Canada to UK PSU bang

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CanadianPcHobbiest

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Nov 4, 2016
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Hello all,

I brought my pc components over from Canada because I knew they would be cheaper than buying the same items in the UK. I just built my PC and plugged it and then there was a loud bang.

None of the sockets in my dorm room will work now and my PSU has a burned smell. I realised my mistake was that my PSU could hand 240v but not the 250v which my UK power cord carried.

My Questions are as follows 1) Will my problem be fixed if I purchase a new PSU? Will I need a power modulator as all my components are Canadian and may suffer the same fate as my PSU? Lastly, and most scary, are my other PC components in danger of being damaged?

I want to point out that my PC was not on, all I did was plug the power in.
 
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madmatt30

madmatt30

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What PSU was it exactly ??
Canada mains voltage is 120v
UK isn't 250v it's 230-240v
250v mains current would be deemed out of spec , unsafe electrically & quite possibly illegal.
The cable is rated 250v simply for headroom as under high long term load they can become warm.
& no, all PC internal components are DC current which is the sole purpose of the psu to regulate from mains ac to the DC currents required.
 
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C

CanadianPcHobbiest

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Nov 4, 2016
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I was using an older PSU, one which I was using back in Canada. It was the Cool Master Extreme 2 750w. Sorry Matt I did not understand the second part of your message. I am a novice PC builder, this was my first solo attempt, I am hoping what you said was that the role of the PSU is to take a AC current and convert the power into a DC current meaning that so long as my PC was not on then the components are not in danger of being damage?

On the power cord I purchased it says 5A 250v~
 
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madmatt30

madmatt30

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God awful PSU mate , be glad it blew up ;-)
Does it have a red/white tag switch somewhere to swap between 120-240v ??
Some of these older low quality units are not auto voltage switching & if it's set to 120 it will simply have blown an internal fuse.
Dump it & buy something from the UK

& yes if the PSU has simply blown your pc components should be safe .

PC components are universal , DC current is DC current irregardless of country.
A GPU bought in Asia, Europe, UK , USA etc are all EXACTLY the same , same does for ram , mb , cpu etc etc

None of your sockets work ??
Will be a trip switch in the fuse box mate , simple as that , if you're in a dorm the wiring will be all up to date & safe

What are your PC components ?? Can point you to something decent from a UK supplier if you're unfamiliar with UK stockists.

The power cord ??

A 5a 250v cable is capable of powering a bronze rated PSU of around 1000w.

You'll find any power cable in the UK that's sold with a British kite standard mark is always going to be very generously overspecced for its actual purpose.
 
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C

CanadianPcHobbiest

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Nov 4, 2016
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@ Matt


So long as all my components work I will consider it a blessing in disguise. On a student budget so even the cheap stuff would be hard to replace. My PSU did not have a switch anywhere. Sadly the fuse room is locked in my house, so going to have to wait up to 5 days for someone to come. looks like ill be powering up in the kitchen for a week.

The star of the show was my graphics card, a Asus Strix geforce 1070
Old motherboard a Asus P8Z68 (3rd get) didn't see a need to upgrade
a i5-3.4k (didn't upgrade CPU because I was told I wouldn't much CPU for gaming)
16gb DDR3 ram ( slower I know but couldn't use DDR4 on my motherboard)
250gb SSD Corsair
500gb Seagate Hybrid Hard Drive

The power cord brand is Advent and its a Kettle Lead type of cord, which I believe just means that it is fused.
 
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madmatt30

madmatt30

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So your kitchen sockets work?? Will be on a seperate circuit then.

Rented accommodation mate ??
5 days - that's unacceptable , 24 hours maybe - you'd be in your right to kick up a stink about that honestly.
You're now in the UK mate, time to think the British way & demand stuff not ask politely ;-) you should have access to the fuseboard though if you're renting really , what about heating etc???
 
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C

CanadianPcHobbiest

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Nov 4, 2016
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@Matt

In residence, so sadly it is whenever the accommodation office sends someone. It wasn't always locked though which is annoying, and the office is closed over the weekend so I can't even ask for they key. But I agree, in England and going through Law school, need to learn to advocate for myself and toughen up.

I trust the corsair brand so I think I will go with that one. I think I even saw a used one in CeX so I might swing by the shop tomorrow before ordering online. (Wouldn't get here until monday anyway so might as well hunt for a better deal).
 
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