ATX Bench Power Supply - Convert a Computer Power Supply

A computer ATX power supply can be easily converted into a versatile and powerful power supply for your workbench. In this video, I’ll show you how easy it is to make that conversion.

A power supply is an essential piece of equipment for any electronics experimenter. While you can get by with USB adapters and “wall warts” having a capable high-current source of 3.3, 5, and 12 volt DC power will take your experimenting to another level.

Commercial power supplies with these sorts of current capabilities can be very expensive, however, there is a much cheaper alternative. With some simple wiring, you can convert an ATX power supply from a desktop computer into a reliable and capable workbench power supply.

Even if you need to purchase a new ATX power supply this method is still a lot cheaper than buying a commercial workbench power supply. And chances are that you won't need to spend any money at all on the ATX power supply, I salvaged mine from an old Windows XP computer and it works just great.

There are two types of ATX power supplies commonly in use, I will show you the differences between them. Either model can be used in this project.

Here is the Table of Contents for the video:

00:00 - Introduction
04:36 - Parts used in Project
10:06 - ATX Supply pinouts
13:46 - ATX Supply Inside
16:17 - Testing ATX Supply
19:14 - Hookup Diagram
22:48 - Building the Power Supply
30:17 - Testing the Power Supply
31:59 - Adding a Power Meter

One note - there are many ways to do this and I outline a few of them in the video. Several methods (including the one I used) involve opening up the ATX power supply. If you do that BE VERY CAREFUL as some of the components in the supply can retain a high-voltage charge for hours or even days after the supply has been unplugged.

If you are unsure about opening up a power supply (or if you have a new one still under warranty) don’t do it, you can still build this project another way. I go over that at the conclusion of the video.

As always there is an article on the DroneBot Workshop website that accompanies this video.

Hope you find this video useful and if you haven’t already please subscribe to the YouTube channel. Thanks!

[seymourbutz]

Finally, finally, a video that actually teaches something, no noisy background music, no video only type instruction, no heavy accent, no fast talking and excellent camera angles, along with excellent diagrams and presentation. Yes, I wish I had you as my high school electronics teacher. Maybe I would of attended more classes and actually learned something. Keep up the great videos.

[davidcole]

I am 72 years of age, and I so wish you had been a teacher at my school way back in the 1960's. Every aspect of your youtube vid is 100% perfect, no music, clarity of annunciation is great, presentation cannot be faulted, even at my age I am still learning thanks to you.
Please dont' stop.
Thank you.

[matthewyoung]

It's amazing how so many of us want these type of videos yet so few produce them even though we almost always voice our opinions on the unwanted music and editing of the majority of poor quality videos. Keep up what you are doing because you are one of the few that actually care what us the viewer actually want to see and learn from.

[shotadzagnidze]

High Class of this kind of teaching videos. no silly music, good diction and brief explanation. Thank you

[kensmithmail]

I award you 5 stars for your videos, clear voice, no stupid music, perfectly explained, wish I could give you 1000 likes, thank you.

[gazaziho]

You are a calm, decent and respectful man. The explanation is clear and most importantly there is no background music. Thank you very much. My only objection is to adding a resistor, as it constitutes an unnecessary load to the circuit, especially since it is connected in parallel.

[johnsweden]

Hi Bill,
You have one of the most listening-friendly, patient, relaxed and slow tutorial voices I've heard. I thoroughly enjoyed this tutorial and your easy-to-follow instructions. Well done and thanks.

[frankohara]

I really like the clarity of your explanations and with no annoying music while you speak. I am also a late learner 76 years old. Slowly but surely.?

[TheRhiny]

It's so refreshing to see someone able to keep it simple while being specific and relevant, thank you.

[melkitson]

I avoided this video initially due to the length of the video. Having wasted a lot of time elsewhere I came back to watch this one. I now feel comfortable, safe and confident to proceed with this project. Clear, concise and intelligible comments and well shot video with good circuit diagrams. Thank you.

[waliboy]

Brilliant! No wobble cam, no annoying music. Well scripted, well lit and well presented. Thank you! The ATX PSU that I "rescued" from a long since redundant PC now has a new purpose in life. Keep up the excellent work.

[jimbossemi-customs]

Your way of explaining everything is second to no one's. I would love to have your calm demeanor. I've learned so much from you are a semi-newbie to electronics. Well done Bill!

[djpenton]

Very useful, thanks Bill. A local computer repair shop here in Ontario gave me two older (but functional) ATX power supplies for free. I used these to make to PID controlled heating devices, one for heat bending guitar parts, and one for a 3d printer filament dryer. Of course, I used the guidance in this video for the builds.

[JosephYoder-ghcw]

This video is a very useful tutorial. I actually did this and converted an old computer power supply into a bench power supply in a single day at almost no cost from this video. Keep up the great work!

[tinkmarshino]

OUTSTANDING! I have been waiting for you to do this video.. I have watch others do this but most of them are fly by the seat of your pants young fellas.. I wanted to make one for my new hobby (at 66 I am teaching myself something new!!) I like to see others ideas but only follow those men I think know what they are doing. And you are one of those men.. I really thank you for all of your hard work in making these little videos (it really shows) thay have been an immense help to me.. as I am a little slower then I was when I was a younger man.. But I an not through yet... Carry on your teaching is very much appreciated..

[leonventer]

Hi, from South Africa, I do enjoy your presentation on all things electronic, I am a 73 year old retired Elec-Eng and I lecture for 10 weeks, once a week, August to November, at a "CAD" College. The students I lecture Mechanical and Architectural students and we do Electrical Design using AutoCAD and SolidWorks Electrical CAD. I have a few "breadboard" exercises for the students and I think your "ATX" power supply/bench supply is just the thing for these exercises. I will be visiting the computer-scrap-joints to ferret out a few ATX's units before August this year. thanks

[drteeth]

Wow! Am I lucky to have just found this channel. The standards of construction and presentation are stellar! The dialogue is clear and even though I have been into electronics for decades, I am still learning.

[chewykarma]

The wiring diagram starting at 20:22 is the first of its type that I have seen on a site like this, and it makes all the difference in the world. A simple schematic like the one you use makes duplication a far simpler task than trying to remember all the connections made over 15 minutes of video. Genius.

Added comment: Posted the above before seeing the end of the video. A visit to the web site is even more inspiring. Step-by-step with downloadable pdf? Doesn't get any better than this. Thanks again!

[davidyarkan]

Thank you for another great video! I have built a similar bench power supply from an old ATX I had about a year ago. It has proven extremely useful and was quite easy to make. If you are at all interested in electronics, just do it! It's easier than you think, just be safe.
Also, I would suggest adding a USB port to the 5V line, as a power outlet for USB connected devices (Arduinos, for example). It makes the bench a bit more useful.

[toolooselowtrek]

Bill, I really appreciate your attention to safety throughout.