Source
r/Lenovo•
halfercode

Can I run several ThinkCentre M93p machines from one power supply?

I am shortly to take delivery of four M93p mini PCs, each coming with their own power supply. I expect the power supplies will be 65W each, with the slim-tip yellow plug.

I can run the devices off their respective devices, but cooling and cable management will be easier if I can just use one supply. There are a few options I have found for this:

  • A USB C to slim-tip adaptor - not cheap at £20 each, so that's £80 even before the cost of the supply, and they are limited to 45W, not 65W. But that might be OK given that I don't imagine these devices will be taking the maximum from the supplied adaptors (no Wi-Fi, no Bluetooth, no USB usage)
  • The above could be powered by this 200W PD adapter, but that adds another £125 to the cost, eek!
  • A slim-tip splitter, again £20 each. I guess I would need 2 x 135W supplies, and I suppose two are easier to manage then four, but it's not ideal.

Are there any better options that my search-fu might have missed? Thanks!

Posted May 3, 2023, 12:48 AM UTC

16
gorilla_dick_•

Buy a cheap powerstrip and cable management foam/plastic. IME thinkpad laptops will break if you try to run random charging cables into them. YMMV

1
halfercodeOP•

These are mini PCs - does the same apply to them? I'd have hoped that a good-quality 20V PS would do the trick. (I don't yet know if the "slim tip" plug is just a two-line supply or something more complicated - will take a look on delivery).

1
gorilla_dick_•

Can’t help you there lad. Only aware of non-lenovo batteries and chargers fucking up some laptops

1
Andre5144•

From a year, one Lenovo 300W brick with 20v Connector Yellow Tip (11x5mm) was attached (via 4x Y plain Slim Tip splitter) by me to : monitor ThV x1 | Tiny | Nano | ThPx201s (tip converter) | miniUPS to KVM (Tiny USB + conversion from 5V to 12V)

1
halfercodeOP•

Oh, very nice, thanks.

It took me a while to visualise how many practical connectors one would get with four two-way splitters... the answer is five!

[ ---- 20v
|
[ ---- [ ---- 20v
       |
       [----- [ ---- 20v
              |
              [ ---- [ ---- 20v
                     |
                     [ ---- 20v

I might do this - I think if I ferret about I can get splitters cheaper than £20 each.

1
[deleted]•

[removed]

1
AllPurposeGeek•

How has this been working for you? I have several Lenovo Tiny units and I am very interested in your setup.

1
Andre5144•

The kit works well.

I am currently looking for, suitable for this layout, a 20V UPS (input & output)

capable of sustaining for a few minutes (5~10') a current consumption of 150~200W.

1