Step the GPU voltage up to 48V. (anyway you make a new connector that's not compatible with existing PSUs. Why not actually fix a problem at the same time, once and for all! [48V should be enough for anybody, right?])
Not a bad idea IMHO. There are already computers (servers mostly, but also integrated models) who only have 12V power connections and the mainboard does the step-down voltage conversion, and IIRC some companies wanted to do the same to regular desktops.
I would be totally happy if the next gen of computers have 12V outputs to the mainboard and CPU and 48V to the GPU and other power-hungry components. This would make the PCB of those cards a bit bigger, but also would have less power losses and less risk of overheated connectors on the other hand.
Until the US changes their AC power connectors, we just don’t have a use case for it frankly. When the entire system is going to always top out at 1200W or so (so you have an extra few hundred watts for monitors and such), we’re pretty limited to maximum amperage.
The USA has 240 volt plugs. They are only used for high power appliances such as AC or ovens. If you want, you could add a plug for your high powered space heater AKA gaming PC.
I’m aware we have 240V outlets. They are just not used in a place where you would put a PC. Until there is a shift in need (I.e., every normal user would need more than a 120V plug could handle), you won’t ever see 240V outlets in offices. I suspect it will never happen.
In server areas and extremely specialized stuff? Yea, sure. But we’re talking desktop PCs here.
Most of the US utilizes the NEC for installation compliance. Per NEC, 15A-style outlets are "to code" on 20A circuits unless a single recepticle ("dedicated") circuit — in which case a 20A-style recepticle MUST be installed.
For any electric appliance (including computers) which operates for 3hrs+ ("continuously"), the circuit rating is reduced to 80% capacity (e.g. only 16A load allowed continuously on a "20A circuit" == only 1920W computers allowed on 20A circuit, 1440W on 12A).
Pro tip: check your own PSU, but practically all modern computers can handle AC input 100-240V (all you need is the correct IEC power cord for a 240 US plug).
I have fixed enough melted devices in my career to always twice-torque each&every connection I make. For temporary extension cords/plugs, "twist lock" ends are worth all the extra dollars.
Protips: use Eeez-Ox (a conductive paste which inhibits corrosion) for high-load applications (non-data, only). My own gamerig's AMD GPU has it (sparingly applied) within its dual 8-pin connectors. I supply the 8-pin connectors from a single pair of 8awg copper, which is directly soldered within the PSU's PCB power-take-offs... so only a few inches of 16awg for voltage drop (into the GPU), which reduces the amperage required (but is also unnecessary overkill).
It’s the whole chain - 20a outlets typically require 12ga wire instead of 14ga, a 20 amp breaker, and yes - the outlet is different. The 20a outlets add a horizontal opening to one of the 2 vertical slots, making a sideways T shape. Devices that require 20 amps will have one of those horizontal prongs to ensure you don’t plug them in to a 15 amp outlet.
The outlet itself doesn't care, but the shape of the receptacle is supposed to restrict insertion of a 20 amp device into a 15 amp socket. You can stick a 15 amp device into a 20 amp socket, but not vice versa. The electrician should be installing 20 amp sockets if the cabling can support it, but many don't.
The shape of the outlet is different for different current allowances (the spades are wider or rotated). It is supposed to allow an electrician to indicate that the whole circuit is rated to handle the higher expected load, and that there aren’t other outlets on the same circuit which might also try to use the whole current available. Basically a UI problem trying to encourage robust designs for use by non-experts
British kettles draw so much power, the electric utility had to consider the additional power draw on the grid from synchronized tea-making during the commercial breaks of a popular soap opera, back when broadcast TV was king.
> I envy my European friends' 240v electric kettles
... do you not have electric kettles in the US? Foolishly, I thought this was a standard kitchen appliance all over the world, I've even seen it in smaller cities in Peru.
We do. Like others have said, they're unusual here -- in part, because culturally we drink a lot more coffee than we do tea, but also because heating a large-ish volume of water with a normal American outlet takes awhile.
My solution to drinking a cup of tea is also unusual: I have a no-longer-in-production Sunbeam Hotshot and I use it heat only as much water as I need right now.
It raises one tea-cup worth of water from whatever temperature it is that comes out of the cold tap to boiling in about 40 seconds.
I just dump a cup of water in, push one button to heat it up, wait until it boils, and then push another button to dispense that hot liquid into the cup that I'm using for tea.
We do, but they’re limited to much lower wattage due to the outlet limits. A typical US kettle is 1100-1400W, and takes maybe 1-2 minutes to boil. Kettles in the UK are typically 2.5-3kW.
We don't have a need for an exclusive water boiling device as we aren't obsessed with tea. Most people drink coffee and the heating element is already built into the coffee maker. Idk what else you'd use it for. The stove works fine for boiling water without needing a separate appliance.
They’re readily available, but most households don't actually have one. Many more households have a coffee maker, which is essentially the same thing but specialized for dripping the boiling water through coffee grounds. Anyone else who needs boiling water just puts a pot on the stove, or possibly an old–fashioned metal tea kettle.
We could even use 240v electric tea kettles here in the US if we wanted to; most kitchens with an electric range and oven have 240v (or 208v) outlets to plug them in to. But those outlets are usually inconveniently located for counter–top appliances. It wouldn’t cost much to add another above the counter, but it is rarely done in practice. Of course, in many parts of the US natural gas heating is cheaper than electric so the houses there are built for gas ranges and ovens instead.
The problem there would be your breaker. I am not an electrition but I can tell you that when I tried adding a heated MAU to my house, I had to switch to a 120v washer/dryer because my electric panel did not have space for another 208v line.
(Note, my building is actually 3 phase 208 volt not 240volt so I don't have 240 volt plugs but 208volt plugs)
Not a criticism, but a question. Did you consider adding a subpanel? If you're running a new circuit I assume there was already some drywall patching to be done, seems like it would have been more cost effective and removed future headaches to just give yourself more breaker space.
A lot is going to depend on labor rates for your local electricians, but that costing more than $500 where I am would be outrageous. I do my own electrical, but even I paid a licensed electrician to come handle installing a new panel since I did not have an outdoor service disconnect and didn't feel like fighting with the utility company over de-energizing and re-energizing my service. Ended up needing a lot more done, but the whole thing cost me $2500 to get a new service drop, outdoor meter main, and wiring run to the old panel (in the bedroom on the other side of the main) and the new panel (in the old furnace closed that's now my electrical / network room).
But really, doing a subpanel yourself to expand breaker capacity is a really simple project - most people if so inclined could do it themselves. Anywhere from $100-200 for the panel itself depending on how many spaces you feel like adding, up to $80 for a large enough breaker to feed it, and some tens of dollars for SER cable.
Now I must use lots of rather thick cables in my desktop (because I run GPUs).
Imagine that the GPU would instead suck up all the power it needs through the PCIe connector, without all those pesky cables. (right now PCIe can provied 75W at 12V, i.e. 6.25A; that same current would provide 300W at 48V).
What power supply do you have that even has a 20A inlet? 20 amp breakers are common for outlets (especially in newer builds) but the outlets are still 15A outlets. And there is essentially no desktop power supply that exists that would exceed a 15A outlet currently.
> What power supply do you have that even has a 20A inlet?
ATX PSUs usually have IEC 60320 C14 inlets. The IEC 60320 standard itself states that this inlet is only good for up to 10 Amps.
UL is happy to ignore them and say that 15 Amps is okay. It wouldn't surprise me if someone else were happy to ignore that and say that 20 Amps is okay.
Even still, swapping a C14 inlet for a C20 inlet (IEC max 16 Amps, UL max 20 Amps) would be a relatively easy thing to do (EDIT: on a PSU that is already designed to take more than 15 Amps, obviously). Probably a warranty-voiding action though.
I would be totally happy if the next gen of computers have 12V outputs to the mainboard and CPU and 48V to the GPU and other power-hungry components. This would make the PCB of those cards a bit bigger, but also would have less power losses and less risk of overheated connectors on the other hand.