I also have to thank you whopist, I just got one on ebay for $19, so I guess I am upgrading lol.
Well, when I spotted this DELL supply among all the other ones I thought something must be wrong with it. No info, cheap, and several vendors trying to pawn them off just did not add up. Sure glad I bit.
Thank you guys for your input and especially Texas_Ace for introducing us to the DPS series controllers.
Well, this might not be DULL, but it's cheap: AC 110V/220V TO DC48V 8.3A 400W Regulated Transformer Power Supply For LED Strip :-D
Cheers ^:)
Thats what I used at first, the dell supply is FAR FAR superior from a quality standpoint but after the DPS gets done with it either will work. Not to mention they are cheaper in many cases.
The price is unsurprising as these are pulls from servers and almost worthless for anything but scrap. The surprising thing is that they have free shipping, I bet they ship in a flat rate box.
Bit the bullet, ordered the thing plus a 48V 12.5A meanwell knock-off. 
Thanks for the link Texas_Ace. :+1:
I got me this one:
https://nl.aliexpress.com/item/576W-48V-12A-Single-Output-Uninterruptible-ac-220v-110v-to-dc-48v-Switching-power-supply-unit/32283236197.html
^
You may want to cancel that order, if you have deals like this available locally. There should be no problem paralleling a couple units even without load sharing. I just ordered a couple (different vendor & price) and should have them in a 2 to 3 days. I'll report right away how they work paralleled.
Ditto, the dell power supply is far far better then the aliexpress version.
I couldn’t find anything like it for less here in Netherlands Europe.
Obviously…
Sorry Jerommel. Should have known you would have been on top of that decision.
Don’t be.
It was a good point.
Simple solution:
- Move to USA
- Buy the power supply on ebay
- Move back or learn to like cheeseburgers and stay in the USA
- Profit
This guy has the eps-470 for $10 plus $10 shipping. He does combine shipping and also accepts offers. I got two of them for $16+$15shipping= $31total for 2 units.
I’m a bit of a noob when it comes to electronics. What is the benefit of using one of these server power supplies compared to something meant for a desktop computer, assuming that you find something with a comparable wattage rating?
Voltage. An ATX power supply puts out 12V where these putout 48V.
Now with these new boost/buck modules coming out that won’t be an issue any more in theory as it could use 12V and boost it up to the full rated voltage or take 48V and buck it down as low as you want. Although they have yet to release the details on those units.
Although all that said the server power supplies are still a steal for the price, they cost less than most cheap china supplies and are far far better.
There are a couple reasons for this unit:
Very stable output
The flat shape and size is nice
A typical desktop supply is only 12v, this one is 47v.
But you really only need over 12v if you plan on doing stuff with COB’s, right?
Or XXHP35’s. But yeah, if strictly used for LED uses then 12V is enough for 95% of what you would use it for.
Thanks guys, it was the 12v vs 48v that I was missing. Unfortunately the cheapest Dell EPS-470 that I can find on ebay shipped to Canada is $40 USD. I’m not sure if that is the best deal I will be able to find, I’ll be keeping my eye out for power supplies in the near future.
If I’m understanding correctly this DPS 5015 is very flexible about what I use for an input. I can use 12v wallwarts, laptop power supplies or really anything which outputs 12v-60v and the DPS should be functionally the same other than not being able to push big amps at higher voltages on the output.