Quality brands for computer power cord

C

carrierPigeon

Limp Gawd
Joined
Sep 22, 2017
Messages
162
I need to buy a longer power cord for my computer and my monitor.
What brands are good, to boost likelihood of a good level in quality?
Is Tripp Lite good?
 
I would stick with the cord that came with your psu. Swapping psu power cables can cause instability. I would go with a high quality surge strip or ideally a solid ups for the added length you need.
 
hititnquitit said:
I would stick with the cord that came with your psu. Swapping psu power cables can cause instability. I would go with a high quality surge strip or ideally a solid ups for the added length you need.
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No, they can't. This is one of those they either work or they burn your house down kinda things. Buy a quality cable that's large enough to handle the current being pushed through it, and you'll have no issues.
 
Lol thats something we will have to disagree on. Ive experienced exactly that. After much troubleshooting i realized i had accidentally connected an old psu cable rather than the one that came with my psu. Plugged the original one back in and everything was right as rain. So yeah...
 
hititnquitit said:
Lol thats something we will have to disagree on. Ive experienced exactly that. After much troubleshooting i realized i had accidentally connected an old psu cable rather than the one that came with my psu. Plugged the original one back in and everything was right as rain. So yeah...
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Gauge of wire has an impact here. Quality as well. I’ve had the same issue before, but it was an under rated cable from an old oem hooking up to a big build. He should be fine as it’s a legit 15a cable.
 
Thanks guys. I almost wasn't paying attention to the gauge of the wire. My power supply is 450 W but I think the computer uses a lot less (100W or less if I had to guess). It's an i3 4th generation Intel processor, on board video, SSD, usually a USB thumb drive, and plan to have an external SSD, but that has its own power.
 
why dont you just invest in a quality multi outlet surge suppressor with a longer cord is what i think you really need....I think APC stands out in my mind
 
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hititnquitit said:
Lol thats something we will have to disagree on. Ive experienced exactly that. After much troubleshooting i realized i had accidentally connected an old psu cable rather than the one that came with my psu. Plugged the original one back in and everything was right as rain. So yeah...
Click to expand...

I regularly cut computer power cords to use as power cables for blower motors, fans, etc. and the market is definitely flooded with dodgy power cords. I've gotten to the point where I can tell a bad one by feel.

Shitty power cords use aluminum or copper coated aluminum instead of copper, and a thinner gauge of wire. To make up for the fact they skimped on the wire, they'll make the sheathing extra thick and sometimes pack cardboard strips with talc around the three conductors when they mold the outer sheath on. These are easy to distinguish by feel, as they are very rubbery and don't hold their shape when bent. You can also sometimes feel the cardboard strips moving around as a sort of ticking.

Copper coated aluminum wire is very easy to spot. First, it doesn't hold its shape at all if you try to twist the wire together and second, it melts. If you hold a lighter to it, the strands will melt away rapidly, copper doesn't do that.

The best place to get quality power cables here is the local dump. They have a store on site where they sell things people throw away, and people throw away a lot of computer gear, often in perfectly working condition. Last week, someone threw out an $800 Dell tablet PC that worked fine, one of the employees bought it for pennies on the dollar. I've bought machines there that had thousands of dollars in software on them. They also have the good power cords, usually from server equipment. I've yet to get a bad cord there and they're a dollar a piece.
 
primetime said:
why dont you just invest in a quality multi outlet surge suppressor with a longer cord is what i think you really need....I think APC stands out in my mind
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I need to support multiple computers from a single UPS (only 1 true grounded outlet in the apartment).
 
carrierPigeon said:
I need to support multiple computers from a single UPS (only 1 true grounded outlet in the apartment).
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They don't recommend power strips, probably makes it too easy to overload the UPS's, but I have been using one or two power strips on my UPS for over 12 years.
I do usually plug the PC right into the UPS though and the strip is used to power modems, routers, switches, lights, etc. since you only get a handful of battery powered outlets on most consumer units.


What UPS to you have and what kind of PC's are you going to hook up to it?

you could go with a quality extension cord if need be.
 
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