Main > Main Forum
5V Line on PC Power Supply
whynotpizza:
Can I use a single 5V power line (yellow, black, red) from a standard PC power supply to drive ~35 LED lights in a simple ON/OFF configuration with 1 switch?
It is right to assume ~15miliamps from each LED for a total of ~550milliamps?
That amount of current should work with a standard PC 5V power rail, right?
(I would obviously use the RED and BLACK for 5V rail)
MonMotha:
While it varies highly with the era of the supply, figure you can get at least 15A off the 5V rail of a PC supply. Wire to the "hard drive" connectors is usually AWG18 which, over that short distance, can handle 5A or so. 550mA is decidedly not a problem.
BobA:
Please remember that the +5v is red and the GND is black. If you use a tap such as for a fan will have a red wire but close inspection will see that it is connected to the 12V yellow wire so do not use a fan power tap.
Louis Tully:
.
whynotpizza:
Excellent, thanks.
Do you think 22gauge wire (single stand for Ground and multi-strand for Power) is enough to handle this small amount of current?
Thanks again for the help!
David