Power cable question,

[DrDon]

Is it okay that I have a 120 volt cable going to this power supply? Or should I use a 250 volt cable? Asking because I no longer have the original cable, and does it matter? Thanks! 

[tkitch]

you should use the proper cord that fits into your outlet.

 

The PSU will work in America (110V) or Europe (240V), thus the markings. 

 

If the cord fits, it's fine.  (That type of power cord has been on computers for 40 years, and nothing's changed.) 

[DrDon]

1 minute ago, tkitch said:

you should use the proper cord that fits into your outlet.

 

The PSU will work in America (110V) or Europe (240V), thus the markings. 

I'm in  American and the cable I have now is working, only reason I'm asking is because people said you shouldn't mix match these cables.. and then I started looking at them and seen one said 120 volts and then another one said 250 volts both are American, 

 

[tkitch]

Just now, DrDon said:

I'm in  American and the cable I have now is working, only reason I'm asking is because people said you shouldn't mix match these cables.. and then I started looking at them and seen one said 120 volts and then another one said 250 volts both are American, 

You misunderstood then:

 

Don't mix and match cables INSIDE of the computer.  The wall cord doesn't really matter (unless you're using a 1200W+ PSU and then you need to make sure it's heavy enough for the potential power draw.)

[mariushm]

Basically, I think he means  that it says on the AC cable (power cord)  120v and 10A  or something like that, and he's in a country that uses 230v AC

 

The power supply accepts a wide range of input voltage, as it says on sticker, 100v - 240v, so the actual connector is designed to handle 240v and higher. No worries on the power supply side.

 

As for the power cable ... I'd say 90% sure it's gonna be fine.

Most likely they printed 120v 10A on the plug of the cable because they planned to sell it inside US and didn't want to confuse people with higher voltage printed on it.

The maximum current rating is defined by how thick the individual wires in the cable are ... so the cable is made with thick enough cables to handle 10A (10A x 120v = 1200w), no worries about that.

The maximum voltage rating is usually defined by how much spacing/clearance is between individual pins in the mains socket, the spacing between the contacts in the plug, maybe sometimes the quality of the metal used for contacts (how well they handle sparks from plugging in and out the plug)

As the plug and connector on power supply is standardized, IEC C13 (plug) and C14 (receptacle on psu) , they ends of the cable should handle more than 240v just fine.

 

So that leaves only one possible issue the cable may have but it's really unlikely  .. the individual wires inside the cable may have a much thinner insulation compared to a 230v version of the cable, which could mean that at high currents (1000w+) the thinner insulation may become damaged and melt in some places along the cable.

But again, this is so unlikely I wouldn't worry about it.

 

It's much more likely a company making these AC cables buys  miles of cable produced by other companies and just cuts the cable to length and installs plugs at the ends and stamps those ratings on plugs, and they'll use same cable on both 110v and 230v cables.

 

[Blue4130]

1 hour ago, mariushm said:

Basically, I think he means  that it says on the AC cable (power cord)  120v and 10A  or something like that, and he's in a country that uses 230v AC

 

He's in America (I take that to mean USA) so he's 110v

 

@DrDon If you are in USA (or a 110v place) then you are fine.