I'm setting up a PC in my vehicle and need to power a GTX 1070 GPU directly from my truck's 12V system. The GPU has a standard 6+2 PCIe power connector and operates on 12V. What's the safest and most reliable way to do this? Should I consider using a DC-DC converter or a specific type of buck converter? Any advice or wiring tips would be greatly appreciated!
2 Answers
If you want flexibility, you could install an inverter and power your whole PC off your truck. It saves you the hassle of trying to wire just the video card. A 1kW inverter should suffice, and then you can use a standard PC power supply for everything.
But isn’t it more efficient to go straight DC? Using a good power supply from the battery could be even simpler.
Using a proper DC power supply is definitely the way to go! Vehicle power can be really unstable; it might drop below 10V when starting and jump to 13.8V later. You could risk frying your GPU if you connect it directly to the truck's 12V. A solid option is the HDPlex DC-ATX power supply, which has a range of models available.
Yeah, if you're going with an inverter, just make sure it's properly fused to handle the load on your 12V socket.