My farm. Post yours. 56k warning in effect!

[DAK1640]

240VAC is cheaper to run...Remember...Power=Voltage x Current

[skycrane]

240VAC is cheaper to run...Remember...Power=Voltage x Current

yea but Power = Watts. and Watts is what the meter measures. the only thing the higher voltage does is lower the amps required.

[my87csx481]

Most supplies are more efficient running the higher voltage, yes, but they need to actually be 220/240v compatible. If you plug a 110/120v only unit into 22/240v ... well it'll probably be pretty, what with all the nice flashy sparkles but it won't do your system any good.

Yeah, I kinda' figured that much.

Almost all PC power supplies can do 240V. Just if you have a non-PFC unit you need to make sure to flip the switch on the back.

I didn't realize there were non-PFC units without a switch on them. I have a couple really old 150 watt psu's with switches. Massive 5A on the 12V rail.

240VAC is cheaper to run...Remember...Power=Voltage x Current

So, you've purchased new power cords for your 240vac compatible power supplies or replaced the plug ends with an appropriate end to fit one of these? (Actually, can the original 120vac cords even handle 240vac if you replaced the plug end? The one in my hand says 300V on it)

I think he's talking about PFC and efficiency in general being better at higher voltage for some power supplies.

They're things that are usually a non-issue for a household with 2-3 "average" computers, but it makes a difference when you've got a dozen overclocked crunchers running 24/7.

I was asking in this context.

Edit: I probably should have started my own thread for this. Sorry. /Edit

[DAK1640]

It is AMPS that spins that meter...

[artemm]

Don't most households already have 240v? Just look behind your stove. Chances are it's plugged into a 3-prong 240v terminal.

[Sparky]

It is AMPS that spins that meter...

No... actually it is watts. You get billed by the kilowatt-hour.

You can cut the amp draw in half by doubling volts (Power = Volts x Amps). The savings is not because of the amp draw being cut, but because things are a little more efficient at a higher voltage. You don't have quite as many losses from wire resistance and such.

If it was the same efficiency, you would gain nothing by going to 240V from 120V.

[my87csx481]

Sorry for derailing this thread. I knew I should have started a separate thread, or PMs.

Felt I should at least include a pic of my humble "farm".



Far left: E3110 dual core - gamer, sorry, I don't crunch with it
Middle: i7 920 - crunched for a week at 200 x 20, currently testing at 200 x 21 - latest addition
Right: Q9550 - 450 x 8.5 - been cranking away for ~7 months now
Not quite visible: dead P35 board - I think the NB is cooked - all components test good on another board, can't pass memtest no matter what on the P35, trying to decide if I even want to bother with RMA

[Sparky]

I didn't realize there were non-PFC units without a switch on them. I have a couple really old 150 watt psu's with switches. Massive 5A on the 12V rail.

Most do have that switch. But I saw a PSU once that was just 120V only... granted it was a very cheap pile of crap and I doubt that any of us would run into one of those, but they exist.

My comment was mostly a reminder about the little red switch on the non-PFC PSUs so that hopefully nobody would just plug one into 240V without switching it.

(Actually, can the original 120vac cords even handle 240vac if you replaced the plug end? The one in my hand says 300V on it)

Yes they can, the insulation is more than enough to handle 240V.

[my87csx481]

Thanks SparkyJJO for the clarifications.

[skycrane]

Yeah, I kinda' figured that much.


I didn't realize there were non-PFC units without a switch on them. I have a couple really old 150 watt psu's with switches. Massive 5A on the 12V rail.


So, you've purchased new power cords for your 240vac compatible power supplies or replaced the plug ends with an appropriate end to fit one of these? (Actually, can the original 120vac cords even handle 240vac if you replaced the plug end? The one in my hand says 300V on it)



I was asking in this context.

Edit: I probably should have started my own thread for this. Sorry. /Edit

ive got a question then, why do you need to change the plug?? if the cord will handle the 240v, wouldnt the plug be able to handle it as well? its rated to handle 120v from the hot to ground, it should be able to handle the other 120v on the neutral/white side as well. Its not like your feeding 240 on just one side, your spliting it on each of the 2 sides of the plug.

for example, you can have the black as one leg of the hot, 120v
the white as another leg of hot, 120v
the green as the neutral/ground

the only thing you need to make sure is that you hook the white to the other leg that the black wire is, on the 240v main.

the wires in the house are rated at 600v, so there is no problem there. you just need to make sure NOTHING else gets hooked up to the outlet or you will really have some nice sparks

[DAK1640]

If you ignore code, you don't need to switch the plugs.

[my87csx481]

ive got a question then, why do you need to change the plug?? if the cord will handle the 240v, wouldnt the plug be able to handle it as well? its rated to handle 120v from the hot to ground, it should be able to handle the other 120v on the neutral/white side as well. Its not like your feeding 240 on just one side, your spliting it on each of the 2 sides of the plug.

for example, you can have the black as one leg of the hot, 120v
the white as another leg of hot, 120v
the green as the neutral/ground

the only thing you need to make sure is that you hook the white to the other leg that the black wire is, on the 240v main.

the wires in the house are rated at 600v, so there is no problem there. you just need to make sure NOTHING else gets hooked up to the outlet or you will really have some nice sparks

I need to prevent this from happening....and why I asked in the first place.

If you ignore code, you don't need to switch the plugs.

Now we know how you did it.