MP 1,1-5,1 Do the 5,1's require more than 10 amps of power?

[theMarble]

So in Australia and NZ, we have 10A plugs while the US and some other places use 15A. Does the 5,1 (and 4,1 flashed for that matter) power supplies require 15A. I know on modern PSU's it's <1200W it's 10A and 1300W+ it's 15A, however these are 10-12 year old 1000W (980W) power supplies and things have changed since 2009, so do they need more than 10A or not? It's less than $50 dollars to get one installed so I'm happy to get one installed if it is required.

I will be using 2x X5690's, 96GB, Radeon VII, 6 SATA drives, 2 NVMe drives, Thunderbolt, / USB 3 card and a DeckLink (Linux).

Thanks!

 

[rp7777]

I am in Australia and using a Mac Pro 5,1 (and prior to that a 3,1).

Short answer is - no - 15A is not required. 10A only - otherwise the Mac Pro would have come with a 15A socket/plug (which in Australia looks identical to a 10A plug but the vertical (neutral) blade is wider and won't physically fit into a normal 10A socket).

As the PS is 980W, 15A not required as the max current draw at 240V cannot exceed 10A. (980VA(W) / 240V = 4.08A.

A 3000W power supply will exceed 10A - therefore a 15A cord/plug/supply is required - (3000VA(W) / 240V = 12.5A.

If you manage to populate your MP with devices that draw the full 980 W of the power supply (not sure that is even possible and the failsafes in the MP would likely shut it down anyway), your standard 10A power socket/cord will cope fine. (Plug in another 1 or 2 heaters on the same circuit, however, and likely the circuit load will exceed 10A pretty quick and trip the circuit breaker in your electrical board),

Edit - and just to be clear - the power cables in your house are usually specced at a significantly higher Amp Rating than the actual Amp that they are rated for. For example - you standard power circuits cable is probably something like 20A rated cable (i.e. wire thickness and insulation can cope with up to 20A current flow before it overheats, starts smoking etc.). The 10A "limit" is regulated by the (old days - fuse wire) circuit breaker in your power board and this will trip and cut any power flow down that circuit should the load exceed 10A (and well before the 20A that the actual cable can sustain).

This is of particular notice for your standard Oven installation - Ovens required a beefier circuit and are commonly on dedicate circuit/wiring to your power board that has (I think - could be wrong) a 38A fuse/circuit breaker. And the cables for that circuit are rated for this (thicker etc.).

 

[h9826790]

AFAIK, the average voltage in Aus is 230V, with tolerance of +10% and -6%.

So, even in worst case

230V x 94% = 216V

and 980W / 216V = 4.53A

That's far from 10A.

And if your cMP draw 10A for whatever reason, it should trigger the cut off protection. And better to have a 10A cut off protection at there.

 

[mattspace]

funfact - the 1,1 came with a 15amp plug in Australia originally, and everyone lost their minds at having to get new plugs installed (I run my welders on 15a sockets), so they went back to 10a plugs.

A 10amp socket can support a 2400watt draw maximum (at least that's the max load all power boards here allow, regardless of the number of plugs they have).

 

[theMarble]

I am in Australia and using a Mac Pro 5,1 (and prior to that a 3,1).

Short answer is - no - 15A is not required. 10A only - otherwise the Mac Pro would have come with a 15A socket/plug (which in Australia looks identical to a 10A plug but the vertical (neutral) blade is wider and won't physically fit into a normal 10A socket).

As the PS is 980W, 15A not required as the max current draw at 240V cannot exceed 10A. (980VA(W) / 240V = 4.08A.

A 3000W power supply will exceed 10A - therefore a 15A cord/plug/supply is required - (3000VA(W) / 240V = 12.5A.

If you manage to populate your MP with devices that draw the full 980 W of the power supply (not sure that is even possible and the failsafes in the MP would likely shut it down anyway), your standard 10A power socket/cord will cope fine. (Plug in another 1 or 2 heaters on the same circuit, however, and likely the circuit load will exceed 10A pretty quick and trip the circuit breaker in your electrical board),

Edit - and just to be clear - the power cables in your house are usually specced at a significantly higher Amp Rating than the actual Amp that they are rated for. For example - you standard power circuits cable is probably something like 20A rated cable (i.e. wire thickness and insulation can cope with up to 20A current flow before it overheats, starts smoking etc.). The 10A "limit" is regulated by the (old days - fuse wire) circuit breaker in your power board and this will trip and cut any power flow down that circuit should the load exceed 10A (and well before the 20A that the actual cable can sustain).

This is of particular notice for your standard Oven installation - Ovens required a beefier circuit and are commonly on dedicate circuit/wiring to your power board that has (I think - could be wrong) a 38A fuse/circuit breaker. And the cables for that circuit are rated for this (thicker etc.).

Good to know, I've seen 15A plugs before as I have a few of them in my house already (oven, gas...) and I know that some workstations with certain components need more than 10A even though they only have 1500W~ power supplies with the Type I plug. Didn't know that there is equations to see if you need more than 10A or not. Thanks!

 

[jscipione]

I have my Mac Pro connected to a 15W breaker. In the winter time I also run a space heater on the same breaker. If I try to use the Mac Pro and the space heater at the same time it will trip the breaker. So 10W is enough for the Mac Pro alone, but it will not be enough if you use another power hungry device on the same breaker.

 

[KeesMacPro]

I have my Mac Pro connected to a 15W breaker.

I guess you mean a 15 A (ampere) fuse.

 

[jscipione]

I guess you mean a 15 A (ampere) fuse.

Yes I meant 15A not 15W, sorry.