Aspire XC-1660G What are acceptable PSU Upgrades?

RICHNOKES

I have an Aspire XC-1660G. What are acceptable PSU upgrades? I want to install a GPU that requires external power.
[Edited the thread to add the title and issue detail] 

billsey

There isn't much, your systems uses one of the new style ATX12VO PSUs, which provides all the power to the MB as +12V DC. That means the entire 300W is in the one voltage. Third party supplies are tough to find and though Acer has a 500W version in some models, they are tight with allowing them out for different models. You could potentially find an ATX supply that has a single rail for the +12V and enough power on that rail to be better than the 300W supplied with the stock PSU, then make an adapter cable from the 24 pin connector to a 6 pin that will fit your MB. I'm not sure anyone has done that yet, but theoretically it should work.

RICHNOKES

I was wondering. I know this is low profile, but I have an old GTX 1060 I want to run with this. I figured "Ok, I will just leave the power supply outside the box, no sweat." I have a 460Watt- No joy, 800Watt- No joy, 1200Watt- No joy. None of them will even turn on when connected to the two connections on the motherboard. Even though these power supplies have MANY times the same number of connectors (4-pin, 6-pin) required to power the computer.
I guess the 12 volt (which is weird and ACER proprietary?) is the problem?

ttttt

@billsey

I think most people are not that technical that they can make an adapter cable to do the modification. An electrician can do it, but not for me at least.

billsey

The new 12VO power supplies are actually required by Intel for some of their branding, so almost all the manufacturers are moving to them. Just because the connector on the old style PSU looks the same doesn't mean it has the same power on it. None of the normal one, that have the 24 pin main connector, are going to have the power supply enable pin on a six pin connector and if you try to connect the wrong thing it could potentially damage your motherboard.

RICHNOKES

Then if there is not a third-party option for a PSU is there a PSU made by ACER that I can upgrade to? It seems not right that I cannot upgrade my graphics card to any graphics card requiring an external power supply. That limits me to graphics cards that can only run up to 1080p games, and I would not have spent $700 on the computer had I known this.

billsey

The case for an XC-1660G is thinner than the typical tower and the PSU has to be smaller that an ATX size to match. Here is the relevant section in the parts list:

As you can see, they have purchased from two vendors (Lite-On and FSP) and have done two revisions (R1 is the second), but don't differentiate between them. My guess is anything in the parts channel will be R1, in the systems themselves the first were built with the first rev until they ran out then they switched to the second rev. They are all 300W supplies...

RICHNOKES

Thank you for doing this "billsey". This just means that the power on the same connector from a bigger power supply is completely different and the answer to my question is that there is absolutely no way to upgrade to a power supply that can supply a GPU requiring external power. I wasted $700. I should have spent $1000 and got something I could at least have reasonably expected to upgrade. I thought ACER was a better company. I guess I was wrong.

billsey

Pretty much all the companies are moving in the same direction with regard to power supplies. They all want to have the Intel branding logos, and to do that they have to have the 12VO supplies. It's going to take a while for the third parties to start offering them, most PSU upgrades happen when the system is a few years old and the user wants to bump up their GPU, so the current market is too slim still.

UnsolicitedGamer

If you want to use external power then good luck with that lmao. But you could just get a GTX 1050 TI that can use the PSU thats already installed which the 1050 TI only uses 300 watts and you can make a lot of performance and frames with that! If it were me I'd just get another computer thats easily upgradable because your clearly think too much about it, but good luck anyways XD

JasonStern

The XC-1660G really isn't designed to be a gaming rig. It's designed to be a compact desktop. The small case profile means most cards won't fit. I run an AMD RX560 with the metal mounting plate removed for size reasons. I imagine some compact variations of the nVidia GTX 1650/1660 would work. All of these should work with the stock PSU and might be adequate enough for your GPU needs.

But if money is no object and performance matters, the best approach would be an external GPU. Just be aware that this is not really a cost effective approach versus buying a full-sized gaming rig.

Solethread12203

Can I use a second smaller power supply and have it only power the graphics card. The graphics card is a gtx 1650?

Larryodie

There is lots of stuff on YouTube re upgrading plus a cable is available.

Search "acer all in one power supply"

billsey

No you typically can't use two different power supplies. They have to have their references matched or else you will get ground loops that might end up frying your system.