RE: (Portable) Power Generator to power a pc? 03-04-2012, 08:00 PM
#2
Your post contains too little information. What kind of computer it is? What exactly is "portable"? And how long do you want it to last?
Various computers have different power consumption needs and also need different voltage to run. While most desktop computers are powered by a PSU, which changes usually AC 240/120V at 50/60 Hz from the power outlet to DC 12V, 5V usually also 3.3V and some other voltages a laptop is usually powered directly from a battery, that produces DC current with voltage usually around 12-20 V (mine has 15 V).
Also, desktop computer might consume even 100 watts when idle and even hundreds of watts at peaks (often start-up consumes a lot for a short period of time) or during intensive load, such as running a game or something else that's performance intensive, while laptop might satisfy with just 15 watts at load for example and much less during idling, which includes the display. Of course, laptop already has its own portable powersource, but you might also power/charge it from the adapter, which usually needs aforementioned AC 100-240 V, which it converts to some other voltage, say 20V DC, however you might find some generators that produce directly same voltage as the adapter and plug it to the laptop.
Regarding the portability, do you want something that you can carry in back-pack? Or something larger (but more powerful) that you can carry around in a car? There are some portable generators that usually run on some kind of fuel, but note, that definition of "portable" might differ among models.
And last thing... how long do you need it to run? If it's a fuel one, you will run out of fuel sooner or later, if it's a battery one, it will run out of juice too. Or would you like something mechanical, where you manually spin something for example? That can somewhat work with a laptop. There are also solar ones, but from what I've seen, they are barely enough to charge a phone over several hours.
What do you need it for? If you need to overcome power-outages, you might get an UPS, which gives you at least a few minutes (it usually has a battery), to save your documents and securely shut down your computer, but you also need to put the type of computer and its power consumption in the regard.
Various computers have different power consumption needs and also need different voltage to run. While most desktop computers are powered by a PSU, which changes usually AC 240/120V at 50/60 Hz from the power outlet to DC 12V, 5V usually also 3.3V and some other voltages a laptop is usually powered directly from a battery, that produces DC current with voltage usually around 12-20 V (mine has 15 V).
Also, desktop computer might consume even 100 watts when idle and even hundreds of watts at peaks (often start-up consumes a lot for a short period of time) or during intensive load, such as running a game or something else that's performance intensive, while laptop might satisfy with just 15 watts at load for example and much less during idling, which includes the display. Of course, laptop already has its own portable powersource, but you might also power/charge it from the adapter, which usually needs aforementioned AC 100-240 V, which it converts to some other voltage, say 20V DC, however you might find some generators that produce directly same voltage as the adapter and plug it to the laptop.
Regarding the portability, do you want something that you can carry in back-pack? Or something larger (but more powerful) that you can carry around in a car? There are some portable generators that usually run on some kind of fuel, but note, that definition of "portable" might differ among models.
And last thing... how long do you need it to run? If it's a fuel one, you will run out of fuel sooner or later, if it's a battery one, it will run out of juice too. Or would you like something mechanical, where you manually spin something for example? That can somewhat work with a laptop. There are also solar ones, but from what I've seen, they are barely enough to charge a phone over several hours.
What do you need it for? If you need to overcome power-outages, you might get an UPS, which gives you at least a few minutes (it usually has a battery), to save your documents and securely shut down your computer, but you also need to put the type of computer and its power consumption in the regard.
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