSUs are pretty small: 15x14cm

This SilverStone may actually work - the location of the powerplug looks about right.

The specs of the IBM PSU are:
200-240V - 3.5A
+5V - 18.A MAX
+12V - 4.2A MAX
-12V - 0.4A MAX
-5V - 0.3A MAX

Shame the Silverstone is so expensive.

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