PSU AC power cable swap?

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kalef21

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Jun 28, 2013
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I found a thicker, longer cable that plugs into computer PSUs at goodwill for $1. Being thicker I for some reason assumed it could carry more current. (not that my other cable couldn't: this was just longer and had a convenient elbow end)

My question is, is it bad to use with my EVGA 750G PSU? here's what the cord says on the side...

(UL) SJT E162604 14AWGx3C VW-1 105 [degrees C] Ching Cheng CSA Type LL61597

This is what the stock cable says:

(UL) SVT 75 [degrees celsius] E205765 VW-1 3X.0824mm[squared](18AWG) 300V CSA 211586 Type SVT 60[degrees celsius] 3x0.824mm[squared](18AWG) 300V FT2 Changzou Hongchang

Probably too much info...by the time I finished typing that I saw the goodwill, thicker cable says 15A 125V~ and the stock says 10A 125V~ I also suppose the 18AWG is 18 guage and the 14AWG is 14 gauge, to 14 is bigger and carries more current?

Either way, which cable should I use. the 14 gauge goodwill is longer...is it safe to use?
 
Solution
Math Geek
as you already noted, the 14 gauge is a stronger cable and it will power the psu fine. i have never actually looked at the cable's info and have been using whichever one i grabbed first for a long time now and have not noticed any issues. i have 6 set-ups in my shop with an old cable for each one. i plug in whatever pc i am working on in whichever slot is open at the time. never had an issue with any of these cables and i can't even tell you where they came from. just built up a bunch of them over the years and grabbed some from the box :)


so in other words, i see no isue using this other cable and would not expect to have any problems.
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Math Geek

Math Geek

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Oct 15, 2014
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as you already noted, the 14 gauge is a stronger cable and it will power the psu fine. i have never actually looked at the cable's info and have been using whichever one i grabbed first for a long time now and have not noticed any issues. i have 6 set-ups in my shop with an old cable for each one. i plug in whatever pc i am working on in whichever slot is open at the time. never had an issue with any of these cables and i can't even tell you where they came from. just built up a bunch of them over the years and grabbed some from the box :)


so in other words, i see no isue using this other cable and would not expect to have any problems.
 
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Solution
synphul

synphul

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Mar 11, 2011
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I don't see why the goodwill cable wouldn't work. The gauge is the thickness of the wire diameter inside, the thicker the cable the more current it can carry. Not so much for carrying more current, but the longer a cable or wire is, the more it suffers from strain due to voltage drop. The cure for this is fattening the wire. That's why you might find a 1ft cable that's 18ga (thin) and a 20ft cable that's 10-12ga (thicker). It's not to deliver more juice to the power supply, it's to deliver the equivalent after going that 20ft. (just extreme's used as an example, not real technical specs).
 
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