Does Power Cables Matter?

[Princess Luna]

The cable that you connect your PSU to the wall, does it matter?

 

Any is fine?

[Guest]

Don't believe it does

[A Silver]

Pretty sure any cable will work as long as it has the correct connector for the PSU

[DildorTheDecent]

5 minutes ago, Princess Cadence said:

The cable that you connect your PSU to the wall, does it matter?

 

Any is fine?

If you're running a unit that can push more than 1500W then it matters.

 

Other than that, just make sure that the fuse is 3A or higher for PSUs pushing around 700W. Assuming you're on 240V. 5A for up to 1200W and 13A for anything beyond iirc.

 

That's what I can just about remember anyway.

[Godlygamer23]

They have differing thicknesses and different specs, so it does matter, depending on where you live. Standards might be in place so the cords don't go below a certain thickness.

[Guest]

As long as it's UL listed it should be fine. One time I ordered a dell OEM charger, but the mickey mouse cable was clearly aftermarket and had 0 markings. Testing it for kicks resulted in a hot to the touch cable that would definitely catch fire w/ extended use. Reported it right away and Amazon kick the seller off. 

 

[Princess Luna]

8 minutes ago, DildorTheDecent said:

Other than that, just make sure that the fuse is 3A or higher for PSUs pushing around 700W. Assuming you're on 240V. 5A for up to 1200W and 13A for anything beyond iirc.

Nah Corsair TX650M on a 110V wall plug.

[DildorTheDecent]

10 minutes ago, Princess Cadence said:

Nah Corsair TX650M on a 110V wall plug.

Going by what the AC Input sticker says (on the internet anyway) make sure fuse is higher than 10A I guess. You probably could get away with lower since 650 / 110 = 5.9A. Or maybe it's best to go by the sticker?

 

Not an Electrical Engineer, just guessing.

[Guest]

2 hours ago, DildorTheDecent said:

If you're running a unit that can push more than 1500W then it matters.

 

Other than that, just make sure that the fuse is 3A or higher for PSUs pushing around 700W. Assuming you're on 240V. 5A for up to 1200W and 13A for anything beyond iirc.

 

That's what I can just about remember anyway.

 

1 hour ago, DildorTheDecent said:

Going by what the AC Input sticker says (on the internet anyway) make sure fuse is higher than 10A I guess. You probably could get away with lower since 650 / 110 = 5.9A. Or maybe it's best to go by the sticker?

 

Not an Electrical Engineer, just guessing.

Yeah... AC power cords aren't typically fused.  Only most of the UK ones are and I believe some EU ones are fused.  But for the most part, there's no fuse.

 

Typically inadquate power cords are an issue in low line regions like the U.S., Japan, Taiwan, etc.  Because the lower the line voltage, the higher the current.... and those power cords are NOT fused.

 

Just don't cheap out on the power cord if you need to buy a replacement.  They are rated; because different cords use different gauge wire inside.  

 

For example:  A power cord with 18g wire can only handle 10A (peak).  This is fine for a 850W PSU, but the cord will get hot, and I certainly wouldn't use it for a 1000W+ PSU.  

[Guest]

2 hours ago, Legendarypoet said:

As long as it's UL listed it should be fine. One time I ordered a dell OEM charger, but the mickey mouse cable was clearly aftermarket and had 0 markings. Testing it for kicks resulted in a hot to the touch cable that would definitely catch fire w/ extended use. Reported it right away and Amazon kick the seller off. 

 

Assuming the OP is in America... which seems to be a safe bet.

 

UL marking does mean that it was tested for safety like flammability, operating temperature, etc. but even UL markings are becoming rare as we become more of a global market and UL fails to be competitive in their certification costs.

 

For example:  TÜV is recognized more globally and the TÜVus marking completely supplants UL And CSA as accepted North American safety certifications.

[Princess Luna]

1 minute ago, jonnyGURU said:

Just don't cheap out on the power cord if you need to buy a replacement.  They are rated; because different cords use different gauge wire inside. 

Well I did purchase the most expensive one they had in my trusted retailer so over all I should fine right? remembering it is for a TX650M on 110V wall, I am not even buying a replacement, sad part is that here in Brazil the PSUs are not shipped with included power cables because we have recently changed our format from USA's one to a national exclusive one:

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Princess Cadence said:

Well I did purchase the most expensive one they had in my trusted retailer so over all I should fine right? remembering it is for a TX650M on 110V wall, I am not even buying a replacement, sad part is that here in Brazil the PSUs are not shipped with included power cables because we have recently changed our format from USA's one to a national exclusive one:

So the part number for your PSU (on the box) ends with "WW"?

 

Brazil typically gets no power cord because even within Brazil there are different plugs AND different mains voltages.  No other country is like this as far as varying mains voltages.  And maybe only Italy (mix of CEI 23-050 and CEE 7/7) and India (mix of IS 1293 and BS1323) and South Africa (mix of SANS 60799 and BS1363) have such a big cluster-you-know-what when it comes to power and power cords.

 

And even when multiple countries use the SAME power cord (like NA, Japan and Taiwan, for example) you can't ship the same cord to all three countries because NA needs to be UL/CSA, Japan needs to be JIS and Taiwan needs to be BSMI certified.  And BSMI won't certify a cord that's already UL, JIS won't certify a cord that's already BSMI.....   I swear to God it's a racket to suck more money out of manufacturers to get them to pay for multiple certifications.

 

[Princess Luna]

Just now, jonnyGURU said:

.

Tell me about it, it is a complete mess, at least power isn't all that pricey thanks to hydro plants... I haven't the items at hand just yet they are in shipping process but when all arrives I'll give this thread a bump with more accurate information.

 

I can say though for what is worth that these cables are certified by our commerce quality control government thingy Inmetro which is a big deal here believe or not

 

Cheers [:

[DildorTheDecent]

1 hour ago, jonnyGURU said:

 

Yeah... AC power cords aren't typically fused.  Only most of the UK ones are and I believe some EU ones are fused.  But for the most part, there's no fuse.

 

Typically inadquate power cords are an issue in low line regions like the U.S., Japan, Taiwan, etc.  Because the lower the line voltage, the higher the current.... and those power cords are NOT fused.

 

Just don't cheap out on the power cord if you need to buy a replacement.  They are rated; because different cords use different gauge wire inside.  

 

For example:  A power cord with 18g wire can only handle 10A (peak).  This is fine for a 850W PSU, but the cord will get hot, and I certainly wouldn't use it for a 1000W+ PSU.  

Did not know that. Assumed that overseas units had fuses since...well...I have them (UK). Even though there's many different standards I assumed that fuses were pretty much universal on cords. Guess not

 

If you're the real Slim Shady JonnyGURU get yourself an industry affiliate tag. It's important that people know what you do. Keep at it.

[Guest]

I prefer not having an "industry affiliate" tag.  I'm not here representing any company (since I post on my time), website (since I don't write for JG.com anymore), etc. and I want the freedom to call someone a Jack Wagon whenever they deserve it.

 

HardOCP put something fucked up like "Official Corsair Rep" next to my name, so I quit going there altogether.  Problem is, when he did that, it attached that title to every post I made there for the last 20 years.  So even back when I was talking shit about some stupid Corsair Nautilus AIO cooler, there would be "Corsair" next to my name.  A stupid and poorly thought out idea/process.