Thick Monster Power Cable really nesessary?

[danike]

My Thermaltake ToughPower Grand 850W Gold Plus Modular Power Supply I bought off newegg for $210 came with a really thick power cable. I lost it. Can I just use a common power cable?

 

[Jorona]

I don't see why not.

 

[jagz]

AWG is the cable size and different AWG is rated for different wattages, but they are all extremely conservative, especially for PSU's. A size lower from whatever you had previously shouldn't pose any problem at all.

 

[WozniakMac]

I used a thin cable to power my Triple sli rig at a LAN party once and it melted the cable and threw a breaker, so be careful.

 

[MrGuvernment]

thin and likely cheap, dont go too cheap, if it is really flimsy, i would pass.

 

[HeavensCloud]

You need a thicker cable than standard, My 1200 watt PSU came with a MUCH thicker cord than my 650 used. Get this.

 

[larrymoencurly]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extension_cord says these wire guages have these amp limits:

16 gauge: 13A (for 50 feet max)
14 gauge: 15A (for 50 feet max)
12 gauge: 15A (for 50 feet max)
10 gauge: 15A (for 100 feet max)

The power cord's amp rating has to be at least as high as the amp rating of the fuse in the PSU, and that fuse may have a much higher amp rating than the maximum normal amp draw of the PSU (when power is turned on, the PSU may briefly exceed that by several times).

Stick with UL approved power cords, and verify that the UL information hasn't been faked, as this articles reveals:

http://hackaday.com/2012/01/04/exposing-some-fake-electronics-with-too-good-to-be-true-prices/

 

[drescherjm]

This would be great for any supply:

http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10228&cs_id=1022801&p_id=5292&seq=1&format=2

Or this possibly this for your supply (will be too thin for the highest end supplies):

http://www.monoprice.com/products/p...=10228&cs_id=1022801&p_id=5285&seq=1&format=2

 

[staticlag]

P=A*V

120 volt at 10 amps = 1200 watts.

So unless your rig will draw a constant 1200watts even the skinniest cable will do. All skinny ones are rated for 10amps.


In comparison, a 500w car subwoofer draws its power at 12v. P=A*V, 500w=A*12V or 42Amps enough to sizzle any of those cables.

 

[dandragonrage]

OP: 16 gauge would be good for you and not hard to find or too hard to bend. 14 or 12 are really overkill for an 850w (they would of course work fine - but also be a good bit harder to bend). I wouldn't really recommend an 18 gauge but really it should do the job fine too, so go ahead and try one of those if they are all you have.

I'd never pay that much for anything from Thermaltake, personally.

 

[Jorona]

I'd never pay that much for anything from Thermaltake, personally.

Especially a Grand. Sirtec made mediocrity. Here's the [H] Review of the high wattage, but same platform version.

http://hardocp.com/article/2011/12/15/thermaltake_toughpower_grand_1200w_psu_review/9

 

[danike]

Well I'm glad I took the time to post this question and get a response. I'll be ordering a larger cable just to play it safe.

 

[Chrisroman]

14 gauge would probably be fine, but I would play it safe and use 12 gauge, especially if your going further than 6'.