Scientific Voltage Supply

[Electricbees]

Okay, here's a theoretical question.
Put the case that you have a large amount of expensive scientific power supplies at your disposal. (The sort with the Volt and Amp regulating knobs)
Could one, theoretically, hook something like this up to feed graphics cards?
I know the cards will need to pull varying amounts of current @12volts, but with ANY amount of work, could this be done?

Just a thought, wondering the inherent difference between comp and scientific power supplies.

[1714941088]

1714941088

[DeathAndTaxes]

Not sure how you can have an amp regulating knob.  Power supply sets the voltage.  The device's load determines the amperage. 

Essentially any power supply which can deliver sufficient amount of current @ 12 VDC "can" be used.  Doesn't mean it is a good idea to use it or that it would be efficient but it can be used.  If you have a power supply which has adjustable voltage you need to set it to 12 VDC.  Make sure you get polarity right.  You want current flowing FROM the 12V PCIe connector TO the ground PCIe connector.

[Electricbees]

Not sure how you can have an amp regulating knob.  Power supply sets the voltage.  The device's load determines the amperage. 

I'm surely remembering what I've seen incorrectly then. The supplies definitely have two knobs, and we use them for electromagnetic experiments here at the university... 
I would never trust myself to use such a setup with my precious videocards, but I had seen a mod where people used PSUs as scientific supplies. Seems that you should be able to do the reverse, right? Not worth the time and effort in any case...

[cicada]

Turning a computer PSU into a scientific power supply gives you a cheap, well regulated supply with the disadvantage that voltages aren't adjustable.  They're perfect for working with microcontrollers and such as you get nice, stable 3.3V, 5V, and 12V rails with usually a +/- 10% variance at most.

A real scientific bench power supply is much more expensive, has the advantage of adjustable voltage, but generally are rated for relatively low amperage.  The voltages are spot on, with +/- 1% variance on a good supply.  That sensitivity is attained by basically ignoring efficiency - they do whatever it takes to get you a stable current.

So, unless you have a bunch sitting around like you do, and don't need to care about efficiency, it's generally not worthwhile to go in the other direction